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diff --git a/8683.txt b/8683.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ba23229 --- /dev/null +++ b/8683.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12101 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Columbiad, by Joel Barlow + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Columbiad + +Author: Joel Barlow + +Posting Date: March 16, 2014 [EBook #8683] +Release Date: August, 2005 +First Posted: August 1, 2003 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE COLUMBIAD *** + + + + +Produced by Distributed Proofreaders + + + + + + + + + +The Columbiad + +A Poem. + +By Joel Barlow. + + + + Tu spiegherai, Colombo, a un novo polo + Lontane si le fortunate antenne, + Ch'a pena seguira con gli occhi il volo + La Fama, ch' ha mille occhi e mille penne. + Canti ella Alcide, e Bacco; e di te solo + Basti a i posteri tuoi, ch' alquanto accenne: + Che quel poco dara lunga memoria + Di poema degnissima, e d'istoria. + + Gierus, Lib. Can. xv. + + + + + +1809 + + + + +Preface. + + + +In preparing this work for publication it seems proper to offer some +observations explanatory of its design. The classical reader will perceive +the obstacles which necessarily presented themselves in reconciling the +nature of the subject with such a manner of treating it as should appear +the most poetical, and at the same time the most likely to arrive at that +degree of dignity and usefulness to which it ought to aspire. + +The Columbiad is a patriotic poem; the subject is national and historical. +Thus far it must be interesting to my countrymen. But most of the events +were so recent, so important and so well known, as to render them +inflexible to the hand of fiction. The poem therefore could not with +propriety be modelled after that regular epic form which the more splendid +works of this kind have taken, and on which their success is supposed in a +great measure to depend. The attempt would have been highly injudicious; +it must have diminished and debased a series of actions which were really +great in themselves, and could not be disfigured without losing their +interest. + +I shall enter into no discussion on the nature of the epopea, nor attempt +to prove by any latitude of reasoning that I have written an Epic Poem. +The subject indeed is vast; far superior to any one of those on which the +celebrated poems of this description have been constructed; and I have no +doubt but the form I have given to the work is the best that the subject +would admit. It may be added that in no poem are the unities of time, place +and action more rigidly observed: the action, in the technical sense of +the word, consisting only of what takes place between Columbus and Hesper; +which must be supposed to occupy but few hours, and is confined to the +prison and the mount of vision. + +But these circumstances of classical regularity are of little consideration +in estimating the real merit of any work of this nature. Its merit must +depend on the importance of the action, the disposition of the parts, the +invention and application of incidents, the propriety of the illustrations, +the liveliness and chastity of the images, the suitable intervention of +machinery, the moral tendency of the manners, the strength and sublimity of +the sentiments; the whole being clothed in language whose energy, harmony +and elegance shall constitute a style every where suited to the matter they +have to treat. It is impossible for me to determine how far I may have +succeeded in any of these particulars. This must be decided by others, the +result of whose decision I shall never know. But there is one point of view +in which I wish the reader to place the character of my work, before he +pronounces on its merit: I mean its political tendency. There are two +distinct objects to be kept in view in the conduct of a narrative poem; the +_poetical_ object and the _moral_ object. The poetical is the +fictitious design of the action; the moral is the real design of the poem. + +In the Iliad of Homer the poetical object is to kindle, nourish, sustain +and allay the anger of Achilles. This end is constantly kept in view; and +the action proper to attain it is conducted with wonderful judgment thro a +long series of incidents, which elevate the mind of the reader, and excite +not only a veneration for the creative powers of the poet, but an ardent +emulation of his heroes, a desire to imitate and rival some of the great +actors in the splendid scene; perhaps to endeavor to carry into real life +the fictions with which we are so much enchanted. + +Such a high degree of interest excited by the first object above mentioned, +the fictitious design of the action, would make it extremely important that +the second object, the real design of the poem, should be beneficial to +society. But the real design in the Iliad was directly the reverse. +Its obvious tendency was to inflame the minds of young readers with an +enthusiastic ardor for military fame; to inculcate the pernicious doctrine +of the divine right of kings; to teach both prince and people that military +plunder was the most honorable mode of acquiring property; and that +conquest, violence and war were the best employment of nations, the most +glorious prerogative of bodily strength and of cultivated mind. + +How much of the fatal policy of states, and of the miseries and +degradations of social man, have been occasioned by the false notions of +honor inspired by the works of Homer, it is not easy to ascertain. The +probability is, that however astonishing they are as monuments of human +intellect, and how long soever they have been the subject of universal +praise, they have unhappily done more harm than good. My veneration for his +genius is equal to that of his most idolatrous readers; but my reflections +on the history of human errors have forced upon me the opinion that his +existence has really proved one of the signal misfortunes of mankind. + +The moral tendency of the Eneid of Virgil is nearly as pernicious as that +of the works of Homer. Its poetical or fictitious design, the settlement +of his hero in Italy, is well delineated and steadily pursued. This object +must have been far more interesting to the Romans than the anger of +Achilles could have been to the Greeks. Had Virgil written his poem one or +two centuries earlier than he did, while his countrymen felt that they had +a country and were not themselves the property of a master, they must have +glowed with enthusiasm in reciting the fabulous labors of their ancestors, +and adored the songster who could have thus elevated so endearing a +subject; who could have adorned it with such an interesting variety of +incidents, such weight of pathos, such majesty of sentiment and harmony of +verse. But Virgil wrote and felt like a subject, not like a citizen. The +real design of his poem was to increase the veneration of the people for a +master, whoever he might be, and to encourage like Homer the great system +of military depredation. + +Lucan is the only republican among the ancient epic poets. But the action +of his rambling tho majestic poem is so badly arranged as to destroy, in +a poetical sense, the life and interest of the great national subject on +which it is founded; at the same time that it abounds in the most exalted +sentiments and original views of manners, highly favorable to the love of +justice and the detestation of war. If a mind, formed like that of Lucan, +as to its moral and political cast, and endowed with the creative energy +of Homer, had sung to the early Greeks the fall of Troy or the labors +of Hercules, his work (taking the place which those of Homer have +unfortunately occupied) as a splendid model for all succeeding ages, would +have given a very different turn to the pursuits of heroes and the policy +of nations. Ambition might then have become a useful passion, instead of a +destructive disease. + +In the poem here presented to the public the objects, as in other works of +the kind, are two, the fictitious object of the action and the real object +of the poem. The first of these is to sooth and satisfy the desponding +mind of Columbus; to show him that his labors, tho ill rewarded by his +cotemporaries, had not been performed in vain; that he had opened the way +to the most extensive career of civilization and public happiness; and that +he would one day be recognised as the author of the greatest benefits to +the human race. This object is steadily kept in view; and the actions, +images and sentiments are so disposed as probably to attain the end. But +the real object of the poem embraces a larger scope; it is to inculcate the +love of rational liberty, and to discountenance the deleterious passion for +violence and war; to show that on the basis of the republican principle all +good morals, as well as good government and hopes of permanent peace, must +be founded; and to convince the student in political science, that the +theoretical question of the future advancement of human society, till +states as well as individuals arrive at universal civilization, is held in +dispute and still unsettled only because we have had too little experience +of organized liberty in the government of nations to have well considered +its effects. + +I cannot expect that every reader, nor even every republican reader, will +join me in opinion with respect to the future progress of society and the +civilization of states; but there are two sentiments in which I think +all men will agree: that the event is desirable, and that to believe it +practicable is one step towards rendering it so. This being the case, they +ought to pardon a writer, if not applaud him, for endeavoring to inculcate +this belief. + +I have taken the liberty, notwithstanding the recency of the events, +to make some changes in the order of several of the principal battles +described in this poem. I have associated the actions of Starke, Herkimer, +Brown and Francis in the battle of Saratoga, tho they happened at some +distance from that battle, both as to time and place. A like circumstance +will be noticed with respect to Sumter, Jackson of Georgia and some others +in the battle of Eutaw. I have supposed a citadel mined and blown up in +the siege of York, and two ships of war grappled and blown up in the naval +battle of Degrasse and Graves. It is presumed that these circumstances +require no apology; as in the two latter cases the events are incidental to +such situations, and they here serve the principal purpose, being meant to +increase our natural horror for the havoc and miseries of war in general. +And with regard to the two former cases we ought to consider that, in the +epic field, the interest to be excited by the action cannot be sustained +by following the gazette, as Lucan has done. The desultory parts of the +historical action must be brought together and be made to elevate and +strengthen each other, so as to press upon the mind with the full force of +their symmetry and unity. Where the events are recent and the actors known, +the only duty imposed by that circumstance on the poet is to do them +historical justice, and not ascribe to one hero the actions of another. But +the scales of justice in