IN hearts like thine ne'er may I hold a place Till I renounce all sense, all shame, all grace -- That seat, -- like seats, the bane of Freedom's realm, But dear to those presiding at the helm -- Is basely purchased, not with gold alone; Add Conscience, too, this bargain is your own -- 'T is thine to offer with corrupting art The rotten borough of the human heart. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE EARLY MORNING by HILAIRE BELLOC MADONNA OF THE EVENING FLOWERS by AMY LOWELL YOUR LAD, AND MY LAD by RANDALL PARRISH SONNET: 86 by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE TO GEORGE CRUIKSHANK, ESQ., ON SEEING HIS PICTURE ... by MATTHEW ARNOLD |