The vision of Cortes, Cain, and other poems | ||
XVI.
Will this appease the kindled souls,Of those, who, mad with conquest, deem,
No land that blooms, no sea that rolls,
The proudest in enthusiast's dream,
Tho' bearing native demi-gods,
And born upon a lucky hour,
Can venture with the fearful odds,
Of their own wild, advent'rous pow'r!
The cry is forth—the sleuth-hound wakes,
An appetite, that nothing slakes,
And what shall feed his fury's rage,
What, shall that appetite assuage?
What, cool that fever in the brain?
Which reason seeks to calm, in vain—
What, still that tempest in the breast,
That will not fly, and cannot rest?—
Away—for other victims—bring
To sacrifice, a foe—a King!
The vision of Cortes, Cain, and other poems | ||