Classic Poem

Friend to the Human Race! whose heart benign,
Still listens to the calls of sad Distress;
And bids thy hand relieve, thy bounty bless,
The African who toils beneath the line;
And those of Europe's Sons, who, Slaves no less,
Reluctant drag Ambition's vengeful car
O'er plains once smiling, now laid waste by War;
Vain hope! to check fair Freedom's rising sway:
Thine, W ILBERFORCE , the Muse's purest lay;
Thine the glad homage of the gentle soul.
Thy precepts would the storm of War controul,
Bid Tyranny its wasteful ravage cease,
And spread the reign of Liberty and Peace,
Far as the Sun can light, or boundless Oceans roll.