Page:The Hind and the Panther - Dryden (1687).djvu/128

A goodness that excell'd his godlike race,And onely short of heav'ns unbounded grace:A floud of mercy that o'erflow'd our Isle,Calm in the rise, and fruitfull as the Nile,Forgetting whence your Ægypt was supply'd,You thought your Sov'reign bound to send the tide:Nor upward look'd on that immortal spring,But vainly deem'd, he durst not be a king:Then conscience, unrestrain'd by fear, beganTo stretch her limits, and extend the span,Did his indulgence as her gift dispose,And made a wise Alliance with her foes.$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$Can conscience own th' associating name,And raise no blushes to conceal her shame?For sure she has been thought a bashfull Dame.$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$But if the cause by battel shou'd be try'd,You grant she must espouse the regal side:O Proteus Conscience, never to be ty'd!What Phœbus from the Tripod shall disclose,Which are in last resort, your friends or foes?

Homer,