SPANIARD! if thou art one who bows the knee Before a despot's footstool, hie thee hence! This ground is holy: here Padilla died, Martyr of freedom. But if thou dost love Her cause, stand then as at an altar here, And thank the Almighty that thine honest heart, Full of a brother's feelings for mankind, Rebels against oppression. Not unheard Nor unavailing shall the grateful prayer Ascend; for loftiest impulses will rise To elevate and strengthen thee, and prompt To virtuous action. Relics silver-shrined, And chanted mass, would wake within the soul Thoughts valueless and cold compared with these. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ASTROPHEL AND STELLA: 72 by PHILIP SIDNEY THE FOLLY OF BEING COMFORTED by WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS LAURENCE BLOOMFIELD IN IRELAND: 3. ISAAC BROWN by WILLIAM ALLINGHAM COMPENSATION by MARION L. BERTRAND FAMILIARITY DANGEROUS by VINCENT BOURNE |