| Hunt and Lee, comps. The Book of the Sonnet. 1867. | | | | II. Political Greatness | | By Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822) |
| | | NOR happiness, nor majesty, nor fame, | |
| Nor peace, nor strength, nor skill in arms or arts, | |
| Shepherd those herds whom tyranny makes tame; | |
| Verse echoes not one beating of their hearts, | |
| History is but the shadow of their shame; | 5 |
| Art veils her glass, or from the pageant starts, | |
| As to oblivion their blind millions fleet, | |
| Staining that heaven with obscene imagery | |
| Of their own likeness. What are numbers knit | |
| By force or custom? Man, who man would be, | 10 |
| Must rule the empire of himself; in it | |
| Must be supreme, establishing his throne | |
| On vanquished will, quelling the anarchy | |
| Of hopes and fears, being himself alone. | | | | |
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