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EXPRIMETUR, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Who, without horror, can that house behold
Last Line: And, through its guilt, th' oppressor's mind ne'er rests.
Subject(s): Death


WHO, without horror, can that house behold
(Though ne'er so fair) which is with tombstones made;
Whose walls, fraught with inscriptions writ of old,
Say still, 'Here underneath somebody's laid.'
Though such translated churchyards shine with gold,
Yet they the builder's sacrilege upbraid;
And the wrong'd ghosts, there haunting uncontroll'd,
Follow each one his monumental shade.

But they that by the poor man's downfall rise,
Have sadder epitaphs carv'd on their chests:
As, 'Here the widow, Here the orphan lies.'
Who sees their wealth, their avarice detests;
Whilst th' injur'd for revenge urge heaven with cries;
And, through its guilt, th' oppressor's mind ne'er rests.





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