Classic Poem

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DEMETRIUS
Unhappy Lot of all that shine in Courts;
For forc'd Compliance, or for zealous Virtue,
Still odious to the Monarch, or the People.

CALI
Such are the Woes when arbitrary Pow'r,
And lawless Passion, hold the Sword of Justice.
If there be any Land, as Fame reports,
Where common Laws restrain the Prince and Subject,
A happy Land, where circulating Pow'r
Flows through each Member of th'embodied State,
Sure, not unconscious of the mighty Blessing,
Her grateful Sons shine bright with ev'ry Virtue;
Untainted with the Lust of Innovation,
Sure all unite to hold her League of Rule
Unbroken as the sacred Chain of Nature,
That links the jarring Elements in Peace.

LEONTIUS
But say, great Bassa, why the Sultan's Anger,
Burning in vain, delays the Stroke of Death?

CALI
Young, and unsettled in his Father's Kingdoms,
Fierce as he was, he dreaded to destroy
The Empire's Darling, and the Soldier's Boast;
But now confirm'd, and swelling with his Conquests,
Secure he tramples my declining Fame
Frowns unrestrain'd, and dooms me with his Eyes.

DEMETRIUS
What can reverse thy Doom?

CALI
The Tyrant's Death.