this case are not necessarily accompanied by the +calendar and the map. + +It will occur to most of my readers that the modern modes of fighting, as +likewise the instruments and terms now used in war, are not yet rendered +familiar in poetical language. It is doubtless from an unwarrantable +timidity, or want of confidence in their own powers of description, that +modern poets have made so little use of this kind of riches that lay before +them. I confess that I imbibed the common prejudice, and remained a long +time in the error of supposing that the ancients had a poetical advantage +over us in respect to the dignity of the names of the weapons used in war, +if not in their number and variety. And when I published a sketch of the +present poem, under the title of The Vision of Columbus, I labored under +the embarrassment of that idea. I am now convinced that the advantage, at +least as to the weapons, is on the side of the moderns. There are better +sounding names and more variety in the instruments, works, stratagems and +other artifices employed in our war system than in theirs. In short, the +modern military dictionary is more copious than the ancient, and the words +at least as poetical. + +As to the mode of fighting, we have, poetically speaking, lost something in +one respect, but we have gained much in another. Our battles indeed admit +but few single combats, or trials of individual prowess. They do admit them +however; and it is not impossible to describe them with as much detail and +interest as the nature of the action requires; as Voltaire has proved in +the single combat of Aumale and Turenne in the Henriad. Had he managed his +general descriptions and the other parts of the conduct of his poem as +well, he would have made it a far more interesting work than he has. +However, since our single combats must be insignificant in their +consequences, not deciding any thing as to the result of the battle, +it would be inconvenient and misplaced to make much use of them in our +descriptions. And here lies our disadvantage, compared with the ancients. + +But in a general engagement, the shock of modern armies is, beyond +comparison, more magnificent, more sonorous and more discoloring to the +face of nature, than the ancient could have been; and is consequently +susceptible of more pomp and variety of description. Our heaven and earth +are not only shaken and tormented with greater noise, but filled and +suffocated with fire and smoke. If Homer, with his Grecian tongue and all +its dialects, had had the battle of Blenheim to describe, the world would +have possessed a picture and a piece of music which now it will never +possess. The description would have astonished all ages, and enriched every +language into which it might have been translated. + +With regard to naval battles the moderns have altogether the advantage. But +there has been no naval battle described in modern poetry; neither is there +any remaining to us from the ancients, except that in the bay of Marseilles +by Lucan, and that near Syracuse by Silius. It would seem strange indeed +that Homer, whose wonderful powers of fiction were not embarrassed by +historical realities, and who in other respects is so insatiable of +variety, did not introduce a sea fight either in the defence of Troy, or +in the disastrous voyages of Ulysses. But the want of this in Homer's two +poems amounts almost to a proof that in his time the nations had not yet +adopted any method of fighting at sea; so that the poet could have no such +image in his mind. + +The business of war, with all its varieties, makes but a small part of the +subject of my poem; it ought therefore to occupy but a small portion of its +scenery. This is the reason why I have not been more solicitous to vary and +heighten the descriptions of battles and other military operations. I make +this observation to satisfy those readers who being accustomed to see a +long poem chiefly occupied with this sort of bustle conceive that the life +and interest of such compositions depend upon it. How far the majesty or +interest of epic song really depends upon the tumultuous conflicts of war I +will not decide; but I can assure the reader, so far as my experience goes, +that these parts of the work are not the most difficult to write. They are +scenes that exhibit those vigorous traits of human character which strike +the beholder most forcibly and leave the deepest impression. They delight +in violent attitudes; and, painting themselves in the strongest colors on +the poet's fancy, they are easy at any time to recal. He varies them at +pleasure, he adorns them readily with incidents, and imparts them with +spirit to the reader. + +My object is altogether of a moral and political nature I wish to encourage +and strengthen in the rising generation, a sense of the importance of +republican institutions; as being the great foundation of public and +private happiness, the necessary aliment of future and permanent +ameliorations in the condition of human nature. + +This is the moment in America to give such a direction to poetry, painting +and the other fine arts, that true and useful ideas of glory may be +implanted in the minds of men here, to take place of the false and +destructive ones that have degraded the species in other countries; +impressions which have become so wrought into their most sacred +institutions, that it is there thought impious to detect them and dangerous +to root them out, tho acknowledged to be false. Wo be to the republican +principle and to all the institutions it supports, when once the pernicious +doctrine of the holiness of error shall creep into the creed of our schools +and distort the intellect of our citizens! + +The Columbiad, in its present form, is such as I shall probably leave it to +its fate. Whether it be destined to survive its author, is a question that +gives me no other concern than what arises from the most pure and ardent +desire of doing good to my country. To my country therefore, with every +sentiment of veneration and affection I dedicate my labors. + + + + +Introduction. + + + +Every circumstance relating to the discovery and settlement of America +is an interesting object of inquiry, especially to the great and growing +nations of this hemisphere, who owe their existence to those arduous +labors. Yet it is presumed that many persons, who might be entertained +with a poem on this subject, are but slightly acquainted with the life and +character of the hero whose extraordinary genius led him to discover the +continent, and whose singular sufferings, arising from that service, ought +to excite the indignation of the world. + +Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa about the year 1447, when the +navigation of Europe was scarcely extended beyond the limits of the +Mediterranean and the other narrow seas that border the great ocean. The +mariner's compass had been invented and in common use for more than a +century; yet with the help of this sure guide, and prompted by a laudable +spirit of discovery, the mariners of those days rarely ventured from the +sight of land. + +They acquired wonderful applause by sailing along the coast of Africa, +and discovering some of the neighboring islands; and after pushing their +researches with great industry for half a century, the Portuguese, who were +the most fortunate and enterprising, extended their voyages southward no +farther than the equator. + +The rich commodities of the East had, for several ages, been brought into +Europe by the Red Sea and the Mediterranean; and it had now become the +object of the Portuguese to find a passage to India by sailing round the +southern extremity of Africa, and then taking an eastern course. This great +object engaged the general attention, and drew into the Portuguese service +adventurers from the other maritime nations of Europe. Every year added to +their experience in navigation, and seemed to promise some distant reward +to their industry. The prospect however of arriving at India by that route +was still by no means encouraging. Fifty years perseverance in the same +track having brought them only to the equator, it was probable that as many +more would elapse before they could accomplish their purpose. + +But Columbus, by an uncommon exertion of genius, formed a design no less +astonishing to the age in which he lived than beneficial to posterity. This +design was to sail to India by taking a western direction. By the accounts +of travellers who had visited that part of Asia, it seemed almost without +limits on the east; and by attending to the spherical figure of the earth +Columbus drew the natural conclusion, that the Atlantic ocean must be +bounded on the west either by India itself, or by some continent not far +distant from it. + +This illustrious navigator, who was then about twenty-seven years of age, +appears to have possessed every talent requisite to form and execute the +greatest enterprises. He was early educated in such of the useful sciences +as were taught in that day. He had made great proficiency in geography, +astronomy and drawing, as they were necessary to his favorite pursuit of +navigation. He had been a number of years in the service of the Portuguese, +and had acquired all the experience that their voyages and discoveries +could afford. His courage had been put to the severest test; and the +exercise of every amiable as well as heroic virtue, the kindred qualities +of a great mind, had secured him an extensive reputation. He had married a +Portuguese lady, by whom he had two sons, Diego and Ferdinand; the younger +of these is the historian of his life. + +Such was the situation of Columbus, when he formed and digested a plan, +which, in its operation and consequences, has unfolded to the view of +mankind one half of the globe, diffused wealth and industry over the other, +and is extending commerce and civilization thro the whole. To corroborate +the theory he had formed of the existence of a western continent, his +discerning mind, which knew the application of every circumstance that fell +in his way, had observed several facts which by others would have passed +unnoticed. In his voyages to the African islands he had found, floating +ashore after a long western storm, pieces of wood carved in a curious +manner, canes of a size unknown in that quarter of the world, and human +bodies with very singular features. + +The opinion being well established in his mind that a considerable portion +of the earth still remained to be discovered, his temper was too vigorous +and persevering to suffer an idea of this importance to rest merely in +speculation, as it had done with Plato and Seneca, who seem to have +entertained conjectures of a similar nature. He determined therefore to +bring his theory to the test of experiment. But an object of that magnitude +required the patronage of a prince; and a design so extraordinary met +with all the obstructions that an age of superstition could invent, and +personal jealousy enhance. + +It is happy for mankind that, in this instance, a genius capable of +devising the greatest undertakings associated in itself a degree of +patience and enterprise, modesty and confidence, which rendered him +superior to these misfortunes, and