The Deserted Village (1770) by Oliver Goldsmith

An excerpt from the verse about the village schoolmaster (I have italicized my favorite lines!):

The village all declared how much he knew;
'Twas certain he could write and cipher too;
Lands he could measure, terms and tides presage,
And even the story ran that he could gauge.
In arguing too, the parson owned his skill,
For even though vanquished, he could argue still;
While words of learned length and thundering sound
Amazed the gazing rustics ranged around,
And still they gazed, and still the wonder grew,
That one small head could carry all he knew.

This one is posted with a wink for my colleague and teacher Damon.