“What beast in wilderness or cultured field
“The lively beauty of the leopard shows?
“What flower in meadow-ground or garden grows
“That to the towering lily doth not yield?
“Let both meet only on thy royal shield!
“Go forth, great King! claim what thy birth bestows;
“Conquer the Gallic lily which thy foes
“Dare to usurp; thou hast a sword to wield,
“And Heaven will crown the right.” The mitred Sire
Thus spake and lo! a Fleet, for Gaul addrest,
Ploughs her bold course across the wondering seas;
For, sooth to say, ambition, in the breast
Of youthful heroes, is no sullen fire,
But one that leaps to meet the fanning breeze.
Read all of William Wordsworth's poems · About William Wordsworth
More by William Wordsworth
- Ecclesiastical Sonnets - Part II. - XVI - Wars Of York And Lancaster
- Ecclesiastical Sonnets - Part II. - XVII - Wicliffe
- Ecclesiastical Sonnets - Part II. - XVIII - Corruptions Of The Higher Clergy
- Ecclesiastical Sonnets - Part II. - XX - Monastic Voluptuousness
- Ecclesiastical Sonnets - Part II. - XXI - Dissolution Of The Monasteries
Write poetry? Submit your poem to Poetry Catalog