History & Politics
Call not the royal Swede unfortunate
From Poetical Works, ed. Knight (1896), vol. IV
Call not the royal Swede unfortunate,
Who never did to Fortune bend the knee;
Who slighted fear; rejected steadfastly
Temptation; and whose kingly name and state
Have "perished by his choice, and not his fate!"
Hence lives He, to his inner self endeared;
And hence, wherever virtue is revered,
He sits a more exalted Potentate,
Throned in the hearts of men. Should Heaven ordain
That this great Servant of a righteous cause
Must still have sad or vexing thoughts to endure,
Yet may a sympathizing spirit pause,
Admonished by these truths, and quench all pain
In thankful joy and gratulation pure.
Codex Note
Composed 1809; published 1815.
Cite this poem
MLA
Wordsworth, William. “Call not the royal Swede unfortunate.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/wordsworth/240/.
Chicago
Wordsworth, William. “Call not the royal Swede unfortunate.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/wordsworth/240/.
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