The
People
.
The
people is a beast of muddy brain
That
knows not its own force, and therefore stands
Loaded
with wood and stone; the powerless hands
Of mere
a child guide it with bit and rein:
One
kick would be enough to break the chain;
But
the beast fears, and what the child demands
It
does; nor its own terror understands,
Confused
and stupefied by bugbears vain.
Most
wonderful! With its own hands it ties
And
gags itself- gives itself death and war
For
pence doled out by kings from its own store.
Its
own are all things between earth and heaven;
But
this it knows not; and if one arise
To tell
the truth, it kills him unforgiven.
.
(Tr: John Addington Symonds)
Tomasso
Campanella
(5
September 1568 – 21 May 1639)
Italian
Poet
https://archive.org/details/anthologyofworld0000vand/page/599/mode/1up
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