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Victor Hugo - Cromwell And The Crown
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[CROMWELL, Act II., October, 1827.]


THURLOW _communicates the intention of Parliament to
offer_ CROMWELL _the crown_.

  CROMWELL. And is it mine? And have my feet at length
Attained the summit of the rock i` the sand?

  THURLOW. And yet, my lord, you have long reigned.

  CROM.                                   Nay, nay!
Power I have `joyed, in sooth, but not the name.
Thou smilest, Thurlow. Ah, thou little know`st
What hole it is Ambition digs i` th` heart
What end, most seeming empty, is the mark
For which we fret and toil and dare! How hard
With an unrounded fortune to sit down!
Then, what a lustre from most ancient times
Heaven has flung o`er the sacred head of kings!
King--Majesty--what names of power! No king,
And yet the world`s high arbiter! The thing
Without the word! no handle to the blade!
Away--the empire and the name are one!
Alack! thou little dream`st how grievous `tis,
Emerging from the crowd, and at the top
Arrived, to feel that there is _something_ still
Above our heads; something, nothing! no matter--
That word is everything.
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