PS 3545 .A9F3 If, '^^ ♦^ *i^ nV . o « . . "^ ^^ °^ ^^ ••y°-- -"^ > .^^ THE FAITH OF PRINCES WITH A SHEAF OF SONNETS The Faith of Princes WITH A SHEAF OF SONNETS By HARVEY M. WATTS PHILADELPHIA THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY MCMXV 75 35*^ \'\ Copyright, 1915, by The John C. Winston Co. m 17 1915 'CI,A40G335 TO THE WAR LORD '^ Moil strum horrendiim, informe, ingenSy cui lumen ademptum.^' — Virgil, Aeneid, Book III. TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE In Memoriam — Belgium 9 To France 11 To Italy 12 To England 14 Before Constantinople 15 To Germany 16 The Lusitania 18 The Faith of Princes 23 7] IN MEMORI AM— BELGIUM! "Louvain, Mechlin, Ypres, the ruined cities of Belgium, may not be rebuilt, but may be left as memorials of the German Inva- sion." LET these mute walls, lo, tell their tale, in stone, ^ Of happy homes, now ruined, deso- late! So that all men may ponder o'er their fate And know the meaning of this people's moan, Whose ways of thrift, with brimming plenty strewn. Had conquered envy in their busy gate, With Brotherhood the chief concern of State And peace, the guiding star of all, alone! O ! lovely land, whose jocund bells, on high. For art and faith have oft rung holiday, [9] IN MEMORIAM BELGIUM! The world, enanguished, rises to thy need! Though prostrate, balm for every wound is nigh; Yea, from the shackles will thy sons be freed ; Vengeance is God's, He will in truth repay! 10 TO FRANCE! TO FRANCE! ROUSED from fair dreams of soft and silken ease, ' Gird up thy loins, slough all things loose and light. Secure thy bounds where, ruthless, as a bhght. The invader, with his harsh realities. Pours men as sudden rush of angry seas, O'erwhelming all, in crude enmillioned might, Eclipsed the things of soul in sudden night, As nations drink of wrath the very lees! But lo! still beacon Chalons, where were stayed The Huns; Martel at Tours, the Paladins Of Charles the Great, Roland with horn and sword. And Jeanne at Rheims, erect and unafraid ! So purge ye then of free and casual sins. Rise and destroy the vast barbarian horde! [11] TO ITALY ! TO ITALY! "ia via di Roma e la minliore via; il cemento romano, e come sempre il piii forte.'* — Gabriele D'Annunzio. O GOLDEN land, where Tasso strung his lute And sung the shining heroes in Crusade, Where Petrarch's dalliances still pervade, And Dante's spirit triumphs o'er the brute In man and nature, Italy, refute Those tongues that rail ! 0, let the flashing blade Avenge thine honor, shun the poisoned shade. Nor in world counsels let thy voice be mute! Dowered with beauty, *neath the azure skies. Proud mistress of the middle seas and land, 12 TO Italy! Served by thy sons, Flamens of liberty, Seek ye the path where fateful duty lies. Wearing the helm of Rome, speak and command. In this new hour, thy crowning destiny ! [18] TO ENGLAND! TO ENGLAND! LAND of full-charted rights, whose greater sons "^ Have spread o'er earth due order and the law Of rule in reason, not of fang or claw. Nor brute on high as one man's whimsy runs. What is this newer doctrine, lo, that stuns, Turning to ages when men, hostile, saw Nothing in compacts but the easy flaw. And "writ in water," in the face of guns? England, as this horror threatens all, — This menace with its creed of curling lip O'er sacred bonds, as nobler states agree, — Thy glorious past, with tributes, we recall. Debtors indeed to thy great guardianship. For they that "keep the faith" make all men free! [14] BEFORE CONSTANTINOPLE BEFORE CONSTANTINOPLE i4 ND still the cry comes from the Asian /•\ vales, "^ -^ A cry long pent, freighted with woe of years Of cruelty enthroned; where, 'spite the tears, Grim massacre still reddens all the trails. And justice mocks with useless weighted scales. But hark ! the murmur of hoarse panic fears And sounds portentous, as the South wind veers. And, as the sullen roar of gun outrales. There sweeps, in majesty, to sudden flood. Vengeance delayed ! Across the watery lea. Nations in compact, freed from petty dross, Ask full requite, as all, in vision, see The baleful Crescent, dipt in sunset blood. Sinking before the splendor of the Cross! 15 TO GERMANY TO GERMANY! 