enabled him to meet with fortitude all +the future calamities of his life. Excited by an ardent enthusiasm to +become a discoverer of new countries, and fully sensible of the advantages +that would result to mankind from such discoveries, he had the cruel +mortification to wear away eighteen years of his life, after his system +was well established in his own mind, before he could obtain the means of +executing his projected voyage. The greatest part of this period was spent +in successive solicitations in Genoa, Portugal and Spain. + +As a duty to his native country he made his first proposal to the senate of +Genoa, where it was soon rejected. Conscious of the truth of his theory, +and of his own abilities to execute his plan, he retired without dejection +from a body of men who were incapable of forming any just ideas upon +the subject, and applied with fresh confidence to John Second, king of +Portugal; who had distinguished himself as the great patron of navigation, +and in whose service Columbus had acquired a reputation which entitled him +and his project to general confidence. But here he experienced a treatment +much more insulting than a direct refusal. After referring the examination +of his scheme to the council who had the direction of naval affairs, and +drawing from him his general ideas of the length of the voyage and the +course he meant to take, that splendid monarch had the meanness to conspire +with this council to rob Columbus of the glory and advantage he expected +to derive from his undertaking. While Columbus was amused with the +negotiation, in hopes of having his scheme adopted, a vessel was secretly +dispatched by order of the king to make the intended discovery. Want of +skill or courage in the pilot rendered the plot unsuccessful; and Columbus, +on discovering the treachery, retired with an ingenuous indignation from a +court which could be capable of such duplicity. + +Having now performed what was due to the country that gave him birth, and +to the one that had adopted him as a subject, he was at liberty to court +the patronage of any other which should have the wisdom to accept his +proposals. He had communicated his ideas to his brother Bartholomew, whom +he sent to England to negotiate with Henry Seventh; at the same time he +went himself into Spain to apply in person to Ferdinand and Isabella, who +governed the united kingdoms of Arragon and Castile. + +The circumstances of his brother's application in England, which appears +to have been unsuccessful, are not to my purpose to relate; and the +limits prescribed to this biographical sketch will prevent the detail of +particulars respecting his own negotiation in Spain. This occupied him +eight years; in which the various agitations of suspense, expectation and +disappointment must have borne hard upon his patience. At length his scheme +was adopted by Isabella; who undertook, as queen of Castile, to defray the +expenses of the expedition, and declared herself ever after the friend and +patron of the hero who projected it. + +Columbus, who during his ill success in the negotiation never abated any +thing of the honors and emoluments which he expected to acquire in the +expedition, obtained from Ferdinand and Isabella a stipulation of every +article contained in his first proposals. He was constituted high admiral +and viceroy of all the seas, islands and continents which he should +discover; with power to receive one tenth of the profits arising from their +productions and commerce. Which offices and emoluments were to be made +hereditary in his family. + +These articles being adjusted, the preparations for the voyage were brought +forward with rapidity; but they were by no means adequate to the importance +of the expedition. Three small vessels, scarcely sufficient in size to be +employed in the coasting business, were appointed to traverse the vast +Atlantic, and to encounter the storms and currents always to be expected in +tropical climates, uncertain seasons and unknown seas. These vessels, as we +must suppose them in the infancy of navigation, were ill constructed, in a +poor condition, and manned by seamen unaccustomed to distant voyages. But +the tedious length of time which Columbus had passed in solicitation and +suspense, and the prospect of being able soon to obtain the object of his +wishes, induced him to overlook what he could not easily remedy; and led +him to disregard those circumstances which would have intimidated any other +mind. He accordingly equipped his small squadron with as much expedition as +possible, manned with ninety men and victualled for one year. With these, +on the third of August 1492, amidst a vast crowd of spectators, he set sail +on an enterprise which, if we consider the ill condition of his ships, +the inexperience of his sailors, the length and precarious nature of his +voyage, and the consequences that flowed from it, was the most daring and +important that ever was undertaken. He touched at some of the Portuguese +settlements in the Canary Isles; where, altho he had been but a few days +at sea, he found his vessels needed refitting. He soon made the necessary +repairs, and took his departure from the westermost islands that had +hitherto been discovered. Here he left the former track of navigation, and +steered his course due west. Not many days after he laid this course he +perceived the symptoms of a new scene of difficulty. The sailors now began +to contemplate the dangers and uncertain issue of a voyage, the nature +and length of which were left entirely open to conjecture. Besides the +fickleness and timidity natural to men unaccustomed to the discipline of a +seafaring life, several circumstances contributed to inspire an obstinate +and mutinous disposition; which required the most consummate art as well as +fortitude in the admiral to control. Having been three weeks at sea, and +experienced the uniform course of the trade winds, they contended that, +should they continue the same course for a longer time, the same winds +would never permit them to return to Spain. The magnetic needle began to +vary its direction. This being the first time that this phenomenon was ever +noticed, it was viewed by the sailors with astonishment; they thought it an +indication that nature itself had changed its laws, and that Providence was +about to punish their audacity in venturing so far beyond the bounds of +man. They declared that the commands of the government had been fully +obeyed in their proceeding so many days in the same course, and so far +surpassing all former navigators in quest of discoveries. + +Every talent requisite for governing, soothing and tempering the passions +of men is conspicuous in the conduct of Columbus on this occasion. The +dignity and affability of his manners, his surprising knowledge and +experience in naval affairs, his unwearied and minute attention to the +duties of his command, gave him a great ascendency over the minds of his +men, and inspired that degree of confidence which would have maintained his +authority in almost any circumstances. But here, from the nature of the +undertaking, every man had leisure to feed his imagination with the +gloominess and uncertainty of the prospect. They found from day to day the +same steady gales wafting them with rapidity from their native country, and +indeed from all countries of which they had any knowledge. + +He addressed himself to their passions with all the variety of management +that the situation would admit, sometimes by soothing them with the +prognostics of approaching land, sometimes by flattering their ambition and +feasting their avarice with the glory and wealth they would acquire from +discovering the rich countries beyond the Atlantic, and sometimes by +threatening them with the displeasure of their king, should their +disobedience defeat so great an object. But every argument soon lost its +effect; and their uneasiness still increased. From secret whisperings it +arose to open mutiny and dangerous conspiracy. At length they determined to +rid themselves of the remonstrances of Columbus by throwing him into the +sea. The infection spread from ship to ship, and involved officers as well +as sailors. They finally lost all sense of subordination and addressed +their commander in an insolent manner, demanding to be conducted +immediately back to Spain; or, they assured him, they would seek their own +safety by taking away his life. + +Columbus, whose sagacity had discerned every symptom of the disorder, was +prepared for this last stage of it; and was sufficiently apprized of the +danger that awaited him. He found it vain to contend with passions he could +no longer control. He therefore proposed that they should obey his orders +for three days longer; and should they not discover land in that time, he +would then direct his course for Spain. They complied with his proposal; +and, happily for mankind, in three days they discovered land. This was +a small island, to which he gave the name of San Salvador. His first +interview with the natives was a scene of compassion on the one part and +astonishment on the other, but highly interesting to both. The natives were +entirely naked, simple and timorous; and they viewed the Spaniards as a +superior order of beings descended from the sun; which, in that island and +in most parts of America, was worshipped as a Deity. By this it was easy +for Columbus to perceive the line of conduct proper to be observed toward +that simple and inoffensive people. Had his companions and successors +of the Spanish nation possessed the wisdom and humanity of this great +discoverer, the benevolent mind would have had to experience no sensations +of regret in contemplating the extensive advantages arising to mankind from +the discovery of America. + +In this voyage Columbus discovered the islands of Cuba and Hispaniola, on +the latter of which he erected a small fort; and having left a garrison of +thirty-eight men he set sail for Spain. Returning across the Atlantic, he +was overtaken by a violent storm, which lasted several days, and increased +to such a degree as baffled his naval skill and threatened immediate +destruction. In this situation when all were in a state of despair, and +it was expected that every sea would swallow up the crazy vessel, he +manifested a serenity and presence of mind seldom equalled in cases of like +extremity. He wrote a short account of his voyage and of the discoveries he +had made; this he hastily wrapt in an oiled cloth, then enclosed it in a +cake of wax and put it into an empty cask, which he threw overboard, in +hopes that some fortunate accident might preserve a deposit of so much +importance to the world. + +The storm however abated, and he at length arrived in Spain, after having +been driven by stress of weather into the port of Lisbon; where he had +opportunity, in an interview with the king of Portugal, to prove the +truth of his system by arguments more convincing than those he had before +advanced in the character of a bold projector but humble suitor. He was +received every where in Spain with royal honors; his family was ennobled, +and his former stipulation respecting his offices and emoluments was +ratified in the most solemn manner by Ferdinand and