Fortunes are made, if I the facts may state– Though poor myself, I know the fortunate: First, there’s a knowledge of the way from whence Good fortune comes–and this is sterling sense: Then perseverance, never to decline The chase of riches till the prey is thine; And firmness never to be drawn away By any passion from that noble prey– By love, ambition, study, travel, fame, Or the vain hope that lives upon a name.
