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POEMS.
The owners and their fame.
Thus Troy, I deem must be,
With many a mouldering mound;
And thou, whose name alone remains to thee,
Rome, of old gods and kings the native ground;
And thou, sage Athens, built by Pallas, whom
Just laws redeemed not from the appointed doom.
The envy of earth's cities once wert thou,—
A weary solitude and ashes now.
For fate and death respect ye not: they strike
The mighty city and the wise alike.
V.
But why goes forth the wandering thought to frame
New themes of sorrow, sought in distant lands?
Enough the example that before me stands;
For here are smoke wreaths seen, and glimmering flame,
Thus Troy, I deem must be,
With many a mouldering mound;
And thou, whose name alone remains to thee,
Rome, of old gods and kings the native ground;
And thou, sage Athens, built by Pallas, whom
Just laws redeemed not from the appointed doom.
The envy of earth's cities once wert thou,—
A weary solitude and ashes now.
For fate and death respect ye not: they strike
The mighty city and the wise alike.
V.
But why goes forth the wandering thought to frame
New themes of sorrow, sought in distant lands?
Enough the example that before me stands;
For here are smoke wreaths seen, and glimmering flame,