Page:Poetical Works of the Right Hon. Geo. Granville.djvu/124

But on vile terms diſdaining to be great,
He periſh’d by his choice, and not his fate.
Honours and life th’ uſurper bids, and all
That vain miſtaken men Good-fortune call;40
Virtue forbids, and ſets before his eyes
An honeſt death, which he accepts, and dies.
O glorious reſolution! noble pride!
More honour’d than the tyrant liv’d he dy’d;
More lov’d, more prais’d, more envy’d, in his doom45
Than Cæſar trampling on the rights of Rome.
The virtuous nothing fear but life with ſhame,
And death ’s a pleaſant road that leads to fame.
On bones and ſcraps of dogs let me be fed,
My limbs uncover’d, and expos’d my head50
To bleakeſt colds, a kennel be my bed:
This, and all other martyrdom, for thee
Seems glorious all, thrice-beauteous Honeſty!
Judge me, ye Pow’rs! let fortune tempt or frown,
I ſtand prepar’d; my honour is my own.55
Ye great Diſturbers! who, in endleſs noiſe,
In blood and rapine, ſeek unnat’ral joys;
For what is all this buſtle but to ſhun
Thoſe thoughts with which you dare not be alone?
As men in miſery, oppreſs’d with care,60
Seek in the rage of wine to drown deſpair.
Let others fight, and eat their bread in blood,
Regardleſs is the cauſe be bad or good,