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No one is free who has not obtained the empire of himself.

quote by Pythagoras
Added by Lucian Velea
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Freedom Now

They throwed him in jail
And they kept him there
Hoping soo hed die
That his body and spirit would waste away
And soon after that his mind
But every day is born a fool
One who thinks that he can rule
One who says tomorrows mine
One who wakes one day to find
The prison doors open the shackles broken
And chaos in the street
Everybody sing were free free free free
Everybody sing were free free free free
Everybody sing were free free free free
They throwed him in jail
And they kept him there
Hoping his memoryd die
That the people forget how he once led
And fought for justice in their lives
But every day is born a man
Who hates what he cant understand
Who thinks the answer is to kill
Who thinks his actions are gods will
And he thinks hes free free free free
Yes he thinks hes free free free free
He thinks hes free free free free
Soon must come the day
Whe the righteous have their way
Unjustly tried are free
And people live in peace I say
Give the man release
Go on and set your conscience free
Right the wrongs you made
Even a fool can have his day
Let us all be free free free free
Let us all be free free free free
Let us all be free free free free
Free our bodies free our minds
Free our hearts
Freedom for everyone
And freedom now
Freedom now
Freedom now
Freedom now
Let us all be free free free free
Let us all be free free free free
Let us all be free free free free

song performed by Tracy Chapman
Added by Lucian Velea
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Freedom Fighters

Today I heard what them people say
Dem want to live free greedily, with everyone to pay.
You play under the sun while others fight and dies away
but I say if you don't like it this way, then why stay? Go away
Freedom Fighters
Ignite Jah
Freedom Fighters
Shine Jah
Live free, Be free, Die free
Freedom Fighters
Live free, Be free, Die free
Ignite Jah
Live free, Be free, Die free
Freedom Fighters
Live free, Be free, Die free
Shine Jah
Today I heard what them people say
Them say "The Man came in and he took our choice away"
You portray selfishness and hate
While some prepare to die today
I say you fade away, appreciate life and liberate
Freedom Fighters
Ignite Jah
Freedom Fighters
Shine Jah
Live free, Be free, Die free
Freedom Fighters
Live free, Be free, Die free
Ignite Jah
Live free, Be free, Die free
Freedom Fighters
Live free, Be free, Die free
Shine Jah
We have the right - to live in peace
and you must fight - for what you keep
If what you keep - holds truth inside
Stand up, defend - lay down and die
We have the right to live in peace
You must fight for what you keep
If what you keep holds truth inside
Stand up, defend, or lay down and die
Freedom Fighters
Ignite Jah
Freedom Fighters
Shine Jah
Live free, Be free, Die free
Freedom Fighters
Live free, Be free, Die free
Ignite Jah
Live free, Be free, Die free

[...] Read more

song performed by P.O.D.
Added by Lucian Velea
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Wild n Free

(ian hunter)
Wild n free wild n free
Wild n free wild n free
Oh! Id never known what it was like to free
I always thought it was never true
I got a feeling I was lost in space
Did not like my face
Just wanted to be
Wild n free wild n free
Like a hurricane
Wild n free wild n free
Oh insanitys so insane
Wild n free wild n free
I aint got no got no got no name
Wild n free wild n free
Dont want no ball and chain
Damn people telling me that I was thinking bad
Had me believing they was right
All they wanted was another slob
In some stinking job
That just aint me I just want to be
W w w wild n free wild n free
Like a hurricane
Wild n free wild n free
Oh insanitys so in so insane
Wild n free wild n free
I aint got no name
Wild n free wild n free
I dont I dont want to know a ball and chain
Just then I found out I was too broke to get out
So I took to the road no one was having me
I said dont want no handouts
Cause Im making out
You aint like me I just want to be
Uh uh uh wild n free
I tried to tell you babe but you never understood
I always tried to make you see
But you believed just what your old man said
He had you chained to his head
And its on tv tv tv tv
Want to be want to be want to be
Wild n free wild n free
Like a hurricane
Wild n free wild n free
Oh insanitys so insane
Wild n free wild n free
I aint got no got no got no name
Wild n free wild n free
Dont want no ball and chain
Wild n free wild n free

[...] Read more

song performed by Ian Hunter
Added by Lucian Velea
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Give and Free It Up On The Rough Stuff

When I was hard,
It wasn't enough.
The sensitive and warm nice guy,
I had to give with no hint of the tough stuff.