Isabella; while +all Europe resounded his praises, and reciprocated their joy and +congratulations on the discovery of what they called a new world. + +The immediate consequence was a second voyage, in which Columbus took +charge of a squadron of seventeen ships of considerable burden. Volunteers +of all ranks solicited to be employed in this expedition. He carried over +fifteen hundred persons, with the necessaries for establishing a colony +and extending his discoveries. In this voyage he explored most of the West +India islands; but on his arrival at Hispaniola he found that the garrison +he had left there had been all destroyed by the natives, and the fort +demolished. He proceeded however in the planting of his colony; and by his +prudent and humane conduct towards the natives he effectually established +the Spanish authority in that island. But while he was thus laying the +foundation of European dominion in America, some discontented persons, +who had returned to Spain, uniting with his former opponents and powerful +enemies at court, conspired to accomplish his ruin. + +They represented his conduct in such a light as to create uneasiness in +the jealous mind of Ferdinand, and make it necessary for Columbus again to +return to Spain, to counteract their machinations and obtain such farther +supplies as were necessary to his great political and beneficent purposes. +On his arriving at court, and stating with his usual dignity and confidence +the whole history of his transactions abroad, every thing wore a favorable +appearance. He was received with the same honors as before, and solicited +to take charge of another squadron, to carry out farther supplies, to +pursue his discoveries, and in every respect to use his discretion in +extending the Spanish empire in the new world. + +In this third voyage he discovered the continent of America at the mouth +of the river Orinoco. He rectified many disorders in his government of +Hispaniola, which had happened in his absence; and every thing was going on +in a prosperous train, when an event was announced to him, which completed +his own ruin and gave a fatal turn to the Spanish policy and conduct in +America. This was the arrival of Francis de Bovadilla, with a commission +to supersede Columbus in his government, to arraign him as a criminal, and +pronounce judgment on all his former administration. + +It seems that by this time the enemies of Columbus, despairing to complete +his overthrow by groundless insinuations of malconduct, had taken the more +effectual method of exciting the jealousy of their sovereigns. From the +promising samples of gold and other valuable commodities brought from +America, they took occasion to represent to the king and queen that the +prodigious wealth and extent of the countries he had discovered would soon +throw such power into the hands of the viceroy, that he would trample on +the royal authority and bid defiance to the Spanish power. These arguments +were well calculated for the cold and suspicious temper of Ferdinand; and +they must have had some effect upon the mind of Isabella. The consequence +was the appointment of Bovadilla, the inveterate enemy of Columbus, to take +the government from his hands. This first tyrant of the Spanish nation in +America began his administration by ordering Columbus to be put in chains +on board of a ship, and sending him prisoner to Spain. By relaxing all +discipline he introduced disorder and licentiousness thro the colony. +He subjected the unhappy natives to a most miserable servitude, and +apportioned them out in large numbers among his adherents. Under this +severe treatment perished in a short time many thousands of those innocent +people. + +Columbus was carried in his fetters to the Spanish court, where the king +and queen either feigned or felt a sufficient regret at the conduct of +Bovadilla towards their illustrious prisoner. He was not only released from +confinement; he was treated with all imaginable respect. But, altho +the king endeavored to expiate the offence by censuring and recalling +Bovadilla, yet we may judge of his sincerity from his appointing Nicholas +de Ovando, another well known enemy of Columbus, to succeed in the +government; and from his ever after refusing to reinstate Columbus, or to +fulfil any of the conditions on which the discoveries had been undertaken. + +After two years of solicitation for this or some other employment, he +at length obtained a squadron of four small vessels to attempt new +discoveries. He then set out, with the enthusiasm of a young adventurer, in +quest of what was always his favorite object, a passage into the South Sea, +by which he might sail to India. He touched at Hispaniola, where Ovando the +governor refused him admittance on shore, even to take shelter during +a hurricane, the prognostics of which his experience had taught him to +discern. By putting into a creek he rode out the storm, and then bore away +for the continent. He spent several months, the most boisterous of the +year, in exploring the coast round the gulph of Mexico, in hopes of finding +the intended navigation to India. At length he was shipwrecked, and driven +ashore on the island of Jamaica. + +His cup of calamities seemed now to be full. He was cast upon an island of +savages, without provisions, without a vessel, and thirty leagues from any +Spanish settlement. But the greatest physical misfortunes are capable of +being embittered by the insults of our fellow creatures. A few of his +companions generously offered, in two Indian canoes, to attempt a voyage to +Hispaniola, in hopes of obtaining a vessel for the relief of the unhappy +crew. After suffering every extremity of danger and fatigue, they arrived +at the Spanish colony in ten days. Ovando, excited by personal malice +against Columbus, detained these messengers for eight months, and then +despatched a vessel to Jamaica to spy out the condition of Columbus and +his crew, with positive instructions to the captain not to afford them any +relief. This order was punctually executed. The captain approached the +shore, delivered a letter of empty compliment from Ovando to the admiral, +received his answer and returned. About four months afterwards a vessel +came to their relief; and Columbus, worn out with fatigues and broken by +misfortunes, returned for the last time to Spain. Here a new distress +awaited him, which he considered as one of the greatest of his whole life: +this was the death of queen Isabella, his last and most powerful friend. + +He did not suddenly abandon himself to despair. He called upon the +gratitude and justice of the king; and in terms of dignity demanded the +fulfilment of his former contract. Notwithstanding his age and infirmities, +he even solicited to be farther employed in extending the career of +discovery, without a prospect of any other reward than the pleasure of +doing good to mankind. But Ferdinand, cold ungrateful and timid, dared not +comply with any proposal of this kind, lest he should increase his own +obligations to a man, whose services he thought it dangerous to reward. He +therefore delayed and avoided any decision on these subjects, in hopes +that the declining health of Columbus would soon rid the court of the +remonstrances of a suitor, whose unexampled merit was, in their opinion, a +sufficient reason for destroying him. In this they were not disappointed. +Columbus languished a short time, and gladly resigned a life which had been +worn out in the most signal services perhaps that have been rendered by any +one man to an ungrateful world. + +Posterity is sometimes more just to the memory of great men than +contemporaries were to their persons. But even this consolation, if it be +one, has been wanting to the discoverer of our hemisphere. The continent, +instead of bearing his name, has been called after one of his followers, +a man of no particular merit. And in the modern city of Mexico there is +instituted and perpetuated, by order of government, an annual festival in +honour of Hernando Cortez, the perfidious butcher of its ancient race; +while no public honors have been decreed to Christopher Columbus, one of +the wisest and best among the benefactors of mankind. + +After his last return from America he seems to have past the short +remainder of his life at Valladolid, the capital of Old Castile, and then +the seat of the Spanish government. He died in that city on the twentieth +of August 1506, and was buried in one of its churches. Over his body is a +plain stone inscribed simply with his name, as it is written in Spanish, +CHRISTOVAL COLON. + +His son, who wrote his life, has left us a particular description of his +person, manners and private character; all of which were agreeable and +interesting. His portrait is in possession of the author of this poem. +It is painted in oil, half length and the size of life, copied from an +original picture in the gallery of Florence. + + + + + + +The Columbiad. + + + + +Book I. + + + + +Argument + + + Subject of the Poem, and invocation to Freedom. Condition of Columbus + in a Spanish prison. His monologue on the great actions of his life, + and the manner in which they had been rewarded. Appearance and speech + of Hesper, the guardian Genius of the western continent. They quit the + dungeon, and ascend the mount of vision, which rises over the western + coast of Spain; Europe settling from their sight, and the Atlantic + ocean spreading far beneath their feet. Continent of America draws into + view, and is described by its mountains, rivers, lakes, soil and some + of the natural productions. + + + I sing the Mariner who first unfurl'd + An eastern banner o'er the western world, + And taught mankind where future empires lay + In these fair confines of descending day; + Who sway'd a moment, with vicarious power, + Iberia's sceptre on the new found shore, + Then saw the paths his virtuous steps had trod + Pursued by avarice and defiled with blood, + The tribes he foster'd with paternal toil + Snatch'd from his hand, and slaughter'd for their spoil. + + Slaves, kings, adventurers, envious of his name, + Enjoy'd his labours and purloin'd his fame, + And gave the Viceroy, from his high seat hurl'd. + Chains for a crown, a prison for a world + Long overwhelm'd in woes, and sickening there, + He met the slow still march of black despair, + Sought the last refuge from his hopeless doom, + And wish'd from thankless men a peaceful tomb: + Till vision'd ages, opening on his eyes, + Cheer'd his sad soul, and bade new nations rise; + He saw the Atlantic heaven with light o'ercast, + And Freedom crown his glorious work at last. + + Almighty Freedom! give my venturous song + The force, the charm that to thy voice belong; + Tis thine to shape my course, to light my way, + To nerve my country with the patriot lay, + To teach all men where all their interest lies, + How rulers may be just and nations wise: + Strong in thy strength I bend no suppliant knee, + Invoke no miracle, no Muse but thee. + + Night held on old Castile her silent reign, + Her half orb'd moon declining to the main; + O'er Valladolid's regal turrets hazed + The drizzly fogs from dull Pisuerga raised; + Whose hovering sheets, along the welkin driven, + Thinn'd the pale stars, and