Thou , who to look for Rome, to Rome art come,
And in the midst of Rome find'st nought of Rome;
Behold her heaps of walls, her structures rent,
Her theatres overwhelm'd, of vast extent;
Those now are Rome. See how those ruins frown,
And speak the threats yet of so brave a town.
By Rome, as once the world, is Rome o'ercome,
Lest ought on earth should not be quell'd by Rome:
Now conqu'ring Rome doth conquer'd Rome inter;
And she the vanquish'd is and vanquisher.
To show us where she stood there rests alone
Tiber: yet that too hastens to be gone.
Learn hence what fortune can. Towns glide away;
And rivers, which are still in motion, stay.