5'' I MS not alone the sober reign of law I That sinks to silence, silence of the "*" tombs, As fierce Bellona's murky torch illumes The nations, and the sable curtains draw O'er hideous scenes; humanity in raw Mad for the tribute, in the gathering glooms. At Moloch's shrine, whose fiery breath con- sumes All things loved best, in huge insatiate maw ! Why shriek ye, then, on street, the furious will Of despot kings? why boast of battled might. Greeting War's chariot with exultant breath? Through flames attend, as ministers of ill, 'Tis not the Car of Progress, Car of Light, O, bhnd! but lo the Juggernaut of Death! [16] TO GERM A NY ! II Indeed for long the world, with eyes aflame. Had yearned that men in making, loosed from strife, Under more halcyon skies, with freedom rife. Might find for kindred arts more glorious name; Worthy of letters the undying fame Of peaceful ways : But lo, the shriek of fife. The war-drum's rattle, and the knife to knife, And hopes of years die in the wild acclaim! Prone all that work achieved within this moil; And those who braved life's ever roughening steep. Are one with Prince and Peasant 'neath the sod. What bitter end for sacrificing toil, What ruin in this universal sweep; The melting pot of Satan, not of God! 117] THE LUSITANIA THE LUSITANIA *^ Women and children first!'* WHO loosed this terror of the hidden deep. Dastards that strike where none have raised a hand? Whose was the word that gave the foul command, The heart that knows no pity, but would sweep All, all before as refuse, and would steep All souls in hatred through the servile land? Enthroning craft, all things of honor banned. Whose is the sowing where but Death may reap? Monster! who wars on helpless innocence, Blind and insensate is thy lust for power, Already have the Fates set out thy name! [181 THE LUSITANIA Add to thy laurels, shrink from no offense, Let all the flags proclaim thy hectic hour; Aye, share with Herod his appointed shame ! 19 THE FAITH OF PRINCES THE FAITH OF PRINCES Put not your trust in Princes! —Psalm CXLVI, 3. " Therefore a prince, so long as he keeps the subject united and loyal, ought not to mind the reproach of cruelty. V *P •F "F n" *' Nevertheless our experience has been that those princes who have done great things have held good faith of little account, and have known how to circumvent the intellect of men by craft and in the end have overcome those who have relied on their word. 4e ^ 4: 4: ^ ** Thereupon he promoted Ramiro d'Orco, a swift and cruel man, to whom he gave the fullest power. And because he knew that the past severity had caused some hatred against himself, so, to clear himself in the minds of the people and gain them entirely to himself. [23] THE FAITH OF PRINCES he desired to show that if any cruelty had been practised it had not originated with hiiUi but in the natural sternness of the minister. Under this pretense he took Ramiro, and one morning caused him to be executed and left on the piazza at Cesena with a block and a bloody knife at his side. The barbarity of this spectacle caused the people at once to be satisfied and dismayed.'' From " The Prince y' By Niccolo Machia- velli. "Finally the relations between two States must often be termed a latent war. Such a po- sition justifies the employment of HOSTILE METHODS, CUNNING AND DECEP- TION, JUST AS WAR ITSELF DOES.'' From "Germany and the Next War," Page J,.9, Chapter 2, "The Duty to Make War." By General Friedrich Von Bernhardi. [24] THE FAITH OF PRINCES PROLOGUE (In Maniera Inglese Settecento) STROPHE "rTpHE Faith of Princes!" What is I that you say, When faith is broken by them every day? Words rise to Hps but to conceal the thought, And sacred promises are counted naught: The while their Armies loot and burn and kill. And millions serve to do their evil will. — 'The Faith of Princes!" As the cup it quaffs In bitterness, the world, despairing, laughs! ANTISTROPHE "nrNHE Faith of Princes!" You shall see its past; Well, as it was, it still is to the last. What Borgia did and Machiavell approved. [25] X THE FAITH OF PRINCES The habit, custom, all so smoothy grooved, That Hapsburg-HohenzoUern but repeat What Guelph and Ghibelline considered neat; And treachery, as order of the day, Still keeps in statecraft its appointed way! 26 THE FAITH OF PRINCES THE FAITH OF