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Home  »  The Book of Restoration Verse  »  John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester (1647–1680)

William Stanley Braithwaite, ed. The Book of Restoration Verse. 1910.

The Commons’ Petition to King Charles II.

John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester (1647–1680)

IN all humanity, we crave

Our Sovereign may be our slave;

And humbly beg, that he may be

Betrayed by us most loyally;

And if he please once to lay down

His sceptre, dignity, and crown;

We’ll make him, for the time to come,

The greatest Prince in Christendom!

The King’s Answer
Charles, at this time, having no need,

Thanks you as much as if he did.