Freedom (In Alcaics.) Poem by Martin Farquhar Tupper

Bulwark of England, God-given Liberty!
Name much malign'd, yet noble and glorious,
How rarely the masses who claim thee
Judge as they ought of the fools that maim thee!

No part hast thou with clamorous demagogues,
Red revolution scares thee and scatters thee,
And despots have stolen thy standard
Only to render thee scorn'd and slander'd:

Still to enslave the credulous multitude
Is their intent in utter effrontery;
O treason, O shame, and O wonder,
That the one tramples the many under!

Man, when his Maker made him and fashion'd him,
Man stood as free as Mercy could order it,--
Free, saving Religion in season,
Saving the bridle and bit of Reason:

And when, as now, the Fall and its accidents
Drove him from God to human society,
Still Reason, Religion, and Frankness
Stand as the pruners of Freedom's rankness:

Reason, Religion, counsel and sanctify
Unto good order governing ministers,
And Frankness gives up to his brother
Much of his own, for the sake of other.

Freeman! thy neighbour also has liberties;
This may subtract his rights from thy heritage,--
But Freedom without moderations
Were but the licence of pirate nations.

England! in thee shines Liberty's excellence;
We are as free as serves for humanity,
Freespoken, freejudging, freeacting,
Nobody spying, and none exacting.

We love the Queen, and guard her with loyalty,
She loves the People, ruling us faithfully,
And those who amongst us are wiser
Counsel her, each as a free adviser.

Thus we reform whate'er is iniquitous,
Thus we remove whatever is obsolete,
Yet always resolve to deal fairly
Even with those who deserve it rarely:

Thus in the light of rational liberty
Each of us walks a patriot Englishman--
Courageous, but boasting it never;
Moderate, honest, and patient ever.

And we can love our brethren in slavery,
Giving them all, with prodigal sympathy,
Our prayers, our blood, our treasure--
All we can give, without stint or measure:

And we can hate the base and tyrannical,
Vowing to crush oppression and cruelty--
And sharing with peoples and races
All Christianity's gifts and graces.

England the free is Europe's deliverer,
Standing the stalwart warder of Liberty;
For Englishmen know how to use it,--
Englishmen only will not abuse it!