William Wordsworth

"Call Not The Royal Swede Unfortunate"

CALL not the royal Swede unfortunate, Who never did to Fortune bend the knee; Who slighted fear; rejected steadfastly Temptation; and whose kingly name and state Have "perished by his choice, and not his fate!" Hence lives He, to his inner self endeared; And hence, wherever virtue is revered, He sits a more exalted Potentate, Throned in the hearts of men. Should Heaven ordain That this great Servant of a righteous cause Must still have sad or vexing thoughts to endure, Yet may a sympathising spirit pause, Admonished by these truths, and quench all pain In thankful joy and gratulation pure.