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158
XII.
TO PIUS IX.
IN 1848.
Benign Reformer! thy sublime careerHas taught the rulers a forgotten art,—
That Truth may palsy Valor's arm with fear,
And nerve a priest to act a hero's part;
Achieve thy purpose, give a nation birth,
Vain is the Jesuit wile, the Austrian steel;
That sceptre which so long betrayed the earth,
In thy pure hands is swayed for human weal;
The world with benedictions breathes thy name,
And hails the Vatican as Freedom's home,
With bloodless triumphs thou hast won a fame
More wide and stainless than the sky of Rome,
Thy effigies a glorious challenge fling
From Beauty's robe and Wisdom's signet ring.
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