The sea 's our own: and now, all nations greet, With bending sails, each vessel of our Fleet: Your pow'r extends as far as winds can blow Or swelling sails upon the globe may go. Heav'n, (that hath plac'd this island to give law To balance Europe, and her states to awe,) In this conjunction doth on Britain smile; The greatest Leader, and the greatest isle! Whether this portion of the world were rent, By the rude ocean, from the continent; Or thus created; it was sure design'd To be the sacred refuge of mankind. Hither th' oppressed shall henceforth resort, Justice to crave, and succour at your court; And then your Highness, not for ours alone, But for the world's Protector shall be known. Fame, swifter than your winged navy, flies Thro' ev'ry land that near the ocean lies; Sounding your name, and telling dreadful news To all that piracy and rapine use. With such a chief the meanest nation blest, Might hope to lift her head above the rest: What may be thought impossible to do By us, embraced by the sea and you? Lords of the world's great waste, the ocean, we Whole forests send to reign upon the seaį L'océan est à nous; nos superbes vaisseaux Volent, d'un pôle à l'autre, en souverains de l'onde; Aussi loin que les vents peuvent enfler les eaux, Et ton pouvoir s'arrête où s'arrête le monde. L'anglais, chéri du ciel, de vingt états divers Conservant l'équilibre, acquiert un nouveau lustre; Et l'histoire jamais n'offrit à l'univers Un plus illustre chef d'un peuple plus illustre. Soit l'onde en fureur brisa le continent, Soit que Dieu, de l'Europe, isola l'Angleterre, L'opprimé, que déjà rassurent tes succès, La prompte renommée, au bout de l'univers, Dévançant tes vaisseaux annonce ta puissance; Et le bruit de ton nom, répandu sur les mers, Du pirate étonné fait trembler l'arrogance. Sous un si digne chef la moindre nation. A ses drapeaux encor fixerait la victoire; Mais que ne peut oser la superbe Albion? Cromwell et l'océan conspirent pour sa gloire. Oui, lorsque l'océan, dans ses vastes détours Voit, dans tous les climats nos forêts souveraines And ev'ry coast may trouble, or relieve: Our little world, the image of the But to the Nile owes more than to the sky; grow: The taste of hot Arabia's spice we know, Free from the scorching sun, that makes it Without the vorm, in Persian silks we shine; And, without planting, drink of ev'ry vine. To dig for wealth we weary not our limbs; Gold, tho' the heaviest metal, hither swims: Ours is the harvest where the Indians mow, We plough the Deep, and reap what others sow. Things of the noblest kind our own soil breeds; Stout are our men, and warlike are our steeds: Rome, tho' her eagle thro' the world had flown, Could never make this island all her own. Répandre la terreur ou porter les secours, A l'Egypte le ciel refuse en vain ses eaux, Pour nous croît le nectar qu'en ses climats brûlans Cultive loin de nous l'arabe mercenaire; Vingt peuples à grands frais récoltent tous les ans L'anglais voit, jusqu'à lui, sur ses riches vaisseaux, Tout ce que De plus nobles travaux appellent les anglais : Hommes, coursiers, ici tout est né pour la gloire; Et l'aigle des romains, dans leurs plus grands succès, Vit notre île arrêter son vol et la victoire. A race unconquer'd, by their clime made bold, The Caledonians, arm'd with want, and cold, fame, Have, by a fate indulgent to your Prefer'd by conquest, happily o'erthrown, Like favour find the Irish, with like fate, Advanc'd to be a portion of our state: While by your valour, and your bounteous mind, Nations, divided by the sea, are join'd. Your never-failing sword made war to cease; And now you heal us with the acts of peace: Our minds with bounty, and with awe, engage, Invite affection, and restrain our rage. Less pleasure take brave minds in battles won, Than in restoring such as are undone: Tigers have courage, and the rugged bear, But man alone can, whom he conquers, spare. To pardon, willing; and to punish, loth; You strike with one hand, but you heal with both. Lifting up all that prostrate lye, you grieve You cannot make the dead again to live. When fate, or error, had our age mis-led, And o'er this nation such confusion spread; |