I was the one who supplied the tenderness,
With touches.
Supplied I did the sweet kisses too!
You want it tough and rough and ready,
Through the weekends.
And all week until we get through too!

The sensitive and warm nice guy,
I had to be with no hint of the tough stuff.
You want it tough and rough and ready,
Through the weekends.
And all week until we get through too!

You've got to give and free it up on the rough stuff.
I like to get it and receive it with a tender touch.
I like to feel it getting heated with a whispered love.
I like to get it and receive it with a tender touch.
I like to feel it getting heated with a whispered love.
You've got to give and free it up on the rough stuff.

Free it up to give it up!
That rough stuff.
Free it up to give it up!
That rough stuff.
Free it up to give it up!
That rough stuff.
That rough stuff.
That rough stuff.

You've got to give and free it up on the rough stuff.
I like to get it and receive it with a tender touch.
I like to feel it getting heated with a whispered love.
I like to get it and receive it with a tender touch.
I like to feel it getting heated with a whispered love.
You've got to give and free it up on the rough stuff.

I was the one who supplied the tenderness,
With touches.
Supplied I did sweet kisses too!
You want it tough and rough and ready,
Through the weekends.
And all week until we get through too!

You've got to give and free it up on the rough stuff.
You've got to give and free it up on the rough stuff.

[...] Read more

poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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Got To Be Free

(malik pendelton/nicole johnson)
Ive got to be free
Gotta be, gotta be free
Ive got to be free
Gotta be, gotta be free
Long goodbyes, stolen glances
Cant explain all thats happened in our past
Im tired of creating lies to be alone
Im living wrong, were living wrong
More and more you make me
Afraid to come around
You take the pleasure out of being in love
And being down and down and down and down and down
For the one whos there for me
All I really want to be is free, yeah
Ive got to be free, got to be free
Gotta be, gotta be free
Ive got to be free, got to be free
Gotta be, gotta be free
You dont know why, havent got a clue
In the dark about why I am leaving you
You cant expect me to go on this way
No, I cannot stay, I will not stay
More and more you make me
Realize what I have home
Whats taboos exciting
But sometimes it just gets old
Sometimes it just gets old
For as long as I am me, boy
All I really want to be is free
Ive got to be free, got to be free
Gotta be, gotta be free
Ive got to be free, got to be free
Gotta be, gotta be free
Ive got to be free, got to be free
Gotta be, gotta be free
Ive got to be free, got to be free
Gotta be, gotta be free
Ive got to be free, got to be free
Gotta be, gotta be free
Ive got to be free, got to be free
Gotta be, gotta be free

song performed by Diana Ross
Added by Lucian Velea
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Free At Last

Now I am trying to tell you something about my life
Maybe give you insight might just change your life
Im free at last, Im free at last, Im free at last, Im free at last,
Im free at last, Im free at last, Im free at last,
Im free from fooling round wasting time,
Floating in this abyss of your dreadful love
Free is a feeling so high in the sky
Higher higher higher
Free from the quarrels unsatisfaction
Free from the false dream that you planted
In me with your submissive love
Im free at last, Im free at last, Im free at last, Im free at last,
Im free at last, Im free at last, Im free at last,
Now I am open like the sky
For the sun to shine and colors true
To find me blue
Oh what a joy to be free
Im free at last, Im free at last, Im free at last, Im free at last,
Im free at last, Im free at last, Im free at last,
Im free of cheating your poor heart at my own damn expense
The cost was heavy and it rent as a thunder cloud
A hurricane sure racked in my heart
Now the rain is gone and I am gone
Yes, I am moving on
Im free at last, Im free at last, Im free at last,

song performed by G. Love & Special Sauce
Added by Lucian Velea
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Set Me Free

