AN EPITAPH ON Dr. DONNE, Dean of Pauls.

He that would write an epitaph for thee, And do it well, must first begin to be Such as thou wert; for none can truly know Thy worth, thy life, but he that hath liv’d so. He must have wit to spare, and to hurl down Enough to keep the gallants of the town; He must have learning plenty, both the laws Civil and common, to judge any cause; Divinity great store, above the rest, Not of the last edition, but the best. He must have language, travel, all the arts, Judgment to use, or else he wants thy parts: He must have friends the highest, able to do, Such as Mecænas and Augustus too. He must have such a sickness, such a death, Or else his vain descriptions come beneath. Who then shall write an epitaph for thee, He must be dead first; let ’t alone for me.