shut the eye from heaven. + Cold-hearted Ferdinand his pillow prest, + Nor dream'd of those his mandates robb'd of rest, + Of him who gemm'd his crown, who stretch'd his reign + To realms that weigh'd the tenfold poise of Spain; + Who now beneath his tower indungeon'd lies, + Sweats the chill sod and breathes inclement skies. + + His feverish pulse, slow laboring thro his frame, + Feeds with scant force its fast expiring flame; + A far dim watch-lamp's thrice reflected beam + Throws thro his grates a mist-encumber'd gleam, + Paints the dun vapors that the cell invade, + And fills with spectred forms the midnight shade; + When from a visionary short repose, + That nursed new cares and temper'd keener woes, + Columbus woke, and to the walls addrest + The deep felt sorrows bursting from his breast: + + Here lies the purchase, here the wretched spoil + Of painful years and persevering toil. + For these damp caves, this hideous haunt of + pain, + I traced new regions o'er the chartless main, + Tamed all the dangers of untraversed waves, + Hung o'er their clefts, and topt their surging graves, + Saw traitorous seas o'er coral mountains sweep, + Red thunders rock the pole and scorch the deep, + Death rear his front in every varying form, + Gape from the shoals and ride the roaring storm, + My struggling bark her seamy planks disjoin, + Rake the rude rock and drink the copious brine. + Till the tired elements are lull'd at last, + And milder suns allay the billowing blast, + Lead on the trade winds with unvarying force, + And long and landless curve our constant course. + + Our homeward heaven recoils; each night forlorn + Calls up new stars, and backward rolls the morn; + The boreal vault descends with Europe's shore, + And bright Calisto shuns the wave no more, + The Dragon dips his fiery-foaming jole, + The affrighted magnet flies the faithless pole; + Nature portends a general change of laws, + My daring deeds are deemed the guilty cause; + The desperate crew, to insurrection driven, + Devote their captain to the wrath of heaven, + Resolve at once to end the audacious strife, + And buy their safety with his forfeit life. + + In that sad hour, this feeble frame to save, + (Unblest reprieve) and rob the gaping wave, + The morn broke forth, these tearful orbs descried + The golden banks that bound the western tide. + With full success I calm'd the clamorous race, + Bade heaven's blue arch a second earth embrace; + And gave the astonish'd age that bounteous shore, + Their wealth to nations, and to kings their power. + + Land of delights! ah, dear delusive coast, + To these fond aged eyes forever lost! + No more thy flowery vales I travel o'er, + For me thy mountains rear the head no more, + For me thy rocks no sparkling gems unfold, + Nor streams luxuriant wear their paths in gold; + From realms of promised peace forever borne, + I hail mute anguish, and in secret mourn. + + But dangers past, a world explored in vain, + And foes triumphant show but half my pain. + Dissembling friends, each early joy who gave, + And fired my youth the storms of fate to brave, + Swarm'd in the sunshine of my happier days, + Pursued the fortune and partook the praise, + Now pass my cell with smiles of sour disdain, + Insult my woes and triumph in my pain. + + One gentle guardian once could shield the brave; + But now that guardian slumbers in the grave. + Hear from above, thou dear departed shade; + As once my hopes, my present sorrows aid, + Burst my full heart, afford that last relief, + Breathe back my sighs and reinspire my grief; + Still in my sight thy royal form appears, + Reproves my silence and demands my tears. + Even on that hour no more I joy to dwell, + When thy protection bade the canvass swell; + When kings and churchmen found their factions vain, + Blind superstition shrunk beneath her chain, + The sun's glad beam led on the circling way, + And isles rose beauteous in Atlantic day. + For on those silvery shores, that new domain, + What crowds of tyrants fix their murderous reign! + Her infant realm indignant Freedom flies, + Truth leaves the world, and Isabella dies. + + Ah, lend thy friendly shroud to veil my sight, + That these pain'd eyes may dread no more the light; + These welcome shades shall close my instant doom, + And this drear mansion moulder to a tornb. + + Thus mourn'd the hapless man: a thundering sound + Roll'd thro the shuddering walls and shook the ground; + O'er all the dungeon, where black arches bend, + The roofs unfold, and streams of light descend; + The growing splendor fills the astonish'd room, + And gales etherial breathe a glad perfume. + Robed in the radiance, moves a form serene, + Of human structure, but of heavenly mien; + Near to the prisoner's couch he takes his stand, + And waves, in sign of peace, his holy hand. + Tall rose his stature, youth's endearing grace + Adorn'd his limbs and brighten'd in his face; + Loose o'er his locks the star of evening hung, + And sounds melodious moved his cheerful tongue: + + Rise, trembling chief, to scenes of rapture rise; + This voice awaits thee from the western skies; + Indulge no longer that desponding strain, + Nor count thy toils, nor deem thy virtues vain. + Thou seest in me the guardian Power who keeps + The new found world that skirts Atlantic deeps, + Hesper my name, my seat the brightest throne + In night's whole heaven, my sire the living sun, + My brother Atlas with his name divine + Stampt the wild wave; the solid coast is mine. + +[Note: Atlas and Hesper were of the race of Titans. They were sons of +Uranus, or of Japetus, according as the fable is traced to different +countries, whose supreme God (originally the sun) was called by different +names. Atlas, from being king of Mauritania, became a mountain to support +the heavens, and gave his name to the western ocean. Hesper frequented that +mountain in the study of astronomy; till one evening he disappeared, and +returned no more. He was then placed in the western heaven; and, having +been a beautiful young man, he became a beautiful planet, called the +evening star. This circumstance gave his name to the western regions of the +earth indefinitely. Italy was called Hesperia by the Greeks, because it +lay west from them, and seemed under the influence of the star of evening; +Spain was called Hesperia by the Romans, for the same reason. + +If the nations which adopted this fable had known of a country west of the +Atlantic, that country must have been Hesperia to them all; and pursuing +this analogy I have so named it, in several instances, in the course of +this poem. Considering Hesper as the guardian Genius, and Columbus as the +Discoverer, of the western continent, it may derive its name, in poetical +language, from either of theirs indifferently, and be called Hesperia or +Columbia. + +Atlas is considered in this poem as the guardian Genius of Africa. See his +speech, in the eighth book, on the slavery of his people. + +This explanation seemed of such immediate importance for understanding +the machinery of the poem, as to require its being placed here. The other +notes, being numerous and some of them long, have been forced to yield +to typographical elegance; and are placed at the end of the volume, with +suitable reference to the passages to which they belong.] + + This hand, which form'd, and in the tides of time + Laves and improves the meliorating clime, + Which taught thy prow to cleave the trackless way, + And hail'd thee first in occidental day, + To all thy worth shall vindicate thy claim, + And raise up nations to revere thy name. + + In this dark age tho blinded faction sways, + And wealth and conquest gain the palm of praise; + Awed into slaves while groveling millions groan, + And blood-stain'd steps lead upward to a throne; + Far other wreaths thy virtuous temples twine, + Far nobler triumphs crown a life like thine; + Thine be the joys that minds immortal grace, + As thine the deeds that bless a kindred race. + Now raise thy sorrowed soul to views more bright, + The vision'd ages rushing on thy sight; + Worlds beyond worlds shall bring to light their stores, + Time, nature, science blend their utmost powers, + To show, concentred in one blaze of fame, + The ungather'd glories that await thy name. + + As that great seer, whose animating rod + Taught Jacob's sons their wonder-working God, + Who led thro dreary wastes the murmuring band, + And reach'd the confines of their promised land, + Opprest with years, from Pisgah's towering height, + On fruitful Canaan feasted long his sight; + The bliss of unborn nations warm'd his breast, + Repaid his toils and sooth'd his soul to rest; + Thus o'er thy subject wave shalt thou behold + Far happier realms their future charms unfold, + In nobler pomp another Pisgah rise, + Beneath whose foot thy new found Canaan lies; + There, rapt in vision, hail my favorite clime, + And taste the blessings of remotest time. + + So Hesper spoke; Columbus raised his head; + His chains dropt off; the cave, the castle fled. + Forth walked the Pair; when steep before them stood; + Slope from the town, a heaven-illumined road; + That thro disparting shades arose on high, + Reach'd o'er the hills, and lengthen'd up the sky, + Show'd a clear summit, rich with rising flowers, + That breathe their odors thro celestial bowers. + O'er the proud Pyrenees it looks sublime, + Subjects the Alps, and levels Europe's clime; + Spain, lessening to a chart, beneath it swims, + And shrouds her dungeons in the void she dims. + + Led by the Power, the Hero gain'd the height, + New strength and brilliance flush'd his mortal sight; + When calm before them flow'd the western main, + Far stretch'd, immense, a sky-encircled plain. + No sail, no isle, no cloud invests the bound, + Nor billowy surge disturbs the vast profound; + Till, deep in distant heavens, the sun's blue ray + Topt unknown cliffs and call'd them up to day; + Slow glimmering into sight wide regions drew, + And rose and brighten'd on the expanding view; + Fair sweep the waves, the lessening ocean smiles, + In misty radiance loom a thousand isles; + Near and more near the long drawn coasts arise, + Bays stretch their arms and mountains lift the skies, + The lakes, high mounded, point the streams their way, + Slopes, ridges, plains their spreading skirts display, + The vales branch forth, high walk approaching groves, + And all the majesty of nature moves. + + O'er the wild hemisphere his glances fly, + Its form unfolding as it still draws nigh, + As all its salient sides force far their sway, + Crowd back the ocean and indent the day. + He saw, thro central zones, the winding shore + Spread the deep Gulph his sail had traced before, + The Darien isthmus check the raging tide, + Join distant lands, and neighboring seas divide; + On either hand the shores unbounded bend, + Push wide their waves, to each dim pole ascend; + The two twin continents united rise, + Broad as the main, and lengthen'd with the skies. + + Long gazed the Mariner; when thus the Guide: + Here spreads the world thy daring sail descried, + Hesperia call'd, from my anterior claim; + But now Columbia, from thy patriarch name. + So from Phenicia's peopled strand of yore + Europa sail'd, and sought an unknown shore; + There stampt her sacred name; and thence her