PRINCES (An Apologue for the times, being the soliloquy of the Duke of Urhino, Cesare Borgia^ on the eve of ordering the execution of his creature, Ramiro d'Orco, at Cesena, and being, also, a gloss, for this year of grace 1915, on " The Prince,'' by Niccolo Machia- velli.) Scene: The main apartment of the palazzo, in Cesena, looking south on the piazzetta, which is flooded with moonlight, with the Duomo on the right. Borgia is at the win- dow looking out on the square. In the apartment a tall candle flares in the breeze and gives a fitful light. Time: Midnight. THE moon is south, just at meridian, The watchman's shadow trails a gibbet length As alley-ward he slinks; the town's asleep, Though I am here, they cannot always ward 27 THE FAITH OF PRINCES And nature takes its toll as I, as I In civil life, in palaces, at large. Where men in arms kill as it pleases me. Would that my enemies were, eke, so still And that the stillness, as from poison draught. Kept on, and, lo, their night were without end! To him who wished Rome had a single neck, Which he could sever with an even stroke, I give the hand; then mastery were mine Where rebels, many -headed, flout my will. Or, that, like Nero, in a scuttled ship, I would I might drown all, women and men. And rid myself with ease of those opposed! But here Cesena at my nod seems true. Though, since the murmurs rise in sullen tide, I fain must hold them with a sacrifice. And grant a favor to compel a fear! No loss to me; Ramiro is the man. 28 THE FAITH OF PRINCES I'll let his death set out my policy, So they who run may read his testament, No better text than sudden death, I'm sure, To teach the vulgar what their proper place. In media vita — mors! That strikes the heart And pales the fro ward who foresee their end ! If I were learned in words, hke Cicero, My "De Terrore" would affright the ear; Like El Cid's name stampede with horror all! He i): :): % #! AND what my policy? 'Tis simply writ; . Force, fraud and guile, an equal trinity, — Yet ever fair the seeming of my words, My liturgy, humility and peace With credo breathing ever noble things. Sweet discant for my hidden plots of war; As, in the Mass, the Kyrie sounds aloud In counterpoint to tune of ribald song: The words are holy but the burden vile, A fashion out of France as suits their way. 29] THE FAITH OF PRINCES Perfected by the Flemish choristers, Till one is wise who knows aught what is sung. Yea, I am Janus-like, two things at once. My kind intent a silken glove that hides A hand that crushes in its grasp of steel; A smile, my mask, that keeps the auditors. The while I grit in rage behind its screen; As one who springs the trap, with gate well locked. On guest within for whom the farce was played Of ready welcome 'neath the barbican. And gracious leads him to prepared doom. * 4: ^ 4: 4: ROMAGNA is against me! Snarl, ye curs. Who licked my hands and groveled at my feet And begged the crumbs from off my ample board ! Crumbs that in proper mixtures have dispatched 30] THE FAITH OF PRINCES Their craven souls to far Avernian shores! I, still the master of my life and fate, Will rid myself of all the bonds that clog. Whatever the whine of blood, or cry of kin. Above the common rule I wreak my wrath; None stand in Borgia's way, no more than Jove's. If brother pleaded with me but in vain What of Ramiro? Shall I halt my hand And let the jackal sneak across my path? Is Borgia weakling that he dare not glut His vengeance when it serves the cause of state .f* I'll have his Ufe at dawn; the dead say naught; If otherwise, a Pentecost, my life. Free "giftof tongues," wagging in bitter tale, A screaming Babel that would never cease. 