Isn’t it strange, that princes and kings,
and clowns that caper in sawdust rings,
and common-folk like you and me,
are builders for eternity?
To each is given a bag of tools,
a shapeless mass and a Book of Rules;
and each must make ‘ere time has flown,
a stumbling block or a stepping stone.
R.L. Sharpe, “A bag of tools,” circa 1809