 | The Genuine Works in Verse and Prose, Of the Right Honourable George Granville, Lord Lansdowne |  |
The WILD BOAR's Defence.
A boar who had enjoy'd a happy Reign
For many a Year, and fed on many a Man,
Call'd to account, soft'ning his savage Eyes,
Thus suppliant, pleads his Cause before he dies.
For many a Year, and fed on many a Man,
Call'd to account, soft'ning his savage Eyes,
Thus suppliant, pleads his Cause before he dies.
For what am I condemn'd? My Crime's no more
To eat a Man, than yours to eat a Boar:
We seek not you, but take what Chance provides,
Nature, and meer Necessity our Guides.
You murder us in Sport, then dish us up
For drunken Feasts, a Relish for the Cup:
We lengthen not our Meals; But you must feast,
Gorge till your Bellies burst—pray who's the Beast?
With your Humanity you keep a Fuss,
But are in truth worse Brutes than all of us:
We prey not on our Kind, but you, dear Brother,
Most beastly of all Beasts, devour each other:
Kings worry Kings, Neighbour with Neighbour strives,
Fathers and Sons, Friends, Brothers, Husbands, Wives,
By Fraud or Force, by Poison, Sword, or Gun,
Destroy each other, every Mother's Son.
To eat a Man, than yours to eat a Boar:
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Nature, and meer Necessity our Guides.
You murder us in Sport, then dish us up
For drunken Feasts, a Relish for the Cup:
We lengthen not our Meals; But you must feast,
Gorge till your Bellies burst—pray who's the Beast?
With your Humanity you keep a Fuss,
But are in truth worse Brutes than all of us:
We prey not on our Kind, but you, dear Brother,
Most beastly of all Beasts, devour each other:
Kings worry Kings, Neighbour with Neighbour strives,
Fathers and Sons, Friends, Brothers, Husbands, Wives,
By Fraud or Force, by Poison, Sword, or Gun,
Destroy each other, every Mother's Son.
| The Genuine Works in Verse and Prose, Of the Right Honourable George Granville, Lord Lansdowne | |