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Fab. VII. The Frogs Concern. |
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 | Poems on Affairs of State |  |
Fab. VII. The Frogs Concern.
Two first young Bulls within the Marshes strove
For the Reward of Empire, and of Love;
Which should the fairest Heifer gain,
And which should govern all the Plain.
This, when a Frog hard by perceiv'd,
He sigh'd, and sob'd, and sorely griev'd,
He hung his Head, and made great moan,
As tho he'd lost his Wife or Son.
At which a neighbouring Frog admir'd,
And kindly of the Cause enquir'd;
Which when he knew, he said in hast,
And Gossip, is this all at last?
If this and that great Loggerhead Bull
Will try the Thickness of each others Skull,
E'en let them do, as fit they see:
But what is that to You and Me?
If that, replied the other, were all indeed,
We should about this Matter be agreed.
I should not care a single Groat,
To see 'em tear each others Throat;
But, Friend, the Creatures of such Might
Can never meet in Field to fight,
But in the Fury of their full Career,
Both you and I endanger'd are;
And all our kindred Tribes below,
In hazard of their Lives must go.
When Bulls rush on, or when retreat for Breath,
They'll tread a hundred of us little Folks to death.
For the Reward of Empire, and of Love;
Which should the fairest Heifer gain,
And which should govern all the Plain.
This, when a Frog hard by perceiv'd,
He sigh'd, and sob'd, and sorely griev'd,
He hung his Head, and made great moan,
As tho he'd lost his Wife or Son.
At which a neighbouring Frog admir'd,
And kindly of the Cause enquir'd;
Which when he knew, he said in hast,
And Gossip, is this all at last?
If this and that great Loggerhead Bull
Will try the Thickness of each others Skull,
E'en let them do, as fit they see:
But what is that to You and Me?
If that, replied the other, were all indeed,
We should about this Matter be agreed.
I should not care a single Groat,
To see 'em tear each others Throat;
55
Can never meet in Field to fight,
But in the Fury of their full Career,
Both you and I endanger'd are;
And all our kindred Tribes below,
In hazard of their Lives must go.
When Bulls rush on, or when retreat for Breath,
They'll tread a hundred of us little Folks to death.
If Kings would fight themselves alone,
Their People still secure,
No mortal Man would part 'em sure,
But let them e'en fight on.
But when the Subjects Blood is spilt,
And their Estates are drain'd,
To justify a Prince's Guilt,
Or have his Vanity maintain'd;
When they must pay for all at last,
Their Lust, Ambition, or Revenge lay wast:
The poorest Man alive may fear,
And pray against the Miseries of War.
Their People still secure,
No mortal Man would part 'em sure,
But let them e'en fight on.
But when the Subjects Blood is spilt,
And their Estates are drain'd,
To justify a Prince's Guilt,
Or have his Vanity maintain'd;
When they must pay for all at last,
Their Lust, Ambition, or Revenge lay wast:
The poorest Man alive may fear,
And pray against the Miseries of War.
| Poems on Affairs of State | |