race, + Hale, venturous, bold, from Jove's divine embrace, + Ranged o'er the world, predestined to bestride + Earth's elder continents and each far tide. + + Ages unborn shall bless the happier day, + That saw thy streamer shape the guideless way, + Their bravest heroes trace the path you led, + And sires of nations thro the regions spread. + Behold yon isles, where first thy flag unfurl'd + In bloodless triumph o'er the younger world; + As, awed to silence, savage bands gave place, + And hail'd with joy the sun-descended race. + + Retrace the banks yon rushing waters lave; + There Orinoco checks great ocean's wave; + Thine is the stream; it cleaves the well known coast, + Where Paria's walks thy former footsteps boast. + But these no more thy wide discoveries bound; + Superior prospects lead their swelling round; + Nature's remotest scenes before thee roll, + And years and empires open on thy soul. + + To yon dim rounds first elevate thy view; + See Quito's plains o'erlook their proud Peru; + On whose huge base, like isles amid sky driven, + A vast protuberance props the cope of heaven; + Earth's loftiest turrets there contend for height, + And all our Andes fill the bounded sight. + From south to north what long blue swells arise, + Built thro the clouds, and lost in ambient skies! + Approaching slow they heave expanding bounds, + The yielding concave bends sublimer rounds; + Whose wearied stars, high curving to the west, + Pause on the summits for a moment's rest; + Recumbent there they renovate their force, + And roll rejoicing on their downward course. + + Round each bluff base the sloping ravine bends; + Hills forms on hills, and croupe o'er croupe extends; + Ascending, whitening, how the crags are lost, + O'erhung with headcliffs of eternal frost! + Broad fields of ice give back the morning ray, + Like walls of suns, or heaven's perennial day. + + There folding storms on eastern pinions ride, + Veil the black void, and wrap the mountains side, + Rude thunders rake the crags, the rains descend, + And the long lightnings o'er the vallies bend; + While blasts unburden'd sweep the cliffs of snow, + The whirlwinds wheel above, the floods convolve + below. + + There molten rocks explosive rend their tomb; + Volcanos, laboring many a nation's doom, + Wild o'er the regions pour their floods of fire; + The shores heave backward, and the seas retire. + There lava waits my late reluctant call, + To roar aloft and shake some guilty wall; + Thy pride, O Lima, swells the sulphurous wave, + And fanes and priests and idols crowd thy grave. + + But cease, my son, these dread events to trace, + Nor learn the woes that here await thy race. + Anorth from that broad gulph, where verdant rise + Those gentler mounds that skirt the temperate skies, + A happier hemisphere invites thy view; + Tis there the old world shall embrace the new: + There Europe's better sons their seat shall trace, + And change of government improve the race. + Thro all the midsky zones, to yon blue pole, + Their green hills lengthen, their bright rivers roll; + And swelling westward, how their champaigns run! + How slope their uplands to the morning sun! + + So spoke the blest Immortal; when more near + His northern wilds in all their breadth appear; + Lands yet unknown, and streams without a name + Rise into vision and demand their fame. + As when some saint first gains his bright abode, + Vaults o'er the spheres and views the works of God, + Sees earth, his kindred orb, beneath him roll, + Here glow the centre, and there point the pole; + O'er land and sea his eyes delighted rove, + And human thoughts his heavenly joys improve; + With equal scope the raptured Hero's sight + Ranged the low vale, or climb'd the cloudy height, + As, fixt in ardent look, his opening mind, + Explored the realms that here invite mankind. + + From sultry Mobile's gulph-indented shore + To where Ontario hears his Laurence roar, + Stretch'd o'er the broadback'd hills, in long array. + The tenfold Alleganies meet the day. + And show, far sloping from the plains and streams, + The forest azure streak'd with orient beams. + High moved the scene, Columbus gazed sublime, + And thus in prospect hail'd the happy clime: + Blest be the race my guardian guide shall lead + Where these wide vales their various bounties spread! + What treasured stores the hills must here combine! + Sleep still ye diamonds, and ye ores refine; + Exalt your heads ye oaks, ye pines ascend, + Till future navies bid your branches bend; + Then spread the canvass o'er the watery way, + Explore new worlds and teach the old your sway. + + He said, and northward cast his curious eyes + On other cliffs of more exalted size. + Where Maine's bleak breakers line the dangerous coast, + And isles and shoals their latent horrors boast, + High lantern'd in his heaven the cloudless White + Heaves the glad sailor an eternal light; + Who far thro troubled ocean greets the guide, + And stems with steadier helm the stormful tide. + + Nor could those heights unnoticed raise their head, + That swell sublime o'er Hudson's shadowy bed; + Tho fiction ne'er has hung them in the skies, + Tho White and Andes far superior rise, + Yet hoary Kaatskill, where the storms divide, + Would lift the heavens from Atlas' laboring pride. + + Land after land his passing notice claim, + And hills by hundreds rise without a name; + Hills yet unsung, their mystic powers untold; + Celestials there no sacred senates hold; + No chain'd Prometheus feasts the vulture there, + No Cyclop forges thro their summits glare, + To Phrygian Jove no victim smoke is curl'd, + Nor ark high landing quits a deluged world. + But were these masses piled on Asia's shore, + Taurus would shrink, Hemodia strut no more, + Indus and Ganges scorn their humble sires, + And rising suns salute superior fires; + Whose watchful priest would meet, with matin blaze, + His earlier God, and sooner chaunt his praise. + For here great nature, with a bolder hand, + Roll'd the broad stream, and heaved the lifted land; + And here from finish'd earth, triumphant trod + The last ascending steps of her creating God. + + He saw these mountains ope their watery stores, + Floods quit their caves and seek the distant shores; + Wild thro disparting plains their waves expand, + And lave the banks where future towns must stand. + Whirl'd from the monstrous Andes' bursting sides, + Maragnon leads his congregating tides; + A thousand Alps for him dissolve their snow, + A thousand Rhones obedient bend below, + From different zones their ways converging wind, + Sweep beds of ore, and leave their gold behind, + In headlong cataracts indignant rave, + Rush to his banks and swell the swallowing wave. + Ucayla, first of all his mighty sons, + From Cusco's walls a wearied journey runs; + Pastaza mines proud Pambamarca's base, + And holds thro sundering hills his lawless race; + Aloft, where Cotopaxa flames on high, + The roaring Napo quits his misty sky, + Down the long steeps in whitening torrents driven, + Like Nile descending from his fabled heaven; + Mound after mound impetuous Tigris rends, + Curved Ista folds whole countries in his bends; + Vast Orinoco, summon'd forth to bring + His far fetch'd honors to the sateless king, + Drives on his own strong course to gain the shore, + But sends Catuba here with half his store; + Like a broad Bosphorus here Negro guides + The gather'd mass of fifty furious tides; + From his waste world, by nameless fountains fed, + Wild Purus wears his long and lonely bed; + O'er twelve degrees of earth Madera flows, + And robs the south of half its treasured snows; + Zingus, of equal length and heavier force, + Rolls on, for months, the same continuous course + To reach his master's bank; that here constrains + Topayo, charged with all Brazilians rains; + While inland seas, and lakes unknown to fame, + Send their full tributes to the monarch stream; + Who, swell'd with growing conquest, wheels abroad, + Drains every land, and gathers all his flood; + Then far from clime to clime majestic goes, + Enlarging, widening, deepening as he flows; + Like heaven's broad milky way he shines alone, + Spreads o'er the globe its equatorial zone, + Weighs the cleft continent, and pushes wide + Its balanced mountains from each crumbling side. + Sire Ocean hears his proud Maragnon roar, + Moves up his bed, and seeks in vain the shore, + Then surging strong, with high and hoary tide, + Whelms back the Stream and checks his rolling pride. + The stream ungovernable foams with ire, + Climbs, combs tempestuous, and attacks the Sire; + Earth feels the conflict o'er her bosom spread, + Her isles and uplands hide their wood-crown'd head; + League after league from land to water change, + From realm to realm the seaborn monsters range; + Vast midland heights but pierce the liquid plain, + Old Andes tremble for their proud domain; + Till the fresh Flood regains his forceful sway, + Drives back his father Ocean, lash'd with spray; + Whose ebbing waters lead the downward sweep, + And waves and trees and banks roll whirling to the deep. + Where suns less ardent cast their golden beams, + And minor Andes pour a waste of streams, + The marsh of Moxoe scoops the world, and fills + (From Bahia's coast to Cochabamba's hills) + A thousand leagues of bog; he strives in vain + Their floods to centre and their lakes retain; + His gulphs o'ercharged their opening sides display, + And southern vales prolong the seaward way. + Columbus traced, with swift exploring eye, + The immense of waves that here exalted lie, + The realms that mound the unmeasured magazine, + The far blue main, the climes that stretch between. + He saw Xaraya's diamond banks unfold, + And Paraguay's deep channel paved with gold, + Saw proud Potosi lift his glittering head, + And pour down Plata thro his tinctured bed. + Rich with the spoils of many a distant mine, + In his broad silver sea their floods combine; + Wide over earth his annual freshet strays, + And highland drains with lowland drench repays; + Her thirsty regions wait his glad return, + And drink their future harvest from his urn. + + Where the cold circles gird the southern sky. + Brave Magellan's wild channel caught his eye; + The long cleft ridges wall'd the spreading way. + That gleams far westward to an unknown sea. + Soon as the distant swell was seen to roll, + His ancient wishes reabsorb'd his soul; + Warm from his heaving heart a sudden sigh + Burst thro his lips; he turn'd his moisten'd eye, + And thus besought his Angel: speak, my guide, + Where leads the pass? and what yon purple tide? + How the dim waves in blending ether stray! + No lands behind them rise, no pinions on them play. + There spreads, belike, that other unsail'd main + I sought so long, and sought, alas, in vain; + To gird this watery globe, and bring to light + Old India's coast; and regions wrapt in night. + Restore, celestial friend, my youthful morn, + Call back my years, and let my fame return; + Grant me to trace, beyond that pathless sea, + Some happier shore from lust of empire free; + To find in that far world a peaceful bower, + From envy safe and curst Ovando's power. + Earth's happiest realms let not their distance hide, + Nor seas forever roll their useless tide. + For nations yet unborn, that wait thy time, + Demand