Page:The poetical works of William Cowper (IA poeticalworksof00cowp).pdf/134

Then view him self-proclaimed in a gazette
Chief monster that has plagued the nations yet!
The globe and sceptre in such hands misplaced,
Those ensigns of dominion, how disgraced!40
The glass that bids man mark the fleeting hour,
And Death's own scythe, would better speak his power,
Then grace the bony phantom in their stead
With the king's shoulder-knot and gay cockade;
Clothe the twin brethren in each other's dress,
The same their occupation and success.
A. 'Tis your belief the world was made for man;
Kings do but reason on the self-same plan:
Maintaining yours, you cannot theirs condemn,
Who think, or seem to think, man made for them.50
B. Seldom, alas! the power of logic reigns
With much sufficiency in royal brains;
Such reasoning falls like an inverted cone,
Wanting its proper base to stand upon.
Man made for kings! those optics are but dim
That tell you so;—say, rather, they for him.
That were indeed a king-ennobling thought,
Could they, or would they, reason as they ought.
The diadem with mighty projects lined,
To catch renown by ruining mankind,60
Is worth, with all its gold and glittering store,
Just what the toy will sell for and no more,
Oh! bright occasions of dispensing good,
How seldom used, how little understood|
Te pour in Virtue's lap her just reward;
Keep Vice restrained behind a double guard;
To quell the faction that affronts the throne,
By silent magnanimity alone;
To nurse with tender care the thriving Arts,
Watch every beam Philosophy imparts;70
To give Religion her unbridled scope,
Nor judge by statute a believer's hope;
With close fidelity and love unfeigned
To keep the matrimonial bond unstained;
Covetous only of a virtuous praise,
His life a lesson to the land he sways;
To touch the sword with conscientious awe,
Nor draw it but when duty bids him draw;
To sheath it in the peace-restoring close
With joy beyond what victory bestows,—80
Blest country! where these kingly glories shine,
Bilest England! if this happiness be thine.
A. Guard what you say; the patriotic tribe
Will sneer, and charge you with a bribe.—B. A bribe?
The worth of his three kingdoms I defy
To lure me to the baseness of a lie;
And, of all lies (be that one poet's boast),
The lie that Matters I abhor the most.