Evil, be thou my good; by thee at least
Divided empire with heaven's king I hold.
634
MILTON: _Par. Lost,_ Bk. iv., Line 108.

Evil springs up, and flowers, and bears no seed,
And feeds the green earth with its swift decay,
Leaving it richer for the growth of truth.
635
JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL: _Prometheus._


=Example.=

The evil that men do lives after them,
The good is oft interred with their bones.
636
SHAKS.: _Jul. Cæsar,_ Act iii., Sc. 2.

By his life alone,
Gracious and sweet, the better way was shown.
637
WHITTIER: _The Pennsylvania Pilgrim._


=Excess.=

To gild refined gold, to paint the lily,
To throw a perfume on the violet,
To smooth the ice, or add another hue