Page:The Works of Lord Byron (ed. Coleridge, Prothero) - Volume 2.djvu/276

240 Who wooed thee once, thy Vassal, and became

The flatterer of thy fierceness—till thou wert

A God unto thyself; nor less the same

To the astounded kingdoms all inert,

Who deemed thee for a time whate'er thou didst assert.

XXXVIII.

Oh, more or less than man—in high or low—

Battling with nations, flying from the field;

Now making monarchs' necks thy footstool, now

More than thy meanest soldier taught to yield;

An Empire thou couldst crush, command, rebuild,

But govern not thy pettiest passion, nor,

However deeply in men's spirits skilled,

Look through thine own, nor curb the lust of War,

Nor learn that tempted Fate will leave the loftiest Star.

XXXIX.

Yet well thy soul hath brooked the turning tide

With that untaught innate philosophy,

Which, be it Wisdom, Coldness, or deep Pride,

Is gall and wormwood to an enemy.

When the whole host of hatred stood hard by,

To watch and mock thee shrinking, thou hast smiled