Call not the royal Swede unfortunate, Who never did to Fortune bend the knee; Who slighted fear; rejected stedfastly Temptation; and whose kingly name and state Have 'perished by his choice, and not his fate!' Hence lives He, to his inner self endeared; And hence, wherever virtue is revered, He sits a more exalted Potentate, Throned in the hearts of men. Should Heaven ordain That this great Servant of a righteous cause Must still have sad or vexing thoughts to endure, Yet may a sympathizing spirit pause, Admonished by these truths, and quench all pain In thankful joy and gratulation pure. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...TO LUCASTA ON GOING TO THE WARS FOR THE FOURTH TIME by ROBERT RANKE GRAVES THE ANGLER'S WISH by IZAAK WALTON THE ARTILLERYMAN'S VISION by WALT WHITMAN LINES TO MR. WYNCH ON HIS FORTH-FIFTH BIRTHDAY by ANNA LETITIA BARBAULD PROLOGUE TO THE PLAY OF HENRY THE EIGHTH by ANNA LETITIA BARBAULD POLYHYMNIA: VERSES TO LORD NORREYS, SELECTION by WILLIAM BASSE |