The Rape of the Lock. A mock-heroic poem. Canto I • Paragraph 141
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“Why hath thy servant, Opportunity Betrayed the hours thou gav’st me to repose, Cancelled my fortunes, and enchained me To endless date of never-ending woes? Time’s office is to fine the hate of foes, To eat up errors by opinion bred, Not spend the dowry of a lawful bed.