Posthumous Works of Dr. George Sewell ... To which are added Poems on Several Occasions, Published in his Life-Time |
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To his Grace the Duke of Marlborough, upon his going into Germany. |
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 | Posthumous Works of Dr. George Sewell |  |
To his Grace the Duke of Marlborough, upon his going into Germany.
Written in the Year 1712.
Go, mighty Prince, and those great Nations see,
Which thy victorious Arms before made free;
View that fam'd Column, where thy Name engrav'd,
Shall tell their Children who their Empire sav'd.
Point out that Marble, where thy Worth is shown
To every grateful Country, but thy own.
O Censure undeserv'd! Unequal Fate!
Which strove to lessen Him who made Her great;
Which, pamper'd with Success, and rich in Fame,
Extoll'd his Conquest, but condemn'd his Name:
But Virtue is a Crime, when plac'd on high,
Tho' all the Fault's in the Beholder's Eye.
Which thy victorious Arms before made free;
View that fam'd Column, where thy Name engrav'd,
Shall tell their Children who their Empire sav'd.
2
To every grateful Country, but thy own.
O Censure undeserv'd! Unequal Fate!
Which strove to lessen Him who made Her great;
Which, pamper'd with Success, and rich in Fame,
Extoll'd his Conquest, but condemn'd his Name:
But Virtue is a Crime, when plac'd on high,
Tho' all the Fault's in the Beholder's Eye.
Yet he untouch'd, as in the Heat of Wars,
Flies from no Danger, but Domestick Jarrs.
Leaves busy Tongues, and lying Fame behind,
And tries at least in other Climes to find
Our Rage by Mountains and by Seas confin'd:
Yet, smiling at the Dart which Envy shakes,
He only fears for Her whom he forsakes;
He grieves to find the Course of Virtue crost,
Blushing to see our Blood no better lost:
Disdains in factious Parties to contend,
And proves in Absence most Britannia's Friend.
Flies from no Danger, but Domestick Jarrs.
Leaves busy Tongues, and lying Fame behind,
And tries at least in other Climes to find
Our Rage by Mountains and by Seas confin'd:
Yet, smiling at the Dart which Envy shakes,
He only fears for Her whom he forsakes;
He grieves to find the Course of Virtue crost,
Blushing to see our Blood no better lost:
Disdains in factious Parties to contend,
And proves in Absence most Britannia's Friend.
3
So the great Scipio of old, to shun
That glorious Envy which his Arms had won,
Far from his dear, ungrateful Rome retir'd,
Prepar'd, whene'er his Country's Cause requir'd,
To shine in Peace or War, and be again admir'd.
That glorious Envy which his Arms had won,
Far from his dear, ungrateful Rome retir'd,
Prepar'd, whene'er his Country's Cause requir'd,
To shine in Peace or War, and be again admir'd.
| Posthumous Works of Dr. George Sewell | |