Study of a Figure in the Court of Queen Mab (2)

The second of a mini-series of Studies from the Court of Queen Mab.

The man
Of virtuous soul commands not, nor obeys.
Power, like a desolating pestilence,
Pollutes whate'er it touches; and obedience,
Bane of all genius, virtue, freedom, truth,
Makes slaves of men, and of the human frame
A mechanized automaton.

Queen Mab by Shelley