And, when distinguished by such sordid means,
And made conspicuous to congenial fiends,
Their coadjutors yield to them the helm ;
And make them monarchs in each infant realm,
When thus preferred for crimes and vile deceit
They form the centres where all scoundrels meet
And there the vermin who subvert the state,
Around these traitors in submission, wait.
And, now, they spread each leader's fame abroad,
Extol his mind, and all his deeds applaud;
Except those deeds which prove his guilt and pride;
And those they strive, with equal zeal, to hide.
They praise his talents, while they hide his crimes,
And thus, a monster, into office, climbs.
A stronger impulse, to his gang, extends,
To fright his foes, and instigate his friends;
Whose boldness strengthens till the bolder sort,
At last to threats and even blows, resort: 1
And, while their poisons through the land are shed,
Corruption, fear, and strange delusion, spread.
When all the knaves, the dregs, and drones, combine; And some through fear, and some through weakness join,
Then open force assumes the place of guile;
And calls religion, with deceitful smile,
To aid what pride, deceit and sword, began;
And rivit chains on poor deluded man.
Thus man was robb'd, thus earth was turned to hell,
When thrones were rais'd, and blissful freedom fell:
Thus usurpations, in this brutal (5) way,
At first, established all monarchal gway;
And ev'ry man who fills or holds a throne,
Deriv'd his title from this cause alone
Or else that rule which men unjustly make
Their sons, if equal, would have power to break:
But kings prevent it by the pow'rs they gain,
And future ages ask redress, in vain.
What right have we to choose a king or queen,
For men unborn, for millions yet unseen.
If we presume, a stock or line, to choose,
we take, from them, the very pow'r we use.
Have sons no right? that fathers choose a line
To rule their children after their decline?
Yes, ev'ry age has rights which equal ours;
And, hence, 'tis wrong (6) to exercise such pow'rs.
Unseen, unborn, an heir is fixt to rule,
Who, ten to one, will be a knave or fool:
For courtiers choose an heir unborn, unfram❜d,
To govern others, also still unnam❜d.
Thus men unknown, a line not yet begot,
A race of savage loons, as like as not,
Are rais'd o'er millions all more wise or kind,
All far superior, both in form and mind.
It is absurd to choose such men as these,
To rule the world, and govern as they please :
But more unjust, without concern or trust,
To raise a savage when you sink to dust. (7)
Shall nations hang their fate on one poor brain, (8) which may, to-morrow, melt with heat or pain !
Or which some cause or chance may quickly change!
Or ease, intemp'rance, and disease, derange!
Which may, that instant, or by slow degrees
Become a monster whom no man can please!
And who, in fits of madness, rage, or fear,
May spoil the work of many a thousand year;
Lay waste whole nations, and with brutal mind,
Set up whole nights (9) to torture half mankind!
Forget, next day, each bloody nightly deed;
And call his subjects while his subjects bleed!
Or end their lives within his torturing fire;
Or, on the rack, or, in the wheel, expire!
For men whose sentence pass'd the day before,
Men scarcely cold, or weltering still in gore,
Have been invited; orders given deny'd ;
And crime and sentence while the victim died,
Forgot, by him, by whose command they bled;
For thus vile Claudius, (10) round him, heaped the dead.
So much, indeed, was ancienct Rome enslav'd,
The vilest thieves, for stolen wealth, were sav'd:
While honest blood, for large estates, was spilt;
For then large fortunes (11) were the proofs of guilt.
The man who lent, those bloody Cæsars, gold,
And he who kept it, were, alike, enroll❜d
In death's long list, for so me pretended plot,
And hung, perhaps, in public view, to rot.
For those they ow'd such princely treatment, met;
The lender's blood (12) expung'd the prince's debt.
Reprieves and pardons, (13) by those fiends, were sold
And thus through felons, monarchs drew their gold.
if knaves had wealth which they through slaughter,
By that same wealth, was pardon oft' obtain’d.
Those monarchs, thus, rapacious rogues excus'd,
Encourag'd crimes, and ev'ry vice diffus'd.
If worthy deeds had gain'd applause or name,
If men had talents, virtue, worth, or fame,
The prince was jealous: (14) ev'ry shout, he fear'd,
As if some rival, at his gates, appear'd.
A shout of praise was like informer's breath;
The noblest actions, only led to death.
The men whom Cæsars rais'd to posts of trust,
Must ape the prince, in scenes of blood and lust:
Those monarchs trembl'd, if they understood,
That any tool was deem'd more wise or good.
Hence none held office, (15) but the vilest kind,
Whose bloody souls, to bloody deeds, inclin'd.
The worse their deeds, the less the monarch's fear
The less their praise disturb'd his royal ear.
If men did well, and gain'd the least renown,
They might perhaps, expect the prince's crown :
Some rival started from his sickly brain;
To end such rivals, all the best were slain;
But how can words describe the various crimes,
Which Roman princes spread through Roman climes ?
Their spies (16) were sent through ev'ry part of Rome;
And wrongs and dangers spread to each man's home:
Men's wives were forc'd; and neither house nor street,
Nor field nor forest, form'd a safe retreat :
To loathsome princes, wives (17) were forc'd to yield;
And husbands fell, in playhouse, street, (18) and field;
Nay, wives, sons, daughters, all descriptions, fell,
And souls, by thousands, left that earthly hell:
If men express'd concern for state or town;
It show'd a wish to seize the royal crown:
To forc'd constructions, ev'ry act must bend ;
If men were gay, they hop'd for Cæsar's end;
If men were sad, they envy'd Cæsar's reign;
Though merely mourning for their kindred slain.
To grieve for those the cruel prince had kill'd,
Was disrespect to what the prince had will'd:
The last sad rites, those bloody fiends forbid :
'To mourn was death, unless the mourner hid.
whole crowds, in chains, were daily seen to wait,
For dreadful dooms (20) before the tyrant's gate.
These cruel tortures, seem'd his first delights
He spent whole days, and even spent whole nights, (21)
Where crowds were writhing, torn by rack and
Yet, not one pang, the savage prince could feel
On those fell scenes, he feasted gravy eyes;
And fed his ears with human groans and sighs;
With scoffs, enjoy'd his subjects pangs and tears;
Their cries were music to their monarch's ears.
As brutes alone, receiv'd official trusts,
Each province (22) also teem'd with crimes and lusts;
A bad example, plac'd in every part,
Misled, deprav❜d, and spoild the human heart.
With kings for leaders, men become debas'd :
For foolish leaders spoil the public taste.
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