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  ...fair, then chaste she cannot long abide, By pressing youth attack'd on every side; If foul, her wealth the lusty lover lures, Or else her wit some fool-gallant procures, Or else she dances with becoming grace, Or shape excuses the defects of face. There swims no goose so gray, but soon or late She finds some honest gander for her mate.
Horses (thou say'st) and asses men may try, 100 And ring suspected vessels ere they buy; But wives, a random choice, untried they take, They dream in courtship, but in wedlock wake.   Then, nor till then, the veil's removed away, And all the woman glares in open day.
You tell me, to preserve your wife's good grace, Your eyes must always languish on my face, Your tongue with constant flatteries feed my ear, And tag each sentence with 'My life! My dear!' If, by strange chance, a modest blush be raised, 110 Be sure my fine complexion must be praised. My garments always must be new and gay, And feasts still kept upon my wedding day. Then must my nurse be...   Pope, Alexander

Excerpt from The Poetical Works of Alexander Pope, Volume 2 · This quote is about marriage · Search on Google Books to find all references and sources for this quotation.

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