STRANGER,
Ere thou pass, contemplate this cannon,
Nor regardless be told
That near its base lies deposited the dust
Of John Bradshaw;
Who, nobly superior to selfish regards,
Despising alike the pageantry of courtly splendor,
The blast of calumny,
And the terrors of royal vengeance,
Presided in the illustrious band of Heroes and Patriots,
Who fairly and openly adjudged CHARLES STUARD
Tyrant of England
To a public and exemplary death;
Thereby presenting to the amazed world,
And transmitting down through applauding ages,
The most glorious example
Of unshaken virtue,
Love of Freedom,
And impartial justice,
Ever exhibited on the blood-stained theatre
Of human actions.
Oh, Reader,
Pass not on, till thou haft blest his memory!
And never, never forget,
That REBELLION TO TYRANTS
IS OBEDIENCE TO GOD.
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Source, in full
Reported in the Appendix to the Memoirs of Thomas Hollis (London, 1780), p. 789, with the following commentary: "This Epitaph is often seen pasted up in the houses in North America. It throws some light upon the principles of the people, and may in some measure account for the asperity of the war carrying on against them. The original is engraved upon a cannon at the summit of a steep hill near Martha Bray [sic] in Jamaica." Cf. Simon Bradstreet, "Resistance to tyranny is obedience to God"