The Mouse's Petition

The Mouse's Petition from Poems (1773) by Anna Laetitia Barbauld

First page of The Mouse's Petition, 1773

The MOUSE's PETITION*

Found in the TRAP where he had been confin'd all Night.

Parcere subjectis, & debellare superbos. VIRGIL

OH! hear a pensive captive's prayer,

For liberty that sighs ;

And never let thine heart be shut

Against the prisoner's cries.

For here forlorn and sad I sit,

Within the wiry grate ;

And tremble at th' approaching morn,

Which brings impending fate.

If e'er thy breast with freedom glow'd,

And spurn'd a tyrant's chain,

Let not thy strong oppressive force

A free-born mouse detain.

Oh ! do not stain with guiltless blood

Thy hospitable hearth ;

Nor triumph that thy wiles betray'd

A prize so little worth.

The scatter'd gleanings of a feast

My scanty meals supply ;

But if thine unrelenting heart

That slender boon deny,

The chearful light, the vital air,

Are blessings widely given ;

Let nature's commoners enjoy

The common gifts of heaven.

The well taught philosophic mind

To all compassion gives ;

Casts round the world an equal eye,

And feels for all that lives.

If mind, as ancient sages taught,

A never dying flame,

Still shifts thro' matter's varying forms,

In every form the same,

Beware, lest in the worm you crush

A brother's soul you find ;

And tremble lest thy luckless hand

Dislodge a kindred mind.

Or, if this transient gleam of day

Be all of life we share,

Let pity plead within thy breast,

That little all to spare.

So may thy hospitable board

With health and peace be crown'd ;

And every charm of heartfelt ease

Beneath thy roof be found.

So when unseen destruction lurks,

Which men like mice may share,

May some kind angel clear thy path,

And break the hidden snare.

• To Doctor PRIESTLEY.

This work published before January 1, 1923 is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.