King Stephen was a worthy peer,

His breeches cost him but a crown;

He held them sixpence all too dear,—

With that he called the tailor lown.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616): Othello. Act ii. Sc. 3.

King Stephen was a worthy peere,

His breeches cost him but a croune;

He held them sixpence all too deere,

Therefore he call'd the taylor loune.

He was a wight of high renowne,

And those but of a low degree;

Itt's pride that putts the countrye doune,

Then take thine old cloake about thee.

Thomas Percy (1728-1811): Take thy old Cloak about Thee.

Is there a parson much bemused in beer,

A maudlin poetess, a rhyming peer,

A clerk foredoom'd his father's soul to cross,

Who pens a stanza when he should engross?

Alexander Pope (1688-1744): Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot. Prologue to the Satires. Line 15.