Classic Poem

Shine out, rich Soul! to greatness be,
What it can never be to thee,
An ornament; thou canst restore
The lustre which it had before
These ruines; own it, and 'twill live;
Thy favours more than Kings can give
Hast more above all titles then
The bearers are 'bove common men;
And so heroick art within,
Thou must descend to be a Queen
Yet honour may convenient prove,
By giving thy Soul room to move:
Affording scene unto that mind,
Which is too great to be confin'd
Wert thou with single vertue stor'd,
To be approv'd, but not ador'd,
Thou mightst retire; but who e're meant
A Palace for a Tenement?
Heaven has so built thee, that we find
Thee buried when thou art confin'd:
If thou in privacy would'st live,
Yet lustre to thy vertues give;
To stifle them for want of air,
Injurious is to Heaven's care
If thou wilt be immured, where
Shall thy obliging soul appear?
Where shall thy generous prudence be,
And where thy magnanimity?
Nay, thy own Darling thou dost hide,
Thy self-denial is deny'd;
For he that never greatness tries,
Can never safely it despise
That Antoninus writ well, when
He held a Scepter and a Pen:
Less credit Solomon does bring
As a Philosopher than King;
So much advantage flows from hence,
To write by our Experience.
Diogenes I must suspect
Of envy, more than wise neglect,
When he his Prince so ill did treat,
And so much spurned at the great:
A censure is not clear from those
Whom Fate subjects, or does depose;
Not can we greatness understand
From an opprest or fallen hand:
But 'tis some Prince must that define,
Or one that freely did resign
A great Almanzor teaches thus,
Or else a Dionysius .
For to know Grandeur we must live
In that, and not in perspective;
Vouchsafe the tryal then, that thou
May'st safely wield, yet disallow
The World's temptations, and be still
Above whatever would thee fill
Convince mankind, there's somewhat more
Great than the titles they adore:
Stand neer them, and 'twill soon be known
Thou hast more splendour of thy own;
Yield to the wanting Age, and be
Channel of true Nobility:
For from thy Womb such Heros needs must arise,
Who Honours will deserve, and can despise.