Poems, 1799
King the mighty hunter; and that Chief Who did belie his mother’s fame, that so He might be called young Ammon. In this court Cæsar was crown’d, accurst liberticide; And he who murdered Tully, that cold villain, Octavius, tho’ the courtly minion’s lyre Hath hymn’d his praise, tho’ Maro sung to him, And when Death levelled to original clay The royal carcase, Flattery, fawning low, Fell at his feet, and worshipped the new God. Titus was here,[7] the Conqueror of the Jews, He the Delight of human-kind misnamed; Cæsars and Soldans, Emperors and Kings, Here they were all, all who for glory fought, Here in the Court of Glory reaping now The meed they merited. As gazing round The Virgin mark’d the miserable train, A deep and hollow voice from one went forth; “Thou who art come to view our punishment, Maiden of Orleans! hither turn thine eyes, For I am he whose bloody victories Thy power hath rendered vain. Lo! I am here, The hero conqueror of Azincour, Henry of England!—wretched that I am, I might have reigned in happiness and peace, My coffers full, my subjects undisturb’d, And Plenty and Prosperity had loved To dwell amongst them: but mine eye beheld The realm of France, by faction tempest-torn, And therefore I did think that it would fall An easy prey. I persecuted those Who taught new doctrines, tho’ they taught the truth: And when I heard of thousands by the sword Cut off, or blasted by the pestilence, I calmly counted up my proper gains, And sent new herds to slaughter. Temperate Myself, no blood that mutinied, no vice Tainting my private life, I sent abroad Murder and Rape; and therefore am I doom’d, Like these imperial Sufferers, crown’d with fire, Here to remain, till Man’s awaken’d eye Shall see the genuine blackness of our deeds, And warn’d by them, till the whole human race, Equalling in bliss the aggregate we caus’d Of wretchedness, shall form One Brotherhood, One Universal Family of Love.” 

  [5] In the former edition I had substituted cable instead of camel. The alteration would not be worth noticing were it not for the circumstance which occasioned it. Facilius elephas per foramen acus, is among the Hebrew adages collected by Drusius; the same metaphor is found in two other Jewish proverbs, and this appears to determine the signification of καμηλος Matt. 19. 24. 

  [6] The same idea, and almost the same words are in an old play by John Ford. The passage is a very fine one:  Ay, you are wretched, miserably wretched, Almost condemn’d alive! There is a place, (List daughter!) in a black and hollow vault, Where day is never seen; there shines no sun, But flaming horror of consuming fires; A lightless sulphur, choak’d with smoaky foggs Of an infected 
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