You operate and motivate on synthetic fuel
you're Mother Nature and an atom bomb
As long as you're kept full of pretty bodies
your little secret will be safe with me
around again insane again
it somes again it sets me free
so set me free
set me free
'cause I think you need my soul
set me free
set me free
Your kept alive and polarized with one thing in mind,
metabolizin' everything that you see
but now and then or a little later
now I'm gonna take you down with me
Around again insane again
she comes again it sets me free
so set me free
set me free
'cause I think you need my soul
set me free
set me free
so set me free
set me free
'cuase I think you need my soul
set me free
set me free
So, take me down
take me down, down, down, down
take me down, take me down
So, take me down
take me down, down, down, down
take me down, take me down
So set me free
set me free
'cause I think you need my soul
set me free
set me free
So set me free
set me free
'cause I think you need my soul
set me free
set me free
So set me free
set me free
'cause I think you need my soul
set me free
set me free
So set me free
set me free

[...] Read more

song performed by Velvet Revolver
Added by Lucian Velea
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Paradise Regained

THE FIRST BOOK

I, WHO erewhile the happy Garden sung
By one man's disobedience lost, now sing
Recovered Paradise to all mankind,
By one man's firm obedience fully tried
Through all temptation, and the Tempter foiled
In all his wiles, defeated and repulsed,
And Eden raised in the waste Wilderness.
Thou Spirit, who led'st this glorious Eremite
Into the desert, his victorious field
Against the spiritual foe, and brought'st him thence 10
By proof the undoubted Son of God, inspire,
As thou art wont, my prompted song, else mute,
And bear through highth or depth of Nature's bounds,
With prosperous wing full summed, to tell of deeds
Above heroic, though in secret done,
And unrecorded left through many an age:
Worthy to have not remained so long unsung.
Now had the great Proclaimer, with a voice
More awful than the sound of trumpet, cried
Repentance, and Heaven's kingdom nigh at hand 20
To all baptized. To his great baptism flocked
With awe the regions round, and with them came
From Nazareth the son of Joseph deemed
To the flood Jordan--came as then obscure,
Unmarked, unknown. But him the Baptist soon
Descried, divinely warned, and witness bore
As to his worthier, and would have resigned
To him his heavenly office. Nor was long
His witness unconfirmed: on him baptized
Heaven opened, and in likeness of a Dove 30
The Spirit descended, while the Father's voice
From Heaven pronounced him his beloved Son.
That heard the Adversary, who, roving still
About the world, at that assembly famed
Would not be last, and, with the voice divine
Nigh thunder-struck, the exalted man to whom
Such high attest was given a while surveyed
With wonder; then, with envy fraught and rage,
Flies to his place, nor rests, but in mid air
To council summons all his mighty Peers, 40
Within thick clouds and dark tenfold involved,
A gloomy consistory; and them amidst,
With looks aghast and sad, he thus bespake:--
"O ancient Powers of Air and this wide World
(For much more willingly I mention Air,
This our old conquest, than remember Hell,
Our hated habitation), well ye know
How many ages, as the years of men,

[...] Read more

poem by John Milton
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Prince Hohenstiel-Schwangau, Saviour of Society

Epigraph

Υδραν φονεύσας, μυρίων τ᾽ ἄλλων πόνων
διῆλθον ἀγέλας . . .
τὸ λοίσθιον δὲ τόνδ᾽ ἔτλην τάλας πόνον,
. . . δῶμα θριγκῶσαι κακοῖς.

I slew the Hydra, and from labour pass'd
To labour — tribes of labours! Till, at last,
Attempting one more labour, in a trice,
Alack, with ills I crowned the edifice.