their seats in that secluded clime; + Ah, grant me still, their passage to prepare. + One venturous bark, and be my life thy care. + + So pray'd the Hero; Hesper mild replies, + Divine compassion softening in his eyes, + Tho still to virtuous deeds thy mind aspires, + And these glad visions kindle new desires, + Yet hear with reverence what attends thy state, + Nor wish to pass the eternal bounds of fate. + Led by this sacred light thou soon shalt see + That half mankind shall owe their seats to thee, + Freedom's first empire claim its promised birth + In these rich rounds of sea-encircled earth; + Let other years, by thine example prest, + Call forth their heroes to explore the rest. + + Thro different seas a twofold passage lies + To where sweet India scents a waste of skies. + The circling course, by Madagascar's shores, + Round Afric's cape, bold Gama now explores; + Thy well plann'd path these gleamy straits provide, + Nor long shall rest the daring search untried. + This idle frith must open soon to fame, + Here a lost Lusitanian fix his name, + From that new main in furious waves be tost, + And fall neglected on the barbarous coast. + + But lo the Chief! bright Albion bids him rise, + Speed in his pinions, ardor in his eyes! + Hither, O Drake, display thy hastening sails, + Widen ye passes, and awake ye gales, + March thou before him, heaven-revolving sun, + Wind his long course, and teach him where to run; + Earth's distant shores, in circling bands unite, + Lands, learn your fame, and oceans, roll in light, + Round all the watery globe his flag be hurl'd, + A new Columbus to the astonish'd world. + + He spoke; and silent tow'rd the northern sky + Wide o'er the hills the Hero cast his eye, + Saw the long floods thro devious channels pour, + And wind their currents to the opening shore; + Interior seas and lonely lakes display + Their glittering glories to the beams of day. + Thy capes, Virginia, towering from the tide, + Raise their blue banks, and slope thy barriers wide, + To future sails unfold an inland way, + And guard secure thy multifluvian Bay; + That drains uncounted realms, and here unites + The liquid mass from Alleganian heights. + York leads his wave, imbank'd in flowery pride, + And nobler James falls winding by his side; + Back to the hills, thro many a silent vale, + While Rappahanok seems to lure the sail, + Patapsco's bosom courts the hand of toil, + Dull Susquehanna laves a length of soil; + But mightier far, in sealike azure spread, + Potowmak sweeps his earth disparting bed. + + Long dwelt his eye where these commingling pour'd, + Their waves unkeel'd, their havens unexplored; + Where frowning forests stretch the dusky wing, + And deadly damps forbid the flowers to spring; + No seasons clothe the field with cultured grain, + No buoyant ship attempts the chartless main; + Then with impatient voice: My Seer, he cried, + When shall my children cross the lonely tide? + Here, here my sons, the hand of culture bring, + Here teach the lawn to smile, the grove to sing: + Ye laboring floods, no longer vainly glide, + Ye harvests load them, and ye forests ride; + Bear the deep burden from the joyous swain, + And tell the world where peace and plenty reign. + + Hesper to this return'd him no reply, + But raised new visions to his roving eye. + He saw broad Delaware the shores divide, + He saw majestic Hudson pour his tide; + Thy stream, my Hartford, thro its misty robe, + Play'd in the sunbeams, belting far the globe; + No watery glades thro richer vallies shine, + Nor drinks the sea a lovelier wave than thine. + + Mystick and Charles refresh their seaward isles, + And gay Piscateway pays his passing smiles; + Swift Kenebec, high bursting from his lakes, + Shoots down the hillsides thro the clouds he makes; + And hoarse resounding, gulphing wide the shore, + Dread Laurence labors with tremendous roar; + Laurence, great son of Ocean! lorn he lies, + And braves the blasts of hyperborean skies. + Where hoary winter holds his howling reign, + And April flings her timid showers in vain, + Groans the choked Flood, in frozen fetters bound, + And isles of ice his angry front surround. + + As old Enceladus, in durance vile, + Spreads his huge length beneath Sicilia's isle, + Feels mountains, crush'd by mountains, on him prest, + Close not his veins, nor still his laboring breast; + His limbs convulse, his heart rebellious rolls, + Earth shakes responsive to her utmost poles, + While rumbling, bursting, boils his ceaseless ire, + Flames to mid heaven, and sets the skies on fire. + So the contristed Laurence lays him low, + And hills of sleet and continents of snow + Rise on his crystal breast; his heaving sides + Crash with the weight, and pour their gushing tides, + Asouth, whence all his hundred branches bend, + Relenting airs with boreal blasts contend; + Far in his vast extremes he swells and thaws, + And seas foam wide between his ice-bound jaws. + Indignant Frost, to hold his captive, plies + His hosted fiends that vex the polar skies, + Unlocks his magazines of nitric stores, + Azotic charms and muriatic powers; + Hail, with its glassy globes, and brume congeal'd, + Rime's fleecy flakes, and storm that heaps the field + Strike thro the sullen Stream with numbing force, + Obstruct his sluices and impede his course. + In vain he strives; his might interior fails; + Nor spring's approach, nor earth's whole heat avails; + He calls his hoary Sire; old Ocean roars + Responsive echoes thro the Shetland shores. + He comes, the Father! from his bleak domains, + To break with liquid arms the sounding chains; + Clothed in white majesty, he leads from far + His tides high foaming to the wintry war. + Billows on billows lift the maddening brine, + And seas and clouds in battling conflict join, + O'erturn the vast gulph glade with rending sweep, + And crash the crust that bridged the boiling deep; + Till forced aloft, bright bounding thro the air, + Moves the blear ice, and sheds a dazzling glare; + The torn foundations on the surface ride, + And wrecks of winter load the downward tide. + + The loosen'd ice-isles o'er the main advance, + Toss on the surge, and thro the concave dance; + Whirl'd high, conjoin'd, in crystal mountains driven, + Alp over Alp, they build a midway heaven; + Whose million mirrors mock the solar ray, + And give condensed the tenfold glare of day. + As tow'rd the south the mass enormous glides. + And brineless rivers furrow down its sides; + The thirsty sailor steals a glad supply, + And sultry trade winds quaff the boreal sky. + + But oft insidious death, with mist o'erstrown, + Rides the dark ocean on this icy throne; + When ships thro vernal seas with light airs steer + Their midnight march, and deem no danger near. + The steerman gaily helms his course along, + And laughs and listens to the watchman's song, + Who walks the deck, enjoys the murky fog, + Sure of his chart, his magnet and his log; + Their shipmates dreaming, while their slumbers last, + Of joys to come, of toils and dangers past. + Sudden a chilling blast comes roaring thro + The trembling shrouds, and startles all the crew; + They spring to quarters, and perceive too late + The mount of death, the giant strides of fate. + The fullsail'd ship, with instantaneous shock, + Dash'd into fragments by the floating rock, + Plunges beneath its basement thro the wave, + And crew and cargo glut the watery grave. + + Say, Palfrey, brave good man, was this thy doom? + Dwells here the secret of thy midsea tomb? + But, Susan, why that tear? my lovely friend, + Regret may last, but grief should have an end. + An infant then, thy memory scarce can trace + The lines, tho sacred, of thy father's face; + A generous spouse has well replaced the sire; + New duties hence new sentiments require. + + Now where the lakes, those midland oceans, lie, + Columbus turn'd his heaven-illumined eye. + Ontario's banks, unable to retain + The five great Caspians from the distant main, + Burst with the ponderous mass, and forceful whirl'd + His Laurence forth, to balance thus the world. + Above, bold Erie's wave sublimely stood, + Look'd o'er the cliff, and heaved his headlong flood; + Where dread Niagara bluffs high his brow, + And frowns defiance to the world below. + White clouds of mist expanding o'er him play, + That tinge their skirts in all the beams of day; + Pleased Iris wantons in perpetual pride, + And bends her rainbows o'er the dashing tide. + Far glimmering in the north, bleak Huron runs, + Clear Michigan reflects a thousand suns, + And bason'd high, on earth's broad bosom gay, + The bright Superior silvers down the day. + + Blue mounds beyond them far in ether fade, + Deep groves between them cast a solemn shade, + Slow moves their settling mist in lurid streams, + And dusky radiance streaks the solar beams. + Fixt on the view the great discoverer stood, + And thus addrest the messenger of good: + But why these seats, that seem reserved to grace + The social toils of some illustrious race, + Why spread so wide and form'd so fair in vain? + And why so distant rolls the bounteous main? + These happy regions must forever rest, + Of man unseen, by native beasts possest; + And the best heritage my sons could boast + Illude their search in far dim deserts lost, + For see, no ship can point her pendants here, + No stream conducts nor ocean wanders near; + Frost, crags and cataracts their north invest, + And the tired sun scarce finds their bounds awest. + + To whom the Seraph: Here indeed retires + The happiest land that feels my fostering fires; + Here too shall numerous nations found their seat, + And peace and freedom bless the kind retreat. + Led by this arm thy sons shall hither come, + And streams obedient yield the heroes room, + Spread a broad passage to their well known main, + Nor sluice their lakes, nor form their soils in vain. + + Here my bold Missisippi bends his way, + Scorns the dim bounds of yon bleak boreal day, + And calls from western heavens, to feed his stream, + The rains and floods that Asian seas might claim. + Strong in his march, and charged with all the fates + Of regions pregnant with a hundred states. + He holds in balance, ranged on either hand, + Two distant oceans and their sundering land; + Commands and drains the interior tracts that lie + Outmeasuring Europe's total breadth of sky. + + High in the north his parent fountains wed, + And oozing urns adorn his infant head; + In vain proud Frost his nursing lakes would close, + And choke his channel with perennial snows; + From all their slopes he curves his countless rills, + Sweeps their long marshes, saps their settling hills; + Then stretching, straighteningsouth, he gaily gleams, + Swells thro the climes, and swallows all their streams; + From zone to zone, o'er earth's broad surface curl'd, + He cleaves his course, he furrows half the world, + Now roaring wild thro bursting mountains driven, + Now calm reflecting all the host of heaven; + Where Cynthia pausing, her own face admires, + And suns and stars repeat their dancing fires. + Wide o'er his meadowy lawns he spreads and feeds + His realms of canes, his waving world of reeds; + Where mammoth grazed the renovating groves, + Slaked his huge thirst, and chill'd his fruitless loves; + Where elks, rejoicing o'er the extinguished