“Earth gets its price for what Earth gives us;
The beggar is taxed for a corner to die in,
The priest hath his fee who comes and shrives us,
We bargain for the graves we lie in;
At the Devil's booth are all things sold
Each ounce of dross costs its ounce of gold.”

— James Russell Lowell

Prelude to Pt. I, st. 3
The Vision of Sir Launfal (1848)

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James Russell Lowell175

American poet, critic, editor, and diplomat 1819–1891

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