Classic Poem

Heroes of old, by rapine and by spoil,
In search of fame did all the world embroil.
Thus to their gods each then ally'd his name,
This sprang from Jove, and that from Titan came.
With equal valour, and the same success,
Dread King! might'st thou the universe oppress;
But Christian laws constrain thy martial pride;
Peace is thy choice, and piety thy guide:
By thy example kings are taught to sway,
Heroes to fight, and saints may learn to pray.
From gods descended, and of race divine,
Nestor in council and Ulysses shine;
But in a day of battle all would yield
To the fierce master of the seven-fold shield.
Their very deities were grac'd no more;
Mars had the courage, Jove the thunder bore;
But all perfections meet in James alone,
And Britain's king is all the gods in one.