Classic Poem

Where on the bosom of the foamy Rhine,
In curling waves the rapid waters shine;
Where tow'ring cliffs in awful grandeur rise,
And midst the blue expanse embrace the skies;
The wond'ring eye beholds yon craggy height,
Ting'd with the glow of Evening's fading light:
Where the fierce cataract swelling o'er its bound,
Bursts from its source, and dares the depth profound.
On ev'ry side the headlong currents flow,
Scatt'ring their foam like silv'ry sands below:
From hill to hill responsive echoes sound,
Loud torrents roar, and dashing waves rebound:
Th' opposing rock, the azure stream divides
The white froth tumbling down its sparry sides;
From fall to fall the glitt'ring channels flow,
'Till lost, they mingle in the Lake below.
Tremendous spot! amid thy views sublime,
The mental sight ethereal realms may climb,
With wonder rapt the mighty work explore,
Confess th' Eternal's pow'r! and pensively adore!

— All varying Nature! oft the outstretch'd eye
Marks o'er the Welkin's brow the meteor fly:
Marks, where the Comet with impetuous force,
O'er Heaven's wide concave, skims its fiery course:
While on the Alpine steep thin vapours rise,
Float on the blast — or freeze amidst the skies:
Or half congeal'd in flaky fragments glide
Along the gelid mountain's breezy side;
Or mingling with the waste of yielding snow,
From the vast height in various currents flow.

— Now pale-ey'd Morning, at thy soft command,
O'er the rich landscape spreads her dewy hand:
Swift o'er the plain the lucid rivers fly,
Imperfect mirrors of the dappled sky:
On the fring'd margin of the dimpling tide,
Each od'rous bud, by Flora's pencil dy'd,
Expands its velvet leaves of lust'rous hue,
Bath'd in the essence of celestial dew:
While from the Meteor to the simplest Flow'r,
Prolific Nature! we behold thy pow'r!
Yet has mysterious Heaven with care consign'd
Thy noblest triumphs to the human mind;
Man feels the proud pre-eminence impart
Intrepid firmness to his swelling heart;
Creation's lord! where'er he bends his way,
The torch of Reason spreads its godlike ray.

— As o'er Sicilian sands the Trav'ler roves,
Feeds on its fruits, and shelters in its groves,
Sudden amidst the calm retreat he hears
The pealing thunders in the distant spheres;

Where on the bosom of the foamy Rhine,
In curling waves the rapid waters shine;
Where tow'ring cliffs in awful grandeur rise,
And midst the blue expanse embrace the skies;
The wond'ring eye beholds yon craggy height,
Ting'd with the glow of Evening's fading light:
Where the fierce cataract swelling o'er its bound,
Bursts from its source, and dares the depth profound.
On ev'ry side the headlong currents flow,
Scatt'ring their foam like silv'ry sands below:
From hill to hill responsive echoes sound,
Loud torrents roar, and dashing waves rebound:
Th' opposing rock, the azure stream divides
The white froth tumbling down its sparry sides;
From fall to fall the glitt'ring channels flow,
'Till lost, they mingle in the Lake below.
Tremendous spot! amid thy views sublime,
The mental sight ethereal realms may climb,
With wonder rapt the mighty work explore,
Confess th' Eternal's pow'r! and pensively adore!

— All varying Nature! oft the outstretch'd eye
Marks o'er the Welkin's brow the meteor fly:
Marks, where the Comet with impetuous force,
O'er Heaven's wide concave, skims its fiery course:
While on the Alpine steep thin vapours rise,
Float on the blast — or freeze amidst the skies:
Or half congeal'd in flaky fragments glide
Along the gelid mountain's breezy side;
Or mingling with the waste of yielding snow,
From the vast height in various currents flow.

— Now pale-ey'd Morning, at thy soft command,
O'er the rich landscape spreads her dewy hand:
Swift o'er the plain the lucid rivers fly,
Imperfect mirrors of the dappled sky:
On the fring'd margin of the dimpling tide,
Each od'rous bud, by Flora's pencil dy'd,
Expands its velvet leaves of lust'rous hue,
Bath'd in the essence of celestial dew:
While from the Meteor to the simplest Flow'r,
Prolific Nature! we behold thy pow'r!
Yet has mysterious Heaven with care consign'd
Thy noblest triumphs to the human mind;
Man feels the proud pre-eminence impart
Intrepid firmness to his swelling heart;
Creation's lord! where'er he bends his way,
The torch of Reason spreads its godlike ray.

— As o'er Sicilian sands the Trav'ler roves,
Feeds on its fruits, and shelters in its groves,
Sudden amidst the calm retreat he hears
The pealing thunders in the distant spheres;