The sea 's our own: and now, all nations greet, With bending sails, each vessel of our Fleet: Your pow'r extends as far as winds can blow, Or swelling sails upon the globe may go. Heav'n, (that hath plac'd this island to give law, To balance Europe, and her states to awe,) In this conjunction doth on Britain smile; The greatest Leader, and the greatest isle! Whether this portion of the world were rent, By the rude ocean, from the continent; Or thus created; it was sure design'd To be the sacred refuge of mankind. Hither th' oppressed shall henceforth resort, Justice to crave, and succour at your court; And then your Highness, not for ours alone, But for the world's Protector shall be known. Fame, swifter than your winged navy, flies Thro' ev'ry land that near the ocean lies; Sounding your name, and telling dreadful news To all that piracy and rapine use. With such a chief the meanest nation blest, Might hope to lift her head above the rest: be thought impossible to do What may By us, embraced by the sea and you? Lords of the world's great waste, the ocean, we Whole forests send to reign upon the sea L'océan est à nous; nos superbes vaisseaux Un plus illustre chef d'un peuple plus illustre. Soit que L'opprimé, que déjà rassurent tes succès, Implore tes secours; tout son espoir se fonde Sur toi seul; et Cromwell, protecteur des anglais, Se verra proclamé le protecteur du monde. La prompte renommée, au bout de l'univers, Sous un si digne chef la moindre nation Oui, lorsque l'océan, dans ses vastes détours Voit, dans tous les climats nos forêts souveraines 4 And ev'ry coast may trouble, or relieve: The taste of hot Arabia's spice we know, To dig for wealth we weary not our limbs Gold, tho' the heaviest metal, hither swims: Ours is the harvest where the Indians mow, We plough the Deep, and reap what others sow. Things of the noblest kind our own soil breeds; Stout are our men, and warlike are our steeds: Rome, tho' her eagle thro' the world had flown, Could never make this island all her own. Répandre la terreur ou porter les secours, A l'Egypte le ciel refuse en vain ses eaux, Notre constant ami, l'océan nous le donne. Pour nous croît le nectar qu'en ses climats brûlans Cultive loin de nous l'arabe mercenaire; Vingt peuples à grands frais récoltent tous les ans De plus nobles travaux appellent les anglais : A race unconquer'd, by their clime made bold, The Caledonians, arm'd with want, and cold, Have, by a fate indulgent to your fame, Been from all ages kept for you to tame. Prefer'd by conquest, happily o'erthrown, Falling they rise, to be with us made one; So kind Dictators made, when they came home, Their vainquish'd foes free citizens of Rome. Like favour find the Irish, with like fate, Advanc'd to be a portion of our state: While by your valour, and your bounteous mind, Nations, divided by the sea, are join'd. Your never-failing sword made war to cease; And now you heal us with the acts of peace: Our minds with bounty, and with awe, engage, Invite affection, and restrain our rage. Less pleasure take brave minds in battles won, Than in restoring such as are undone: Tigers have courage, and the rugged bear, But man alone can, whom he conquers, spare. To pardon, willing; and to punish, loth; You strike with one hand, but you heal with both. Lifting up all that prostrate lye, you grieve You cannot make the dead again to live. When fate, or error, had our age mis-led, And o'er this nation such confusion spread; |