England

ENGLAND
(From Shakespeare's Richard II)


THIS royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle,

This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,

This other Eden, demi-paradise ;

This fortress, built by nature for herself,

Against infection and the hand of war ;

This happy breed of men, this little world ;

This precious stone set in the silver sea,

Which serves it in the office of a wall,

Or as a moat defensive to a house,

Against the envy of less happier lands :

This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England,

This nurse, this teeming womb of royal kings,

Fear'd by their breed, and famous by their birth,

Renowned for their deeds as far from home,

(For Christian service, and true chivalry,)

As is the sepulchre in stubborn Jewry,

Of the world's ransom, blessed Mary's son :

This land of such dear souls, this dear, dear land,

Dear for her reputation through the world . . .

England, bound in with the triumphant sea,

Whose rocky shore beats back the envious siege

Of watery Neptune.

II

THIS England never did, nor never shall,
Lie at the proud foot of a conqueror,
But when it first did help to wound itself.