Literature Network » John Dryden » The Poetical Works of John Dryden, Vol II » On the monument of the Marquis of Winchester

On the monument of the Marquis of Winchester

[40]

He who in impious times undaunted stood,
And 'midst rebellion durst be just and good;
Whose arms asserted, and whose sufferings more
Confirm'd the cause for which he sought before,
Rests here, rewarded by an heavenly prince,
For what his earthly could not recompense.
Pray, reader, that such times no more appear:
Or, if they happen, learn true honour here.
Ask of this age's faith and loyalty,
Which, to preserve them, Heaven confined in thee.
Few subjects could a king like thine deserve;
And fewer such a king so well could serve.
Blest king, blest subject, whose exalted state
By sufferings rose, and gave the law to fate!
Such souls are rare, but mighty patterns given
To earth, and meant for ornaments to heaven.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 40: Winchester, a staunch royalist, besieged two years in his castle of Basing, died in 1674.]

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Literature Network » John Dryden » The Poetical Works of John Dryden, Vol II » On the monument of the Marquis of Winchester