You have seen better days, dear? So have I —
And worse too, for they brought no such bud-mouth
As yours to lisp "You wish you knew me!" Well,
Wise men, 't is said, have sometimes wished the same,
And wished and had their trouble for their pains.
Suppose my Œdipus should lurk at last
Under a pork-pie hat and crinoline,
And, latish, pounce on Sphynx in Leicester Square?
Or likelier, what if Sphynx in wise old age,
Grown sick of snapping foolish people's heads,
And jealous for her riddle's proper rede, —
Jealous that the good trick which served the turn
Have justice rendered it, nor class one day
With friend Home's stilts and tongs and medium-ware,—
What if the once redoubted Sphynx, I say,
(Because night draws on, and the sands increase,
And desert-whispers grow a prophecy)
Tell all to Corinth of her own accord.
Bright Corinth, not dull Thebes, for Lais' sake,
Who finds me hardly grey, and likes my nose,
And thinks a man of sixty at the prime?
Good! It shall be! Revealment of myself!
But listen, for we must co-operate;
I don't drink tea: permit me the cigar!
First, how to make the matter plain, of course —
What was the law by which I lived. Let 's see:
Ay, we must take one instant of my life
Spent sitting by your side in this neat room:
Watch well the way I use it, and don't laugh!
Here's paper on the table, pen and ink:
Give me the soiled bit — not the pretty rose!
See! having sat an hour, I'm rested now,
Therefore want work: and spy no better work
For eye and hand and mind that guides them both,
During this instant, than to draw my pen
From blot One — thus — up, up to blot Two — thus —
Which I at last reach, thus, and here's my line
Five inches long and tolerably straight:

[...] Read more

poem by Robert Browning (1871)
Added by Veronica Serbanoiu
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Set Me Free

Set me free, little girl.
All you gotta do is set me free, little girl.
You know you can do it if you try,
All you gotta do is set me free, free,
Free.
Set me free, little girl.
All you gotta do is set me free, little girl.
You know you can do it if you try,
All you gotta do is set me free, free,
Free, free.
I dont want no one,
If I cant have you to myself.
I dont need nobody else.
So if I cant have you to myself,
Set me free.
Set me free.
Oh set me free, little girl.
All you gotta do is set me free, little girl.
You know you can do it if you try,
All you gotta do is set me free, free,
Free, free.
I dont want no one,
If I cant have you to myself.
I dont need nobody else.
So if I cant have you to myself,
Set me free.
Set me free.
Oh set me free, little girl.
All you gotta do is set me free, little girl.
You know you can do it if you try,
All you gotta do is set me free, free,
Free.
Set me free,
Oh, set me free.

song performed by Kinks
Added by Lucian Velea
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Free Me

Free me, free me
Why wont you free me
Free me from your spell
Come on and free me
Why wont you free me
Come on and free me
Free me from your spell
Why should I worry
That you might not love me
Youre not the only love
That Ive ever had
Your sweet memory
Will always comfort me
So why should I be feeling sad
As far as I can tell
You knew so well
I was always
At the end of the line
Ive loved you as much
As any man can
But not enough
To make you mine
So long, easy rider
I know Ill miss you for awhile
But sooner or later
I know that Ill forget you
And I tell you babe
Free me
Come on and free me
Why wont you free me
Free me from your spell
Oh babe, free me
Why wont you free me
Come on and free me
Free me from your spell
We let a good love die
We let it pass us by
Though you tried to
Keep me hangin on
But with all this doubt
Itll never work out
So tomorrow Ill be travellin on
And saying:
So long, easy rider
I know Ill miss you for awhile
But sooner or later
I know that Ill forget you
And I beg it babe
Free me
Come on and free me

[...] Read more

song performed by Uriah Heep
Added by Lucian Velea
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None Of Us Are Free

