p. 32 (seq. 35)

32

Which if by misadventures they should miss,
The disappointed vultures angry fang
Will seize the lesser gudgeons of the state,
And sacrifice to mad Alecto's rage;
Lest the tide turning, with a rapid course,
The booming torrent rushes o'er their heads,
And sweeps the "cawing cormorants from earth."

Hateall. Then strike some sudden blow, and if hereafter
Dangers should rise-- then set up for thyself,
And make thy name as famous in Columbia,
As ever Caesar's was in ancient Gaul.
Who would such distant Provinces subdue,
And then resign them to a foreign lord!
With such an armament at thy command
Why all this cautious prudence?

Sylla. I only wish to serve my Sov'reign well,
And bring new glory to my master's crown,
Which can't be done by spreading ruin round
This loyal country ––––
–––– Wro't up to madness by oppression's hand.
How much deceiv'd my royal master is
By those he trusts! but more of this anon.
Were it consistent with my former plan
I'd gladly send my sickly troops abroad
Out from the stench of this infected town,
To breath some air more free from putrefaction;
To brace their nerves against approaching spring,
If my ill stars should destine a campaign,
And call me forth to fight in such a cause.
To quench the gen'rous spark, the innate love
Of glorious freedom, planted in the breast
Of ev'ry man who boasts a Briton's name
Until some base born lust of foreign growth
Contaminate his soul, till false ambition,
Or the sordid hope of swelling coffers,
Poison the mind and brutalize the man.

Collateralis. I almost wish I never had engag'd
To rob my country of her native right
Nor strove to mount on justice solemn bench,
By mean submission cringing for a place.
How great the pain, and yet how small the purchase!
Had I been dumb, or my right hand cut off,
E'er I so servilely had held it up,
Or giv'n my voice abjectly to rescind