And I'm by Pox and Wine's unlucky chance
Driv'n from the pleasing Billows of debauch
On the dull Shore of lazy Temperance;

My Pains at least some Respite shall afford
While I behold the Battles you maintain
When Fleets of Glasses sail about the Board,
From whose Broad-sides Volleys of Wit shall rain." - Meaning and context.">

QuotesCosmos
The Maim'd Debauchee, ll. 13–20
“

So, when my Days of Impotence approach,
And I'm by Pox and Wine's unlucky chance
Driv'n from the pleasing Billows of debauch
On the dull Shore of lazy Temperance;

My Pains at least some Respite shall afford
While I behold the Battles you maintain
When Fleets of Glasses sail about the Board,
From whose Broad-sides Volleys of Wit shall rain.

— John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "So, when my Days of Impotence approach,
And I'm by Pox and Wine's unlucky chance
Driv'n from the pleasing Billows of debauch
On the dull Shore of lazy Temperance;

My Pains at least some Respite shall afford
While I behold the Battles you maintain
When Fleets of Glasses sail about the Board,
From whose Broad-sides Volleys of Wit shall rain." in the context of "The Maim'd Debauchee, ll. 13–20" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester" (Quotes, Other) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

Tags

#John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester#shall#temperancemy#broadsides#impotence#approach#pleasing#maintain#unlucky#billows#debauch#respite

About John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester

John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester (1 April 1647 – 26 July 1680) was an English nobleman, a friend of King Charles II of England, and the writer of much satirical and bawdy poetry.