(barry mann, cynthia weil, brenda russell)
You better listen my brother
cause if you do you can hear
There are voices still callin from across the years
And theyre cryin across the ocean
And theyre cryin across the land
And they will until we all come to understand
(chorus)
That none of us are free
None of us are free
None of us are free if one of us is chained
None of us are free
Well there are people in the darkness
And they just cant see the light
And if we dont say its wrong then that says its right
We got to feel for each other
Let our brothers know were here
Got to get the message and send it out loud and clear
That none of us are free
None of us are free
None of us are free if one of us is chained
None of us are free
Well its the single truth
We all need to see
That none of are free if one of us is chained
None of us are free
Well I swear to you salvation isnt very hard to find
None of us can find it on our own
We got to join together. spirit, heart and mind
All the are suffering, knows theyre not alone
None of us are free
None of us are free
If you just look around you
Youre see what I say
cause the worlds gettin smaller each passin day
Now its time to make some changes
Now its time all realized
That the truth is shinin right before our eyes
cause none of us are free
None of us are free
None of us are free if one of us is chained
None of us are free
Well its the very heart of humanity
cause none of us are free if one of us is chained
None of us are free
None of us, none of us
None of us, none of us
None of us, none of us are free
None of us, none of us
None of us, none of us

[...] Read more

song performed by Lynyrd Skynyrd
Added by Lucian Velea
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The Columbiad: Book IV

The Argument

Destruction of Peru foretold. Grief of Columbus. He is comforte the promise of a vision of future ages. All Europe appears in vision. Effect of the discovery of America upon the affairs of Europe. Improvement in commerce; government. Revival of letters. Order of the Jesuits. Religious persecution. Inquisition. Rise and progress of more liberal principles. Character of Raleigh; who plans the settlement of North America. Formation of the coast by the gulph stream. Nature of the colonial establishments, the first great asylum and infant empire of Liberty. Liberty the necessary foundation of morals. Delaware arrives with a reinforcement of new settlers, to consolidate the colony of Virginia. Night scene, as contemplated by these patriarchs, while they are sailing up the Chesapeak, and are saluted by the river gods. Prophetic speech of Potowmak. Fleets of settlers from seyeral parts of Europe steering for America.

In one dark age, beneath a single hand,
Thus rose an empire in the savage land.
Its wealth and power with following years increase,
Its growing nations spread the walks of peace;
Religion here, that universal name,
Man's proudest passion, most ungovern'd flame,
Erects her altars on the same bright base,
That dazzled erst, and still deludes the race;
Sun, moon, all powers that forceful strike his eyes,
Earth-shaking storms and constellated skies.

Yet all the pomp his labors here unfold,
The vales of verdure and the towers of gold,
Those infant arts and sovereign seats of state,
In short-lived glory hasten to their fate.
Thy followers, rushing like an angry flood,
Too soon shall drench them in the nation's blood;
Nor thou, Las Casas, best of men, shalt stay
The ravening legions from their guardless prey.
O hapless prelate! hero, saint and sage,
Foredoom'd with crimes a fruitless war to wage,
To see at last (thy life of virtue run)
A realm unpeopled and a world undone!
While pious Valverde mock of priesthood stands,
Guilt in his heart, the gospel in his hands,
Bids, in one field, their unarm'd thousands bleed,
Smiles o'er the scene and sanctifies the deed.
And thou, brave Gasca, with persuasive strain,
Shalt lift thy voice and urge thy power in vain;
Vain are thy hopes the sinking land to save,
Or call her slaughter'd millions from the grave.

Here Hesper paused. Columbus with a sigh
Cast o'er the continent his moisten'd eye,
And thus replied: Ah, hide me in the tomb;
Why should I live to see the impending doom?
If such foul deeds the scheme of heaven compose,
And virtue's toils induce redoubled woes,
Unfold no more; but grant a kind release;
Give me, tis all I ask, to rest in peace.