4: 4: « * « BUT we who walk above the common plane Find plenary excuse for what we will. With me 'tis "in excelsis," am I not [31] THE FAITH OF PRINCES Of Rome, escutcheons be devised as may, Once Cardinal and son to him who stands Vice-gerent of the Throne of Heaven, serene ! Thus cousin german to our Lord on High, And in this cousinship, myself and God, Find all that justifies my ways with men. Aye, ego Dominusque, phrase most apt. Fit for the Gonfaloniere, that I am. This antic thought just suits my twisted mood, A seal for Borgia in unique design, His apotheosis in Roman style. The human bulking large as the divine, As when Mantegna paints Our Patroness, Our Lady, with the donors equal size. Who crowd her with the saints on either side; So I, with God, my powers delegate, Decree my will as fiat from above, My right divine in great and lesser things. Ha, ha! the fantasy, as moonlight streams 32 THE FAITH OF PRINCES In weird half-lights within the room, transports ! The thing is well invent, I'll bruit it forth That Borgia walks with God on battlefield As well as when he served within the rail. Myself am then supreme, my will the law, No mentor stirs remorse, nor curses move. So ego Dominusque let it be, Interpreter of Heaven as well as Hell Whose seven circles groan with those I've sent. Throat-slit to serve its ghastly rims and Dis. I judge the quick, leave to Our Lord the dead; A slight division in the partnership. In matters earthy giving me the gauge. With victories just as my chaplain prays. For if one spare the loathsome brood of hate. They turn and trip just as the road seems safe, Confound your counsels. No, be merciless. And crush your enemies beneath your feet. 33 THE FAITH OF PRINCES Scrape tablets to the grain for new design. The merciful but builds a bulwark, huge, To house the enemy and feed his pride. The wholesome fear of rulers, that I seek. Secured, it equalizes small and great. Strike down, and keep on striking, that's my rule! * * * * NO, no, my method's sound, infallible. My ex-cathedra judgment never errs. The Sforzas know what is my guiding star. My compass o'er the troubled sea of power, Bologna feels my lash, Ravenna kneels And Sinigaglia sees the harvesting, O'er-ripe her heads and heavy, but they fall. And I have made their fields and towns a waste. As tributes to a Borgia's dream of peace. Which finds sweet incense as the cities smoke! No half-way measures, leaving open sores; No, cauterized and calcinate they lie Open to new endeavors at my wish. [34] THE FAITH OF PRINCES Life at my bidding, creatures of my hand! If ruins crowd my steps, I'll build anew And raise e'en fairer structures in their place. As in the body, so, in public things. Blood letting purifies the humors pent. The sluggish, thickened ichors that obstruct. So let it flow, this is my remedy. In proper channels and your rule is sure; A fair specific that great captains know, A primal law of statecraft from the first. I know each movement in this game of blood. None have surpassed me in the open dare. Where I risk all upon the single throw. And so I keep my sword all free from rust By constant usage seeking my desire, And let it parley in the protocols. — The faith of princes! it looks well in peace But in the grind of war wears somewhat thin And turns to common dust as do we all. But I, per Corpo, am its servitor When serving yields results; the master, I, 35 THE FAITH OF PRINCES When double dealing needs the firmer grip. Though black and grisly, hidden in the dark, Lo, whatsoe'er the deed, my port is fair. E'er fair in public every move and mien. The verb dissimulate I know by heart, Its moods and tenses are my counsellors. Plot evil but let cloying honey drip In cunning from your lips, for words are cheap. And smiles mere surface wrinkles of the skin; My practice, ever as the circumstance. And circumstance as I, alone, may fix With plot and counterplot and constant fraud. The fox brain with the lion's heart my cue. BUT why do I run o'er these things in mind.'' Ramiro's fate I am determined on. But, ah! he speaks of promises, my word. My guarantees set out by scrivener. 36 THE FAITH OF PRINCES My oath, my bond; all naught, the thing is clear, He falls, or I face sullen discontent. Before my safety what are all these vows? Is this my first essay in broken faith? Why, in my 'teens as whilom priest I thrived On shattered pledges, raised myself in power Upon the sherds of those who aimed at state. And why should I then in this broader sphere Play white when all my compeers stalk in black. Birds of one color and of one intent? Of course they'll prattle with Ramiro gone As those at Forli and Urbino, too. They'll cry against me, scream of treaties 'nulled, The violation of the spoken word, Disloyalty to written things, the fools! Whose partisans lie close in battle trench. 