Standards
Standard of gold, of silver, of tin, rich man, poor man, beggarman, knave; only the good man knows how to sin and only the coward is brave.
Kay Sage
SourceLicence:Public domain (US, unrenewed)
Standard of gold, of silver, of tin, rich man, poor man, beggarman, knave; only the good man knows how to sin and only the coward is brave.
The first line sets up a familiar ladder of value: gold, silver, tin, then the old rhyme of rich man, poor man, beggarman, thief. Sage swaps "thief" for "knave," a small change that keeps the sing-song feel but gives it a slightly sly edge. We seem to be moving through ways of ranking people, by money, by class, by reputation.
Then the last two lines flip everything. Only the good man knows how to sin, and only the coward is brave. These are paradoxes, and they suggest that our usual labels don't hold up. Perhaps goodness is only real when it has met temptation, and perhaps bravery means something only to someone who has felt fear.
The speaker's tone is dry and a little amused, not angry. The nursery-rhyme rhythm makes the mood playful, but the playfulness has a cool, ironic bite. It leaves you doubting the neat measures we use to judge people.