Moral Pieces, in Prose and Verse/The Reply of the Philosopher Anaxarchus
THE REPLY OF THE PHILOSOPHER ANAXARCHUS.
IN ancient times a tyrant's wrath decreed,
The hated wise man by his arts to bleed.
He, while the murd'rous blows with rage were dealt,
Spake thus serene as if no pain he felt,
"Ye bruise the shell, the wither' d husk ye break,
Ye sink the boat, but me ye cannot shake."
Oh! fear not them whose hand may pierce the heart,
And cannot harm the never-dying part:
But fear ye Him who rends the clay-built cell,
And dooms the spirit to the pains of hell.