Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


VIRTUE THE BEST MONUMENT by WALTER RALEIGH

First Line: NOT CAESAR'S BIRTH MADE CAESAR TO SURVIVE, / BUT CAESAR'S VIRTUES .. YET ALIVE
Last Line: OR FAINTLY BEATING, SHOW THEM DEAD OR ILL.
Subject(s): VIRTUE;

Not Caesar's birth made Caesar to survive,
But Caesar's virtues, which are yet alive.
A great man's vices damn his fame so deep
There's no redemption when his virtues sleep.
Actions crown virtues, and like pulses prove
Whether the soul of's greatness sweetly move
With nature's harmony, which standing still,
Or faintly beating, show them dead or ill.



Home: PoetryExplorer.net