And thou shalt rest in peace, the Saint rejoin'd,
Ere these conflicting shades involve mankind.
But broader views shall first thy mind engage,

[...] Read more

poem by Joel Barlow
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Im So Free

Yes I am a natures son and Im the only one
I do what I want and I want what I see
You know it happens to me
Im so free, Im so free
Oh please aint your man
I have come this way
Do you remember the shape I was in
I had horns that bent
Im so free, Im so free
Do you remember the silver walks
You used to shiver and I used to talk
Then we went down to times square
And in the center been hangin round there
Im so free, Im so free
Yes I am mother natures son and Im the only one
I do what I want and I want what I see
Could only happens to me
Im so free, Im so free
Oh, Im so free oh, Im so free oh, Im so free
In the morining Im so free
In the evening Im so free
Yeah yeah yeah Im so free
When I feel good Im so free
When its in the morining Im so free
When its in the evening Im so free
Im so free, Im so free, Im so free, Im so free
Feels so good now, Im so free, oh, Im so free
Feels so good now, Im so free, oh, Im so free, ......

song performed by Lou Reed
Added by Lucian Velea
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Free

Dont sleep til the sunrise, listen 2 the falling rain
Dont worry bout tomorrow, dont worry bout your pain
Dont cry unless youre happy, dont smile unless youre blue
Never let that lonely monster take control of u
Be glad that u r free
Free 2 change your mind
Free 2 go most anywhere, anytime
Be glad that u r free
Theres many a man whos not
Be glad 4 what u had baby, what youve got
Be glad 4 what youve got
I know (my? ) heart is beating, my drummer tells me so
If u take your life 4 granted, your beating heart will go
So dont sleep until youre guilty, cuz sinners all r we
Theres others doing far worse than us, so be glad that u r free
Be glad that u r free
Free 2 change your mind
Free 2 go most anywhere, anytime
Be glad that u r free
Theres many a man whos not
Be glad 4 what u had baby, what youve got
Be glad 4 what youve got
Soldiers are a marching, theyre writing brand new laws
Will we all fight together 4 the most important cause?
Will we all fight 4 the right 2 be free?
Free (be glad that u r free)
Free 2 change my mind (free 2 change your mind)
Free 2 go most anywhere, anytime (free 2 go most anywhere,anytime)
Im just glad, Im just glad Im free, yeah (be glad that u r free)
Theres many a man whos not (theres many a man whos not)
Glad 4 what I had baby, (be glad 4 what u had and)
Glad 4 what I got, oh yeah (for what youve got)
Oh Im just glad, Im just glad Im free,yeah (be glad that u r free)
Free 2 change my mind (free 2 change your mind)
Free 2 go most anywhere, anytime (free 2 go most anywhere,anytime)
(be glad that u r free)
(theres many a man whos not)
Im so... (be glad 4 what u had and for)
(what youve got)

song performed by Prince
Added by Lucian Velea
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A Free Green Grass Of Home Towards

(1)
Free To Freedom To Indenpendence To Demoracy
The bsae line is 'Free' in the sense of financial cases and socio-political
fields
Greem grass of free mind-sets
Free To Freedom To Indenpendence To Demoracy
The bsae line is 'Free' in the sense of financial cases and socio-political
fields
Greem grass of free mind-sets

(2)

Free To Freedom To Indenpendence To Demoracy
The bsae line is 'Free' in the sense of financial cases and socio-political
fields
Greem grass of free mind-sets

(3)

Free To Freedom To Indenpendence To Demoracy
The bsae line is 'Free' in the sense of financial cases and socio-political
fields
Greem grass of free mind-sets

(4)

Free To Freedom To Indenpendence To Demoracy
The bsae line is 'Free' in the sense of financial cases and socio-political
fields
Greem grass of free mind-sets

(5)

Free To Freedom To Indenpendence To Demoracy
The bsae line is 'Free' in the sense of financial cases and socio-political
fields
Greem grass of free mind-sets

(6)

Free To Freedom To Indenpendence To Demoracy
The bsae line is 'Free' in the sense of financial cases and socio-political
fields
Greem grass of free mind-sets

(7)

Free To Freedom To Indenpendence To Demoracy
The bsae line is 'Free' in the sense of financial cases and socio-political

[...] Read more

poem by Nyein Way
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Gotham - Book III

