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And we shall conquer. Though their eagles fly
Through heaven, around this ancient isle unite
Powers that were never vanquished in the fight,
The unconquerable Powers that cannot lie.
But they who challenge Truth, Law, Justice, all
The bases on which God and man stand sure
Throughout all ages, fools!—they thought us torn
So far with discord that the blow might fall
Unanswered; and, while those Powers endure,
This is our answer: Unity and Scorn.
III.
We trust not in the multitude of an host.
Nations that greatly builded, greatly stand.
In those dark hours, the Splendour of a Hand
Has moved behind the darkness, till that coast
Where hate and faction seemed to triumph most
Reveals itself—a buckler and a brand,
Our rough-hewn work, shining o'er sea and land,
But shaped to nobler ends than man could boast.
