II.

Better is conquest, when we gain our right By no reproachful means, no deeds of shame, Than if to envy we expose our fame, And trample on the laws with impious might. Such laurels which at first too sweetly bloom, Ere long are withered by the frost of time, And scorn pursues their wearers to the tomb. I in my household or the state presume To seek that power alone which rules without a crime.