History & Politics
To the Duke of Argyll
From Tiresias and Other Poems (1885)
O PATRIOT Statesman, be thou wise to know
The limits of resistance, and the bounds
Determining concession; still be bold
Not only to slight praise but suffer scorn;
And be thy heart a fortress to maintain
The day against the moment, and the year
Against the day; thy voice, a music heard
Thro' all the yells and counter-yells of feud
And faction, and thy will, a power to make
This ever-changing world of circumstance,
In changing, chime with never-changing Law.
Cite this poem
MLA
Tennyson, Alfred, Lord. “To the Duke of Argyll.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/tennyson/403/.
Chicago
Tennyson, Alfred, Lord. “To the Duke of Argyll.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/tennyson/403/.
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