Classic Poem

VII.

O Goddess of the brave and wise!
Where'er thy radiant seat is plac'd
Beneath mild Britain's temper'd skies,
Or in the cold Sarmatian waste,
There still, as in their native air,
The nobler virtues flourish fair.
Firm constancy, unwearied zeal,
Courage that spurns degrading fear,
Faith unprofessing, yet sincere;
All that can greatly act, all that can finely feel.

VIII.

Bright object of my ardent prayer!
When will thy soul-enliv'aing beam
Dispel the wintry clouds of care,
And gild the cot by Welland's stream?
There oft thy harbinger I see:
The ruddy sylvan, Industry:
He still directs our daily toil.
Nor yet does adverse Fate deny
Each humbler hope to gratify,
But when, ah when will tardy Independence smile?

IX.

Away, Complaint! Thy chilling spleen
With langour numbs the active powers:
For as I view the passing scene,
My path seems strew'd with festal flowers.
Millions, who bear the human form,
Assail'd by Fortune's ruthless storm,
To heaven of hated life complain.
Adversity's sharp stings they feel,
they cringe beneath oppression's wheel,
They pine with hopeless woe, or faint with cureless pain.

X.

Ye sons of affluence and fame,
To noble independence born,
Remov'd from want's imputed shame,
And mis'ry's undeserved scorn,
Preserve the birth-right ye possess:
Oh! trifle not with happiness;
From lavish dissipation fly.
Force not your noble souls to bear
An irksome round of anxious care,
Nor let the sordid bribe your mean subservience buy.

XI.


Preserve the birth-right ye possess,
The banquet of the lib'ral mind,
The pow'r to succour, and to bless,
To speed the int'rests of mankind.
Ev'n, like the glorious orb of day.
Your falotary beams convey
To all within your ample sphere.
Oppressive opulence subdue,
Lead slighted merit forth to view,
Dispel the orphan's grief, and wipe the widow's tear.

XII.

Yet while with condescension sweet
Ye lay the pride of birth aside,
The injur'd sufferer to meet,
The blush of modesty to hide;
Still, when occasion calls it forth,
Assume the dignity of worth,
To check oppression's proud decree.
Admiring nations shall perceive,
What minds unbiass'd can atchieve,
And bless benignant heav'n, which made you great and free.