Sonnets Upon The Punishment Of Death - In Series, 1839 – III - The Roman Consul Doomed His Sons To Die

A poem by William Wordsworth

The Roman Consul doomed his sons to die
Who had betrayed their country. The stern word
Afforded (may it through all time afford)
A theme for praise and admiration high.
Upon the surface of humanity
He rested not; its depths his mind explored;
He felt; but his parental bosom's lord
Was Duty, Duty calmed his agony.
And some, we know, when they by willful act
A single human life have wrongly taken,
Pass sentence on themselves, confess the fact,
And, to atone for it, with soul unshaken
Kneel at the feet of Justice, and, for faith
Broken with all mankind, solicit death.