Can the fond mother from herself depart?
Can she forget the darling of her heart,
The little darling whom she bore and bred,
Nursed on her knees, and at her bosom fed;
To whom she seem'd her every thought to give,
And in whose life alone she seem'd to live?
Yes, from herself the mother may depart,
She may forget the darling of her heart,
The little darling whom she bore and bred,
Nursed on her knees, and at her bosom fed,
To whom she seem'd her every thought to give,
And in whose life alone she seem'd to live;
But I cannot forget, whilst life remains,
And pours her current through these swelling veins,
Whilst Memory offers up at Reason's shrine;
But I cannot forget that Gotham's mine.
Can the stern mother, than the brutes more wild,
From her disnatured breast tear her young child,
Flesh of her flesh, and of her bone the bone,
And dash the smiling babe against a stone?
Yes, the stern mother, than the brutes more wild,
From her disnatured breast may tear her child,
Flesh of her flesh, and of her bone the bone,
And dash the smiling babe against a stone;
But I, (forbid it, Heaven!) but I can ne'er
The love of Gotham from this bosom tear;
Can ne'er so far true royalty pervert
From its fair course, to do my people hurt.
With how much ease, with how much confidence--
As if, superior to each grosser sense,
Reason had only, in full power array'd,
To manifest her will, and be obey'd--
Men make resolves, and pass into decrees
The motions of the mind! with how much ease,
In such resolves, doth passion make a flaw,
And bring to nothing what was raised to law!
In empire young, scarce warm on Gotham's throne,
The dangers and the sweets of power unknown,
Pleased, though I scarce know why, like some young child,
Whose little senses each new toy turns wild,
How do I hold sweet dalliance with my crown,
And wanton with dominion, how lay down,
Without the sanction of a precedent,
Rules of most large and absolute extent;
Rules, which from sense of public virtue spring,
And all at once commence a Patriot King!
But, for the day of trial is at hand,
And the whole fortunes of a mighty land
Are staked on me, and all their weal or woe
Must from my good or evil conduct flow,

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poem by Charles Churchill
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Kensington Garden

______ Campos, ubi Troja fuit.
Virg.

Where Kensington, high o'er the neighbouring lands
Midst greens and sweets, a regal fabric, stands,
And sees each spring, luxuriant in her bowers,
A snow of blossoms, and a wild of flowers,
The dames of Britain oft in crowds repair
To gravel walks, and unpolluted air.
Here, while the town in damps and darkness lies,
They breathe in sun-shine, and see azure skies;
Each walk, with robes of various dyes bespread,
Seems from afar a moving tulip-bed,
Where rich brocades and glossy damasks glow,
And chints, the rival of the showery bow.
Here England's daughter, darling of the land,
Sometimes, surrounded with her virgin band,
Gleams through the shades. She, towering o'er the rest,
Stands fairest of the fairer kind confest,
Form'd to gain hearts, that Brunswick's cause deny'd,
And charm a people to her father's side.
Long have these groves to royal guests been known,
Nor Nassau first prefer'd them to a throne.
Ere Norman banners wav'd in British air;
Ere lordly Hubba with the golden hair
Pour'd in his Danes; ere elder Julius came;
Or Dardan Brutus gave our isle a name;
A prince of Albion's lineage grac'd the wood,
The scene of wars, and stain'd with lovers' blood.
You, who thro' gazing crowds, your captive throng,
Throw pangs and passions, as you move along,
Turn on the left, ye fair, your radiant eyes,
Where all unlevel'd the gay garden lies:
If generous anguish for another's pains
Ere heav'd your hearts, or shiver'd through your veins,
Look down attentive on the pleasing dale,
And listen to my melancholy tale.
That hollow space, were now in living rows
Line above line the yew's sad verdure grows,
Was, ere the planter's hand its beauty gave,
A common pit, a rude unfashion'd cave.
The landscape now so sweet we well may praise:
But far, far sweeter in its ancient days,
Far sweeter was it, when its peopled ground
With fairy domes and dazzling towers was crown'd.
Where in the midst those verdant pillars spring,
Rose the proud palace of the Elfin king;
For every edge of vegetable green,
In happier years a crowded street was seen;

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poem by Thomas Tickell
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Canto the Fourth

I.

