Alfred An Heroic Poem, in Twenty-Four Books. By Joseph Cottle: 4th ed. |
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 | Alfred |  |
Oddune, oppress'd with grief, beheld how vain
The power of language to oppose the will
Fix'd and determin'd, and objection more
Forbore to urge. When thus he spake: ‘What name,
‘What character would'st thou assume, to keep,
‘Far off, suspicion? for, as well thou know'st,
‘Should Danes suspect thee, tho' their Mother Earth
‘Sent from her deepest cave a warning voice
‘To save thee from perdition, thou would'st die!’
The power of language to oppose the will
Fix'd and determin'd, and objection more
Forbore to urge. When thus he spake: ‘What name,
‘What character would'st thou assume, to keep,
‘Far off, suspicion? for, as well thou know'st,
‘Should Danes suspect thee, tho' their Mother Earth
‘Sent from her deepest cave a warning voice
‘To save thee from perdition, thou would'st die!’
| Alfred | |