The Beggar's Opera (excerpts)
Air I.An old woman clothed in gray, &c.1-
Through all the employments of life
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Each neighbour abuses his brother;
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Whore and rogue they call husband and wife:
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All professions be-rogue one another.
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The priest calls the lawyer a cheat,
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The lawyer be-knaves the divine;
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And the statesman, because he's so great,
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Thinks his trade as honest as mine.Air XI.A Soldier and a Sailor2-
A fox may steal your hens, sir,
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A whore your health and pence, sir,
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Your daughter rob your chest, sir,
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Your wife may steal your rest, sir,
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A thief your goods and plate. Let us drink, &c.Air XXVI.4-
Courtiers, Courtiers think it no harm, &c.4-
Man may escape from rope and gun;
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Nay, some have out-liv'd the doctor's pill;
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Who takes a woman must be undone,
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That basilisk is sure to kill.
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The fly that sips treacle is lost in the sweets,
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So he that tastes woman, woman, woman,
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He that tastes woman, ruin meets.