Epigram on Rough Roads
written in 1786
I'm now arrived - thanks to the gods! Thro' pathways rough and muddy, A certain sign that makin roads Is no this people's study: Altho' I'm not wi' Scripture cram'd, I'm sure the Bible says That heedless sinners shall be damn'd, Unless they mend their ways.
Epigram on Rough Roads - form Summary
Epigram with Moral Punch
This short epigram compresses a travel anecdote into a crisp moral observation. The speaker complains about rough, muddy roads and turns that irritation into a general judgment: people must "mend their ways" or face damnation. Its form—brief, pointed, and epigrammatic—delivers a single, witty moral thrust rather than a sustained narrative. The poem’s economy and rhymed couplets create a quick shift from complaint to moral verdict, using a casual domestic scene to make a blunt, didactic point.
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