If thou would'st stand on Etna's burning brow,
With smoke above, and roaring flame below;
And gaze adown that molten gulf reveal'd,
Till thy soul shudder'd and thy senses reel'd:
If thou wouldst beard Niag'ra in his pride,
Or stem the billows of Propontic tide;
Scale all alone some dizzy Alpine haut ,
And shriek " Excelsior! " among the snow:
Would'st tempt all deaths, all dangers that may be —
Perils by land, and perils on the sea;
This vast round world, I say, if thou wouldst view it —
Then, why the dickens don't you go and do it?