Page:Pacchiarotto and how he worked in distemper; with other poems - Browning (1876).djvu/190

Man could do—that did he to save himself.
'Twas much, the having gained for his defence
The Advocate o' the Poor, with natural help
Of many noble friendly persons fain
To disengage a man of family,
So young too, from his grim entanglement.
But Cardinal Aldobrandini ruled
There must be no diversion of the law.
Justice is justice, and the magistrate
Bears not the sword in vain. Who sins must die.

 So, the Marchese had his head cut off
In Place Saint Angelo beside the Bridge,
With Rome to see, a concourse infinite;
Where, demonstrating magnanimity