The Isles of Loch Awe and Other Poems of my Youth With Sixteen Illustrations. By Philip Gilbert Hamerton |
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CORRUPTION. |
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 | The Isles of Loch Awe and Other Poems of my Youth |  |
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CORRUPTION.
1855.
Corruption filled old nations ere they fell;
And we have here such commerce as degrades
All parties—and dishonourable trades
In things that no one ought to buy or sell.
Corruption spreads—its bounds we cannot tell—
It has become a theme so trite and stale,
That, till the crown itself shall be for sale,
The world will say, “the system answers well
In church and camp—'tis simply carried out,
And saves us trouble.” Merit set in gold
Receives its due acknowledgment, no doubt;
Yet even here some honours are not sold,
And these two things, at least, you cannot buy—
The poet's laurel, and the artist's eye!
| The Isles of Loch Awe and Other Poems of my Youth | |