Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, TO MR HARLEY, WOUNDED BY GUISCARD, by MATTHEW PRIOR


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

TO MR HARLEY, WOUNDED BY GUISCARD, by             Poem Explanation         Poet's Biography
First Line: In one great now, superior to an age
Last Line: Enough to thee of grief, and fame is given.
Subject(s): Death; England; Fame; Grief; Nations; Dead, The; English; Reputation; Sorrow; Sadness


IN one great now, superior to an age,
The full extremes of Nature's force we find;
How heavenly virtue can exalt, or rage
Infernal, how degrade the human mind.

While the fierce monk does at his trial stand,
He chews revenge, abjuring his offence;
Guile in his tongue, and murder in his hand,
He stabs his judge to prove his innocence.

The guilty stroke and torture of the steel
Infixed, our dauntless Briton scarce perceives;
The wounds his country from his death must feel,
The patriot views, for those alone he grieves.

The barbarous rage that durst attempt thy life,
Harley, great counsellor, extends thy fame;
And the sharp point of cruel Guiscard's knife,
In brass and marble carves thy deathless name.

Faithful asserter of thy country's cause,
Britain with tears shall bathe thy glorious wound;
She for thy safety shall enlarge her laws,
And in her statutes shall thy worth be found.

Yet midst her sighs she triumphs, on the hand
Reflecting, that diffused the public woe;
A stranger to her altars, and her land;
No son of hers could meditate this blow.

Meantime thy pain is gracious Anna's care;
Our queen, our saint, with sacrificing breath,
Softens thy anguish; in her powerful prayer
She pleads thy service, and forbids thy death.

Great as thou art, thou canst demand no more,
O breast bewailed by earth, preserved by heaven!
No higher can aspiring virtue soar;
Enough to thee of grief, and fame is given.





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