Three things make Earth unquiet
And four she cannot brook
The godly Agur counted them
And put them in a book
Those four tremendous curses;
With which mankind is cursed;
But a servant when he reigneth
Old Agur entered first.
And handmaid that is mistress
We need not call upon.
A fool when he is full of meat
Will fall asleep anon.
And odious womand married
May bear a babe and mend;
But a servant when he reigneth
Is confusion to the end
INTERMEZZO
His feet are swift to tumult,
His hands are slow to toil,
His ears are deaf to reason,
His lips are loud in broil,
He knows no use for power
Except to show his migh
He gives no need to judgment
Unless it proves him right.
VERSE
Because he served a master
Before his kinship came,
And hid in all disaster
Behind his master's name,
So when his folly opens
The unecessary hells,
A servant when he reigneth
Throws the blame on someone else
SPECIAL
His vows are lightly spoken,
His faith is hard to bind,
His trust is easy broken,
He fears his fellow kind,
The nearest mob will move him
To break the pledge he gave
Oh, a servant when he reigneth
IS MORE THAN EVER SLAVE!
