TRIUMPH OF TOBACCO, 191 
Though many men crack, 
Some of ale, some of sack, 
And think they have reason to do it; 
Tobacco hath more 
That will never give o’er 
The honor they do unto it. 
Tobacco engages 
_ Both sexes, all ages, 
The poor as well as the wealthy; 
From the court to the cottage, 
From childhood to dotage, 
Both those that are sick and the healthy. 
It plainly appears 
That in a few years 
Tobacco more custom hath gained, 
Than sack, or than ale, 
Though they double the tale 
Of the times, wherein they have reigned. 
And worthily too, 
For what they undo 
Tobacco doth help to regaine, 
On fairer conditions 
Than many physitians, 
Puts an end to much griefe and paine; 
It helpeth digestion, 
Of that there’s no question, 
The gout and the tooth-ache it easeth: 
Be it early, or late, 
Tis never out of date, 
He may-safely take it that pleaseth. 
Tobacco prevents 
Infection by scents, 
That hurt the brain, and are heady. 
An antidote is, 
Before you’re amisse, 
As well as an after remedy. 
The cold it doth heate, 
Cools them that do sweate, 
And them that are fat maketh lean: 
The hungry doth teed, 
And if there be need, 
Spent spirits restoreth again. 
The poets of old, 
Many fables have told, 
Of the gods and their symposia; 
But tobacco alone, 
Had they known it, had gone 
