Rich and rare were the gems she wore,

And a bright gold ring on her wand she bore.

Thomas Moore (1779-1852): Rich and rare were the Gems she wore.

Full fathom five thy father lies;

Of his bones are coral made;

Those are pearls that were his eyes:

Nothing of him that doth fade

But doth suffer a sea-change

Into something rich and strange.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616): The Tempest. Act i. Sc. 2.

From toil he wins his spirits light,

From busy day the peaceful night;

Rich, from the very want of wealth,

In heaven's best treasures, peace and health.

Thomas Gray (1716-1771): Ode on the Pleasure arising from Vicissitude. Line 93.

Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616): Hamlet. Act iii. Sc. 1.

Our fruitless labours mourn,

And only rich in barren fame return.

Alexander Pope (1688-1744): The Odyssey of Homer. Book x. Line 46.

She is mine own,

And I as rich in having such a jewel

As twenty seas, if all their sand were pearl,

The water nectar, and the rocks pure gold.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616): The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Act ii. Sc. 4.

Rich in saving common-sense,

And, as the greatest only are,

In his simplicity sublime.

Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892): Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington. Stanza 4.

To heal divisions, to relieve th' opprest;

In virtue rich; in blessing others, blest.

Alexander Pope (1688-1744): The Odyssey of Homer. Book vii. Line 95.

Laws grind the poor, and rich men rule the law.

Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774): The Traveller. Line 386.

Pretty! in amber to observe the forms

Of hairs, or straws, or dirt, or grubs, or worms!

The things, we know, are neither rich nor rare,

But wonder how the devil they got there.

Alexander Pope (1688-1744): Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot. Prologue to the Satires. Line 169.

Beware

Of entrance to a quarrel; but being in,

Bear 't that the opposed may beware of thee.

Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice;

Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment.

Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,

But not express'd in fancy; rich, not gaudy;

For the apparel oft proclaims the man.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616): Hamlet. Act i. Sc. 3.

He that holds fast the golden mean,

And lives contentedly between

The little and the great,

Feels not the wants that pinch the poor,

Nor plagues that haunt the rich man's door.

William Cowper (1731-1800): Translation of Horace. Book ii. Ode x.

Poor and content is rich and rich enough.

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

Rich the treasure,

Sweet the pleasure,—

Sweet is pleasure after pain.

John Dryden (1631-1701): Alexander's Feast. Line 58.

Some have too much, yet still do crave;

I little have, and seek no more:

They are but poor, though much they have,

And I am rich with little store:

They poor, I rich; they beg, I give;

They lack, I have; they pine, I live.

Edward Dyer (Circa 1540-1607): MS. Rawl. 85, p. 17.

Rich windows that exclude the light,

And passages that lead to nothing.

Thomas Gray (1716-1771): A Long Story.

A man he was to all the country dear,

And passing rich with forty pounds a year.

Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774): The Deserted Village. Line 141.

Some have too much, yet still do crave;

I little have, and seek no more:

They are but poor, though much they have,

And I am rich with little store:

They poor, I rich; they beg, I give;

They lack, I have; they pine, I live.

Edward Dyer (Circa 1540-1607): MS. Rawl. 85, p. 17.

But Knowledge to their eyes her ample page,

Rich with the spoils of time, did ne'er unroll;

Chill penury repress'd their noble rage,

And froze the genial current of the soul.

Thomas Gray (1716-1771): Elegy in a Country Churchyard. Stanza 13.

Give what thou canst, without Thee we are poor;

And with Thee rich, take what Thou wilt away.

William Cowper (1731-1800): The Task. Book v. The Winter Morning Walk. Line 905.

A wealthy priest, but rich without a fault.

Alexander Pope (1688-1744): The Iliad of Homer. Book v. Line 16.