The Cry for Justice: An Anthology of the Literature of Social Protest / The writings of philosophers, poets, novelists, social reformers, and others who have voiced the struggle against social injustice; selected from twenty-five languages; covering a period of five thousand years

by Unknown

The People

By Tommaso Campanella

(Italian philosopher, 1568-1639. Translation by John Addington Symonds)

The people is a beast of muddy brain

That knows not its own strength, and therefore stands

Loaded with wood and stone; the powerless hands

Of a mere child guide it with bit and rein;

One kick would be enough to break the chain,

But the beast fears, and what the child demands

It does; nor its own terror understands,