Her envy is the city fair
Of Hercules, so proudly there,
Couch'd on the Atlantic gates;
Girt by the sea, that from the west
Comes fraught with gold, and her behest
Before her bending waits.
With venal aid of hate assists
Unfruitful England, throne of mists,
Whose fields no sun behold;
Which Flora with false smile has clad
In sterile green, where flowers look sad,
And love itself is cold.
Greedy the poison gold to seize,
They with the monster Avarice,
The peace of Spain abhor;
And by their horrid arts increased,
Turn ev'n the treasures of the East
To instruments of war.
Their proud Armada, which the main
Tosses to heaven, or threats in vain
To engulf, they mustering show:
Ye suffer it not, ye pupils brave
Of the Basans, and to the wave
Launch yours to meet the foe.
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