37 THE FAITH OF PRINCES Unlovely corses all so neatly slain, And yet I would 'twere easier, this game; The after toils of battles irk me sore. I would I warred in Flanders ; like a board The land, all flat, reticulate with roads, Your progress easy if the people will. But if resistance comes, the devil's loose, For even haughty Burgundy recoils Before the Belgae, feared of Rome of old, And Hapsburg finds no comfort in his fief. And yet there's much to give you recom- pense. For in the loamy soil, all water-soaked, Graves make themselves, no flinty rocks to break. As in these stony wastes of Tuscany, Where nature fights as if in duty bound To save her sons within their eyries hid. Yet I have dashed them from the battle- ments Have hurled them o'er the bastions raised on high. [38] THE FAITH OF PRINCES And let them bleach upon the sunburnt ramps. For what are oaths when Fortune threatens death, And Mars, defeat, upon a stricken field? And might makes right, since Michael with his hosts From out the gates of Heaven drave Lu- cifer, And sent him hurtling to the nether deeps ! ***** I WOULD that Caesar, of the Julian gens. Had let his cloak, Elijah-like, alight Upon my shoulders; that his heritage Of spirit and of valor were mine own; I'd celebrate a holiday in field. Fire all the brassy culverins at once And make a battue of the enemy, — But Caesar's not upon the calendar. His miracles of captainship are naught. Nor make for saintship in St. Peter's nave — But in mine eyes his head is halo-crowned. I hold, with him, no argument in war. 39 THE FAITH OF PRINCES Let words like laws be silent as arms clash And swiftest action do its perfect work ! His "Veni, vidi, vici" sets the pace, Aye, would our common tongue were so compressed; His way's the only way for men of force, Yourself your Fate, and, likewise. Destiny, These are the rules of war I understand. And not o'er fair my application sure. With breach and strict observance as is fit. The rules that spell one word, 'tis "victory." The art of war's a trade, an industry. Which, God my Judge, few ply so well as I. As for the artifice 'tis passing old; Like Cadmus, sow the dragon teeth of strife Of race, religion, then await your chance; For 'tis not all a thing of blood and iron, So many bodies and equipments bought From hired bullies coming from afar; No, no, give me rallying cause and, lo. Dull hearts inflame, dull eyes suffuse with wrath, [40] THE FAITH OF PRINCES As Guelph and Ghibelline they fly to arms And cut each other's throats with equal ease, Just "ad majorem Dei gloriam," And, for the pleasure of the reigning prince ! Fools, fools ! And so my levies do my will, The heavier battalions sweep the field, My larger cannon win the smiles of Heaven; Or, else, the weak, with itching palm, I buy And win the battle ere it comes to pass. For all things yield at once to yellow gold, Like Jericho, the city walls collapse And gates spring open at its magic touch. The warder hands the keys of untouched keep; If otherwise, I starve them to the end, Their stubbornness but serves my purposes, And, Victor, find a charnel house my prize, But that 'tis mine stirs to the very soul. ^ ^ ^ * ^ THEY'D talk of faith of princes with me, well! I'll face them though it makes for instant mirth. [41] THE FAITH OF PRINCES For what are words indeed! mere breath of air, That's sweet or foul as comes by birth or health, No more; all trifles, thistledown in weight Against the needs of empire and my will. And so Ramiro cries in vain to me, My ears are clogged ! Alive he's in my way. My place within the sun of sure success. Yet 'tis not I, but dire necessity — For are we not the playthings of grim fate — That crushes to the dust, and yet he talks Of parchments, papers, merest tags and rags ! What's parchment but the beaten skin of sheep? And what's the quill but pinion of a goose.'' And what is ink but gall and tincture .^^ Bah! And what the combination? Written words ! As for the scribblings, they are waste and vain. Mere hieroglyphics scratched upon a reed ; Two meanings to each text as clerks dispute. 42] THE FAITH OF PKINCES Two views secured at cost of lawyer's fee. Well, place them in the balance with my sword And which is heavier as the scale descends? 