Classic Poem

VI.

What tho' the earth, now sterile grown,
Will but by toil her products bring;
What tho' her climes no longer own
An Eden's ever-during spring:
Use shall the native reconcile
To each adversity of soil,
Or art allay the wild extreme.
Necessity shall summon forth
The soul of energetic worth;
And labour nerve the frame, and clear the mental beam.

VII.

Revolving years, eventful all,
Progressively their round fulfill,
Kingdoms and heroes rise and fall
Obedient to th' eternal will.
Assyria's Kings their empire spread;
O'er vanquish'd realms the Persians tread;
Heroick palms the Grecians bear;
The Caesars war. Each seeks alone
To rear their perishable throne;
Yet these thy promis'd reign, oh Prince-of Peace! prepare.

VIII.

Far, far beyond the narrow bound
The Babylonish tyrant trod,
When from his palace, turret-crown'd;
He gaz'd, himself a fancied God;
O'er ampler realms than Cyrus sway'd,
More numerous hosts than Xerxes led,
Christianity's mild banners wave:
Where never march'd Achaia's Prince,
Where never Rome, on false pretence,
Invaded peaceful realms or triumph'd o'er the brave.

IX.

Has not the sacred page foretold
(That page, which med'cines all our fear:)
That 'ere the car of time has roll'd
Its period o'er allotted years,
Nations, perchance, ev'n now unknown,
The inmates of each distant zone,
The gospel's blessing shall receive:
From ev'ry kindred, people, tongue,
Shall burst devotion's ardent song,
And earth again to Heav'n a welcome incense breathe.

X.

'Tis not that lightnings rend the air,
Or icy rigours chain the soil,
Nor that humanity must bear
His destin'd lot of pain and toil,
That man complains. A different source
Those sorrows know, whose poignant force
Deepest afflict the tortur'd soul.
They spring from av'rice, envy, lust,
From cruel foes, from friends unjust,
The pang of wounded pride, or pleasure's traiterous bowl.