I stood in Venice, on the Bridge of Sighs;
A palace and a prison on each hand:
I saw from out the wave her structures rise
As from the stroke of the enchanter’s wand:
A thousand years their cloudy wings expand
Around me, and a dying glory smiles
O’er the far times when many a subject land
Looked to the wingèd Lion’s marble piles,
Where Venice sate in state, throned on her hundred isles!

II.

She looks a sea Cybele, fresh from ocean,
Rising with her tiara of proud towers
At airy distance, with majestic motion,
A ruler of the waters and their powers:
And such she was; her daughters had their dowers
From spoils of nations, and the exhaustless East
Poured in her lap all gems in sparkling showers.
In purple was she robed, and of her feast
Monarchs partook, and deemed their dignity increased.

III.

In Venice, Tasso’s echoes are no more,
And silent rows the songless gondolier;
Her palaces are crumbling to the shore,
And music meets not always now the ear:
Those days are gone - but beauty still is here.
States fall, arts fade - but Nature doth not die,
Nor yet forget how Venice once was dear,
The pleasant place of all festivity,
The revel of the earth, the masque of Italy!

IV.

But unto us she hath a spell beyond
Her name in story, and her long array
Of mighty shadows, whose dim forms despond
Above the dogeless city’s vanished sway;
Ours is a trophy which will not decay
With the Rialto; Shylock and the Moor,
And Pierre, cannot be swept or worn away -
The keystones of the arch! though all were o’er,
For us repeopled were the solitary shore.

V.

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poem by Byron from Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (1818)
Added by Veronica Serbanoiu
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II. Half-Rome

What, you, Sir, come too? (Just the man I'd meet.)
Be ruled by me and have a care o' the crowd:
This way, while fresh folk go and get their gaze:
I'll tell you like a book and save your shins.
Fie, what a roaring day we've had! Whose fault?
Lorenzo in Lucina,—here's a church
To hold a crowd at need, accommodate
All comers from the Corso! If this crush
Make not its priests ashamed of what they show
For temple-room, don't prick them to draw purse
And down with bricks and mortar, eke us out
The beggarly transept with its bit of apse
Into a decent space for Christian ease,
Why, to-day's lucky pearl is cast to swine.
Listen and estimate the luck they've had!
(The right man, and I hold him.)

Sir, do you see,
They laid both bodies in the church, this morn
The first thing, on the chancel two steps up,
Behind the little marble balustrade;
Disposed them, Pietro the old murdered fool
To the right of the altar, and his wretched wife
On the other side. In trying to count stabs,
People supposed Violante showed the most,
Till somebody explained us that mistake;
His wounds had been dealt out indifferent where,
But she took all her stabbings in the face,
Since punished thus solely for honour's sake,
Honoris causâ, that's the proper term.
A delicacy there is, our gallants hold,
When you avenge your honour and only then,
That you disfigure the subject, fray the face,
Not just take life and end, in clownish guise.
It was Violante gave the first offence,
Got therefore the conspicuous punishment:
While Pietro, who helped merely, his mere death
Answered the purpose, so his face went free.
We fancied even, free as you please, that face
Showed itself still intolerably wronged;
Was wrinkled over with resentment yet,
Nor calm at all, as murdered faces use,
Once the worst ended: an indignant air
O' the head there was—'t is said the body turned
Round and away, rolled from Violante's side
Where they had laid it loving-husband-like.
If so, if corpses can be sensitive,
Why did not he roll right down altar-step,
Roll on through nave, roll fairly out of church,
Deprive Lorenzo of the spectacle,

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poem by Robert Browning from The Ring and the Book
Added by Veronica Serbanoiu
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