Poems on Affairs of State

Unhappy State, condemn'd to worst of Things,
Where Lawless Rogues do write, and rail at Kings;
All Regal Power with Rebel Notions treat,
And lay the Monarch at the People's Feet:
Bred from a Factious and Repining Crew,
Secur'd by Mercy they would never shew:
Of the first Rebel Lucifer's black Stamp,
Whom nought will e'er reform but honest Hemp;
For meaner Punishments they banter still,
And laugh at Vengeance they deserve to feel:
Correction's nothing to such Rogues as these,
Whom yet the best of Kings could never please:
Tho curb'd by the same Power they disown,
They'll flatter those their Mischiefs can't dethrone,
Where like the Viper, when you Warmth impart,
Its Poyson swells and stings you to the Heart:
Grown strong in Impudence, in Treason bold;
Some useful Tenets they from Scripture hold,
Misconstrue Texts, and with malicious Wit,
Vary the Glorious Truths of Sacred Writ:
Both Right Divine, and Right of Pow'r disown,
And raise the People high above the Throne;
Heav'n can on Monarchs no such Right bestow,
The Gift's the Peoples, and the Power too:

That Prince to rule thus has a hopeful Job,
Skur'd in a Throne to please a head-strong Mobb
A hopeful Doctrine, drawn no doubt from Hell,
To teach a stubborn People to Rebel:
Which that there may be useful Rogues to prop,
Such as De Foe the Devil conjures up;
Arm'd with a Pen he sets him on to Wars,
To kindle Faction, and Intestine Jars.
With double Zeal do's Daniel's Breast endue,
Who writes for Bread, and for Sedition too:
The Party's Champion—fit for such a Cause,
And the most dauntless Rogue that ever was.
Tell us then Satan—speak it to his Face,
Thou Guardian-Angel of the Rebel-Race,
Is there like Daniel one among the Tribes,
That half so well the Party's Zeal describes?
That better tells us what they've always meant,
From Royal Anna's Reign to Martyr'd Charles the Saint.
Repining ever, burden'd with Complaints,
Wicked as Devils, yet wou'd pass for Saints;
A leud, seditious, misbelieving Brood,
Perverse, uneasy, obstinate and proud,
Revengeful to an infinite Degree,
Nurs'd up to Murders and Barbarity,
With ev'ry Peal of loud Rebellion chime,
(For that's their old Hereditary Crime)
A second Nature with their Milk suck'd in,
Their free-born Principle and darling Sin;
Where seeming Piety, and Meekness grow,
Atheists in practice, but mere Saints in show:
As tho a formal Cant, and zealous Face,
Supply'd all signs of Honesty and Grace;
Who for their Int'rest, are the Churchs Friends,
And love Devotion as it serves their Ends.

These are the Men that would reform the Age,
Whose Zeal and Piety lie mask'd in Rage,
That down with Superstition cry; Deface
Those wicked Organs, and this painted Glass:
Down with Church Ornaments, the Pride of Nations,
Those worse than Heathenish Abominations;
With Sculptures, Surplices, and all the rest,
The superficial Trappings of the Beast.
When all their formal Cant and Zeal's a Cheat,
There's scarce a Saint but is a Hypocrite;
Who while they do these strict Injunctions preach,
Deny in Actions what their Words do teach.
So when Alcides had the Monster slain,
He made him dreadful Armour of the Skin.

Unhappy Isle—where Faction always reigns,
And seems supported in't by Providence;
Satyr and Scandal Ammunition are,
And Pen and Ink declare a Paper War,
Where Scriblers, like our Daniel, fear a Peace,
Who draw their whole Subsistence from the Press:
Print is their Standard, Publishers their Drums,
Feud is the Word, and Pamphlets are their Guns:
Where busy Rascals serve as Voluntiers,
And help to set the Rabble by the Ears;
While Hell and Tumult in the Front appear,
And Mischief, and the Devil compose the Rear.
On Justice! then such Factious Rogues restrain,
And send us Daniel to the Lyons Den.

University of Virginia Library

Jure Divino toss'd in a Blanket:

OR, Daniel De Foe's Memorial.