Poem: The People

 (Written in 1600)

    “The people is a beast of muddy brain,
    That knows not its own strength and therefore stands
    Loaded with wood and iron. The powerless hands
    Of a mere child guide it with bit and rein;
    One kick would be enough to break the chain.
    But the beast fears, and what the child demands
    It does, nor its own terror understands
    Confused and stupefied by bugbears vain.
    Most wonderful! With its own hands
    It ties the gags itself, gives itself life and war,
    For pence doled out by kings from its own store.
    Its own are all things between earth and heaven;
    But this it knows not, and if one arise
    To tell this truth, it kills him unforgiven.”
                                                                                   – Father Campanella.