Sonnet for all Politicians of all Parties.

Sonnet for all Politicians of all Parties.

Deem not that minds which think not as thine own
Must be heedless of their country’s good;
For all true men would even shed their blood,
If needed, were it plainly to them shown
it were required, in order to put down 5
Some giant evil that accurst their race.
Fair Freedom’s tree would spread its boughs apace,
Were but the healthy breeze of Knowledge blown
Gently upon its leaves, and the clear sun
Of Virtue aye to warm it with its rays; 10
But ne’er can flourish planted ‘midst the haze
Of Ignorance and Vice. Nor steel nor gun,
However deftly used, can e’er make Free
Those who prize not, above life, Knowledge and Purity.

George Markham Tweddell
p. 32 [in Miscellaneous Sonnets]
The Rough Ashlar, Adelaide, South Australia, Sept. ’84. The Voice of
Masonry, Chicago, Illinois, U.S., Dec., 1884.