'Tis infant babble this of promises! Expediency my only norm, what else Can princes do? The means I make and mould And shape them to their full finality. This is the test, what's mediate is naught But as it yields results ; the end, the end ! For me, one end, dominion over all, My place, then, in the sun and at my ease, Romagna's master and then — Italy! The past is gone, I'll let its poison soak And in some sour Epistle tell its tale. My Gospel? — well! 'tis not a duplicate Of that the shepherds heard, but manners change And we change with them; each one to his trade ! They'll know the facts, when my Te Deum's sung 43 THE FAITH OF PRINCES And Jubilate sounds for cities ta'en, As Nunc Dimittis came to Capua All calculate to very nicety. Quick Benedictus for unshriven souls Who found too soon, for them, the ready pall! A Missa sicca, dry as dust, I'll serve And for good measure, add a Requiem. Of course, " In Terra Pax," but on my terms, Let God get his accounts as best He can ! I gather mine with every flashing blade. — ''Hominibus bonae volunt," — that's the cry; But whose "good-will" I never leave to chance. And, as for perfect peace, there's Tacitus Who lays the proper maxim for us all; "Qui solitudinem et faciunt Appellant pacem;" that's the surest way; Make peace that's lasting, for one starts afresh Where dead ne'er carry tales, nor fight again ! 44 THE FAITH OF PRINCES I MUST not see Ramiro, he would plead Holding my knees for respite e'er so brief, For thus men cling to life down to its dregs, E'en if it slobbers to a senile close, And for it sacrifice their very all. I am not more than men in this, nor hold Myself above their instincts animal. But I must check my feelings lest I fall. Nor will I harken if his women cry "Have mercy on our house and save our Lord." The jades! Lucrezia sums them up for me In witty narrative of things at court. I like her quips, she spares none in her jests And knows their every wile and artifice. And, of necessity, if she would lead And hold her own where feline manners rule. Yea, stripped or clothed, in mind or body bare. They play their part before my searching eyes — 45] THE FAITH OF PRINCES The lure of flesh? — that's for the soldier crew Who stay their rapine for a well-turned arm, No loose impedimenta in my camp For me! I know when dalliance destroys. And what one pays for smirks or welling tears, Or shrill abuse, the privilege of their sex. The chief est weapon in their battery, Where weakness serves as easy citadel. All "honest women and from Corinth too," As one would say with Aristophanes ! Who win their praise, win little else I wot; Who hold their love, will hold no treasure long, 'Tis, "odium figulinum" with them all; "Trade jealousy," the motive that controls. St. Paul's monition I would e'er apply In private and in public as in church. And keep the Salic law as daily rule. But give them freedom in the couching room. For war needs cradles quite as well as guns ! ;46j THE FAITH OF PRINCES As for their interference, bah, 'tis naught, I'll clap a plaster on their screaming mouths — A cincture, not of chastity — but — wait! I'LL have my will, Cesena must be heard. The people plot, who were my sole support And helped my fortunes, 'gainst my creature here. The man is cruel! I must seem more kind; The man is bestial; I must be the prince; He, avaricious ; I must spendthrift be ! For all his fawning favors he must die ! Or else that he is I and I am he Will worm in easy logic through the mob And on my hands will be his stigmata. His crime spills o'er and spatters me aloof. The people pierce the thin disguise that cloaks. In stewardship my policy of hate. And I am suspect through his fealty. Perchance in cups the fool has babbled, too, [47] THE FAITH OF PRINCES "I do this not by nature, but, my friends. As Borgia orders from his castle keep." And so I meet with looks avert and dour And catch the fingers crossed against my glance. This must not be! Ramiro's day is done. The "evening and the morning" wind it up: (I quote me Scripture for a trifling deed). And since he is the creature of my whim, The cat's paw cannot blame a change of mind; Nor weather vane find fault with any breeze. For those who act as procurators know Th' attainder's on their heads with no escape. They