O! repudiate bloodbought fame, and hearken
To the myriad witness-voicéd Dead,
Ere the Sternness[3] shall lay down to darken
In the Silentness[4] thy crownless head!
Shudder at the dire phantasmagory
Of the Slain who perished here by thee,
And abhor all future wreaths of glory
Gathered from the baleful cypress-tree!
Lofty souls disdain or dread the laurel—
Hero is a poor exchange for Man;