Is there not some chosen curse,
Some hidden thunder in the stores of heaven,
Red with uncommon read more

Is there not some chosen curse,
Some hidden thunder in the stores of heaven,
Red with uncommon wrath, to blast the man
Who owes his greatness to his country's ruin?

Tarquin and Caesar had each his Brutus--Charles the First, his
Cromwell--and George the Third--("Treason!" shouted the Speaker)
may read more

Tarquin and Caesar had each his Brutus--Charles the First, his
Cromwell--and George the Third--("Treason!" shouted the Speaker)
may profit by their example. If this be treason, make the most
of it.

O that a soldier so glorious, ever victorious in fight,
Passed from a daylight of honor into the terrible read more

O that a soldier so glorious, ever victorious in fight,
Passed from a daylight of honor into the terrible night;
Fell as the mighty archangel, ere the earth glowed in space,
fell--
Fell from the patriot's heaven down to the loyalist's hell!

There is something peculiarly sinister and insidious in even a charge of disloyalty. Such a charge all too frequently places read more

There is something peculiarly sinister and insidious in even a charge of disloyalty. Such a charge all too frequently places a strain on the reputation of an individual which is indelible and lasting, regardless of the complete innocence later proved.

If this be treason, make the most of it!

If this be treason, make the most of it!

Supposition all our lives shall be stuck full of eyes;
For treason is but trusted like the fox,
read more

Supposition all our lives shall be stuck full of eyes;
For treason is but trusted like the fox,
Who, ne'er so tame, so cherished and locked up,
Will have a wild trick of his ancestors.

Smooth runs the water where the brook is deep,
And in his simple show he harbors treason.

Smooth runs the water where the brook is deep,
And in his simple show he harbors treason.

A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at read more

A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear. The traitor is the plague.

Treason is not own'd when 'tis descried;
Successful crimes alone are justified.

Treason is not own'd when 'tis descried;
Successful crimes alone are justified.