Page:An Ode to the Country Gentlemen of England - Akenside (1758).djvu/12

 But mark the judgement of experienc'd Time, Tutor of nations. Doth light discord tear A state? and outrage? and sedition's crime? The pow'rs of warlike prudence dwell not there; The pow'rs who to command and to obey, Instruct the valiant. There would civil sway The rising race to manly concord tame? Oft let the marshall'd field their steps unite, And in glad splendor bring before their sight One common cause and one hereditary fame.

Nor yet be aw'd, nor yet your task disown, Though war's strict votaries look on severe; Though secrets, taught erewhile to them alone, They deem profan'd by your intruding ear. Let them in vain, your martial hope to quell, Of new refinements, fiercer weapons tell, And mock the old simplicity, in vain: To the time's warfare, simple or refin'd, The time itself adapts the warrior's mind; And equal prowess still shall equal palms obtain. XVI. Say