Page:Joan of Arc - Southey (1796).djvu/392

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
380
JOAN OF ARC.
But there are guilty ones above the law,Men whose black crimes exceed the utmost boundOf private guilt; court vermin that buz round, 200And fly-blow the King's ear, and make him waste,In this most perilous time, his people's wealth,And blood: immers'd one while in crimson sloth,Heedless tho' ruin threat the realm they rule;And now projecting some mad enterprize, 205To certain slaughter send their wretched troops.These are the men that make the King suspectHis wisest, faithfullest, best Counsellors;And for themselves and their dependants, seizeAll places, and all profits; and they wrest 210To their own ends the Statutes of the land,Or safely break them: thus, or indolent,Or active, ruinous alike to France.Wisely thou sayest, Warrior! that the LawShould strike the guilty; but the voice of Justice 215Cries out, and brings conviction as it cries;

"Whom

This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.