A Fan of Poetry

I've just finished Sir Philip Sydney's short treatise A Defense of Poetry. He has argued quite convincingly (at least for his time) as to the superiority of poetry to all other fields of knowledge. What is striking is his conclusion to those who do not love poetry:

"But if (fie of such a but) you be born so near the dull-making cataract of Nilus that you cannot hear the planet-like music of poetry...then, though I will not wishunto you the ass's ears of Midas, nor to be driven by a poet's verses, as Bubonax was, to hang himself, nor to be rhymed to death, as is said to be done in Ireland; yet thus much curse I must sent you, in the behalf of all poets, that while you live, you live in love, and never get favour for lacking skill of a sonnet; and, when you die, your memory die from the earth for want of an epitaph."

Thank goodness I, a love of poetry, am not cursed by Sir Philip.