Composed August 7, 1802--Published 1807 [A]
One of the "Sonnets dedicated to Liberty"; re-named in 1845, "Poems dedicated to National Independence and Liberty."--Ed.
Is it a reed that's shaken by the wind,
Or what is it that ye go forth to see?
Lords, lawyers, statesmen, squires of low degree,
Men known, and men unknown, sick, lame, and blind,
Post forward all, like creatures of one kind,
With first-fruit offerings crowd to bend the knee
In France, before the new-born Majesty.
'Tis ever thus. Ye men of prostrate mind, [1]
A seemly reverence may be paid to power;
But that's a loyal virtue, never sown
In haste, nor springing with a transient shower:
When truth, when sense, when liberty were flown,
What hardship had it been to wait an hour?
Shame on you, feeble Heads, to slavery prone!
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VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:1807.
Thus fares it ever. Men of prostrate mind! 1803.]
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FOOTNOTE ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: This sonnet was first published in 'The Morning Post', Jan.29, 1803, under the signature W. L. D., along with the one beginning, "I grieved for Buonaparté, with a vain," and was afterwards printed in the1807 edition of the Poems. Mr. T. Hutchinson (Dublin) suggests that theW. L. D. stood either for Wordsworthius Libertatis Defensor, or (more likely) Wordsworthii Libertati Dedicatunt (carmen).--Ed.]
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THE POETICAL WORKS OF WILLIAM WORDSWORTH - VOL. 2 (Completed)
ClassicsThe poetical works of William Wordsworth, edited by William Knight.
