Classic Poem

Florence , before she broke the good old bounds,
Whence yet are heard the chimes of eve and morn,
Abided well in modesty and peace.
No coronets had she—no chains of gold—
No gaudy sandals—no rich girdles rare
That caught the eye more than the person did.
Fathers then feared no daughter's birth, for dread
Of wantons courting wealth; nor were their homes
Emptied with exile. Chamberers had not shown
What they could dare, to prove their scorn of shame.
Your neighbouring uplands then beheld no towers
Prouder than Rome's, only to know worse fall
I saw Bellincion Berti walk abroad
Girt with a thong of leather: and his wife
Come from the glass without a painted face.
Nerlis I saw, and Vecchios, and the like,
In doublets without cloaks; and their good dames
Contented while they spun. Blest women those!
They knew the place where they should lie when dead;
Nor were their beds deserted while they lived.
They nursed their babies; lulled them with the songs
And household words of their own infancy;
And while they drew the distaffs' hair away,
In the sweet bosoms of their families,
Told tales of Troy, and Fiesole, and Rome.
It had been then as marvellous to see
A man of Lapo Salterello's sort,
Or woman like Cianghella, as to find
A Cincinnatus or Cornelia now.