Poems; original and translated by Charles Rann Kennedy ... and Two Poems by the Rev. Rann Kennedy. New Edition. By Charles Rann Kennedy |
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THE LATE LORD DENMAN. |
 | Poems; original and translated |  |
98
THE LATE LORD DENMAN.
1851.
Denman, the surname of the just be thine:
For thou of England's justice long hast weigh'd
With even hand the scales, nor ever made
From right to wrong the balance to incline.
Others, I ween, more ready may be found
The law's Bœotian riddles to explain,
Words from their meanings cunningly to strain,
Or reason out of nonsense to compound:
Twas thine a nobler virtue to achieve:
Truth sat upon thy tongue, which ne'er could deign
To hide the heart, to flatter or deceive:
The sunbright heaven is not from taint more free,
Than was the bench of Themis, graced by thee.
When shall our country see the like again?
| Poems; original and translated | |