serve me at their peril, well or ill! ***** {Looks out on the square, studying the Cathedral and its architectural details.) IN this soft light the door seems rather fine, A hint of Donatello in the Christ, 48] THE FAITH OF PRINCES The dome would almost pass for Florentine. I owe a chapel and an altarpiece. I'll have Bramante try his New World gold As in Maria Maggiore's coffered vault, And ask Buonarroti for his help In something fine, a Pieta in small; A devotee, as I, of things antique. His style quite lately fooled the cardinal; Not me; I know the 'prentice hand in art. Though w^hen 'tis Rafaello's, well, beware! I would his master Perugino came. Or, better, Pinturicchio, who serves The Pope, and well at that, in Vatican, Where walls, once bare, now glow in magery And fields in flower and ways of men, set out. Tell pleasant histories through Mistress Art. As does Lucrezia I would worship, too. Before the shrine of beauty and of love, But all these chamber manners murder time. And now my tasks compel to other ways. Enough! my orders — lest the man escape; The very walls do carry news of me ! [49] THE FAITH OF PRINCES At once! at once! (Claps his hands and calls his secretaries.) The captain and the guard! (The captain enters with the palace guard.) MY captain! nearer to the arras, so; I speak in underbreath, the matter grave, 'Tween me and thee these prefaces must lie A subject privy. Know ye then my will. Ramiro, he my agent here must die. Profaner of my counsels, he exceeds His due authority and has served me ill. The people groan beneath his yoke and I, Well, I, as saviour, hasten to relieve. Once more in seeming prove their patron saint. — He is to die at dawn. Not secretly. But as a fresh exemplar of my rule; In raising hopes I would not quell their fears, And by his course would indicate my mind. [50] THE FAITH OF PRINCES As sharp a hint as oft at Lenten tide His grace, my fief, bawls out from yonder porch. Down there, before the steps, where roads cut o'er The piazzetta, set the headsman's block. Then fetch Ramiro loaded well with chains. Gyves at the wrist and ankles cutting flesh. And all a-tremble from the rack whose twist Should make him eloquent and babbler, bah. Behead him! sharp the stroke at flush of dawn. Then let the town, astir to catch the news. Come tumbling through its narrow lanes to church And sight the spectacle. The corse exposed, The head on stake, set firmly in the pave. And block and dripping sword in ruddy pool. For I would have them whisper "Who is next? Beseems that none is mightier than the Duke." [51] THE FAITH OF PRINCES Would have them know that Borgia rules, alone ! Let them to Mass and shrive themselves at once! Vengeance is mine, I shall repay on earth. So render unto Caesar all his dues. Since judgment notes from Heaven may be delayed, With God I'll sit more firmly here. Obey! {The captain and the guard retire. Borgia looks once more out on the square, and, smiling sardonically, blows out the candle, and turns to his cabinet.) ZEUGMA And so it came to pass: Cesena saw And all the world has gazed in horror since, And set the Borgia on a pedestal Of deepest obloquy, shame black as night, Nor lets the scrivener escape his fate. Himself involved as bye-word for all ill, A hissing on the lips of history! [521 THE FAITH OF PRINCES EPILOGUE STROPHE 44rTpHE Faith of Princes!" Why not I utter rout "*■ For such a system as the facts set out? Why prate to-day of rights of kings, divine. When kaisers yield advantage to the swine. And epileptics claim by right of birth Full homage, where the proper thing is mirth For those whose acts savor of ways insane, The while they rule as despots, free of rein? ANTISTROPHE Urr^HE Faith of Princes!" To the I limbo then "^ Of useless lumber, in an age of men, With all that fllunkyism with its bays 53 THE FAITH OF PRINCES Would still exact with honeyed overpraise! Away with kingcraft, which, to sound axiacK, With lese majeste would answer back! Supplant the "Faith of Princes" — hellish joke! — With "faith of peoples" freed from every yoke! [54] W23 efi .c,^ ^-^ ^ ■^ "'WIS* <^ ^'^^ -y^^^/ ^ ^^ '^S^^^' c^ ^ r - — _„^. .. w - ^. »° •'■*-. vOv*. ;* » • • ) 'o . » " yV <<* ... 0^ .-^l!' "^c 1 ^ 1 »•. I in •* ' it. ^ 4 : " M 4 /