'T is woman that seduces all mankind

Quote byJohn Gay · 1685–1732

Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: The Beggar's Opera (1728), Act I, scene i.

English (original)

'T is woman that seduces all mankind; By her we first were taught the wheedling arts.

— John Gay

My lodging is on the cold ground, And hard, very hard, is my fare, But that which grieves me more Is the coldness of my dear.

All in the Downs the fleet was moor'd.

So comes a reckoning when the banquet's o'er,— The dreadful reckoning, and men smile no more.

'Twas when the seas were roaring With hollow blasts of wind, A damsel lay deploring, All on a rock reclined.

Life is a jest; and all things show it. I thought so once; and now I know it.

Adieu, she cried, and waved her lily hand.