race, + By myriads rise to fill the vacant space. + Earth's widest gulph expands to meet his wave, + Vast isles of ocean in his current lave; + Glad Thetis greets him from his finish'd course, + And bathes her Nereids in his freshening source. + + To his broad bed their tributary stores + Wisconsin here, there lonely Peter pours; + Croix, from the northeast wilds his channel fills, + Ohio, gather'd from his myriad hills, + Yazoo and Black, surcharged by Georgian springs, + Rich Illinois his copious treasure brings; + Arkansa, measuring back the sun's long course, + Moine, Francis, Rouge augment the father's force. + But chief of all his family of floods + Missouri marches thro his world of woods; + He scorns to mingle with the filial train, + Takes every course to reach alone the main; + Orient awhile his bending swreep he tries, + Now drains the southern, now the northern skies, + Searches and sunders far the globe's vast frame, + Reluctant joins the sire, and takes at last his name. + + There lies the path thy future sons shall trace, + Plant here their arts, and rear their vigorous race: + A race predestined, in these choice abodes, + To teach mankind to tame their fluvial floods, + Retain from ocean, as their work requires, + These great auxiliars, raised by solar fires, + Force them to form ten thousand roads, and girth + With liquid belts each verdant mound of earth, + To aid the colon's as the carrier's toil, + To drive the coulter, and to fat the soil, + Learn all mechanic arts, and oft regain + Their native hills in vapor and in rain. + + So taught the Saint. The regions nearer drew, + And raised resplendent to their Hero's view + Rich nature's triple reign; for here elate + She stored the noblest treasures of her state, + Adorn'd exuberant this her last domain, + As yet unalter'd by her mimic man, + Sow'd liveliest gems, and plants of proudest grace, + And strung with strongest nerves her animated race. + + Retiring far round Hudson's frozen bay, + Earth's lessening circles shrink beyond the day; + Snows ever rising with the toils of time + Choke the chill shrubs that brave the dismal clime; + The beasts all whitening roam the lifeless plain, + And caves unfrequent scoop the couch for man. + + Where Spring's coy steps in cold Canadia stray, + And joyless seasons hold unequal sway, + He saw the pine its daring mantle rear, + Break the rude blast, and mock the brumal year, + Shag the green zone that bounds the boreal skies, + And bid all southern vegetation rise. + Wild o'er the vast impenetrable round + The untrod bowers of shadowy nature frown'd; + Millennial cedars wave their honors wide, + The fir's tall boughs, the oak's umbrageous pride, + The branching beech, the aspen's trembling shade + Veil the dim heaven, and brown the dusky glade. + For in dense crowds these sturdy sons of earth, + In frosty regions, claim a stronger birth; + Where heavy beams the sheltering dome requires, + And copious trunks to feed its wintry fires. + + But warmer suns, that southern zones emblaze, + A cool thin umbrage o'er their woodland raise; + Floridia's shores their blooms around him spread. + And Georgian hills erect their shady head; + Whose flowery shrubs regale the passing air + With all the untasted fragrance of the year. + Beneath tall trees, dispersed in loose array, + The rice-grown lawns their humble garb display; + The infant maize, unconscious of its worth, + Points the green spire and bends the foliage forth; + In various forms unbidden harvests rise, + And blooming life repays the genial skies. + + Where Mexic hills the breezy gulph defend, + Spontaneous groves with richer burdens bend. + Anana's stalk its shaggy honors yields, + Acassia's flowers perfume a thousand fields, + Their cluster'd dates the mast-like palms unfold, + The spreading orange waves a load of gold, + Connubial vines o'ertop the larch they climb, + The long-lived olive mocks the moth of time, + Pomona's pride, that old Grenada claims, + Here smiles and reddens in diviner flames; + Pimento, citron scent the sky serene, + White woolly clusters fringe the cotton's green, + The sturdy fig, the frail deciduous cane + And foodful cocoa fan the sultry plain. + + Here, in one view, the same glad branches bring + The fruits of autumn and the flowers of spring; + No wintry blasts the unchanging year deform, + Nor beasts unshelter'd fear the pinching storm; + But vernal breezes o'er the blossoms rove, + And breathe the ripen'd juices thro the grove. + + Beneath the crystal wave's inconstant light + Pearls burst their shells to greet the Hero's sight; + From opening earth in living lustre shine + The various treasures of the blazing mine; + Hills cleft before him all their stores unfold, + The pale platina and the burning gold; + Silver whole mounds, and gems of dazzling ray + Illume the rocks and shed the beams of day. + + + + Book II. + + + + Argument + + + + Natives of America appear in vision. Their manners and characters. + Columbus demands the cause of the dissimilarity of men in different + countries, Hesper replies, That the human body is composed of a due + proportion of the elements suited to the place of its first formation; + that these elements, differently proportioned, produce all the changes + of health, sickness, growth and decay; and may likewise produce any + other changes which occasion the diversity of men; that these elemental + proportions are varied, not more by climate than temperature and other + local circumstances; that the mind is likewise in a state of change, + and will take its physical character from the body and from external + objects: examples. Inquiry concerning the first peopling of America. + View of Mexico. Its destruction by Cortez. View of Cusco and Quito, + cities of Peru. Tradition of Capac and Oella, founders of the Peruvian + empire. Columbus inquires into their real history. Hesper gives an + account of their origin, and relates the stratagems they used in + establishing that empire. + + + High o'er his world as thus Columbus gazed, + And Hesper still the changing scene emblazed, + Round all the realms increasing lustre flew, + And raised new wonders to the Patriarch's view. + + He saw at once, as far as eye could rove, + Like scattering herds, the swarthy people move + In tribes innumerable; all the waste, + Wide as their walks, a varying shadow cast. + As airy shapes, beneath the moon's pale eye, + People the clouds that sail the midnight sky, + Dance thro the grove and flit along the glade, + And cast their grisly phantoms on the shade; + So move the hordes, in thickets half conceal'd, + Or vagrant stalking thro the fenceless field, + Here tribes untamed, who scorn to fix their home, + O'er shadowy streams and trackless deserts roam; + While others there in settled hamlets rest, + And corn-clad vales a happier state attest. + + The painted chiefs, in guise terrific drest, + Rise fierce to war, and beat their savage breast; + Dark round their steps collecting warriors pour, + Some fell revenge begins the hideous roar; + From hill to hill the startling war-song flies, + And tribes on tribes in dread disorder rise, + Track the mute foe and scour the howling wood, + Loud as a storm, ungovern'd as a flood; + Or deep in groves the silent ambush lay, + Lead the false flight, decoy and seize their prey, + Their captives torture, butcher and devour, + Drink the warm blood and paint their cheeks with gore. + + Awhile he paused, with dubious thoughts opprest, + And thus to Hesper's ear his doubts addrest: + Say, to what class of nature's sons belong + The countless tribes of this untutor'd throng? + Where human frames and brutal souls combine, + No force can tame them, and no arts refine. + Can these be fashion'd on the social plan, + Or boast a lineage with the race of man? + When first we found them in yon hapless isle, + They seem'd to know and seem'd to fear no guile; + A timorous herd, like harmless roes, they ran, + And call'd us Gods, from whom their tribes began. + But when, their fears allay'd, in us they trace + The well-known image of a mortal race, + When Spanish blood their wondering eyes beheld, + A frantic rage their changing bosoms swell'd; + They roused their bands from numerous hills afar, + To feast their souls on ruin, waste and war. + Nor plighted vows nor sure defeat control + The same indignant savageness of soul. + + Tell then, my Seer, from what dire sons of earth + The brutal people drew their ancient birth; + If these forgotten shores and useless tides + Have form'd them different from the world besides, + Born to subjection, when in happier time + A nobler race should reach their fruitful clime; + Or, if a common source all nations claim, + Their lineage, form and faculties the same, + What sovereign secret cause, yet undisplay'd, + This wondrous change in nature's work has made; + Why various powers of soul and tints of face + In different lands diversify the race; + To whom the Guide: Unnumbered causes lie, + In earth and sea, in climate, soil and sky, + That fire the soul, or damp the genial flame, + And work their wonders on the human frame. + See beauty, form and color change with place; + Here charms of health the lively visage grace; + There pale diseases float in every wind, + Deform the figure, and degrade the mind. + + From earth's own elements thy race at first + Rose into life, the children of the dust; + These kindred elements, by various use, + Nourish the growth and every change produce; + In each ascending stage the man sustain, + His breath, his food, his physic and his bane. + In due proportions where these atoms lie, + A certain form their equal aids supply; + And while unchanged the efficient causes reign, + Age following age the certain form maintain. + But where crude atoms disproportion'd rise, + And cast their sickening vapors round the skies, + Unlike that harmony of human frame, + That moulded first and reproduce the same, + The tribes ill form'd, attempering to the clime, + Still vary downward with the years of time; + More perfect some, and some less perfect yield + Their reproductions in this wondrous field; + Till fixt at last their characters abide, + And local likeness feeds their local pride. + The soul too, varying with the change of clime, + Feeble or fierce, or groveling or sublime, + Forms with the body to a kindred plan, + And lives the same, a nation or a man. + + Yet think not clime alone the tint controls, + On every shore, by altitude of poles; + A different cast the glowing zone demands, + In Paria's groves, from Tombut's burning sands, + Unheeded agents, for the sense too fine, + With every pulse, with every thought combine, + Thro air and ocean, with their changes run, + Breathe from the ground, or circle with the sun. + Where these long continents their shores outspread, + See the same form all different tribes pervade; + Thro all alike the fertile forests bloom, + And all, uncultured, shed a solemn gloom; + Thro all great nature's boldest features rise, + Sink into vales or tower amid the skies; + Streams darkly winding stretch a broader sway, + The groves and mountains bolder walks display; + A dread sublimity informs the whole, + And rears a dread sublimity of soul. + + Yet time and art shall other changes find, + And open still and vary still the mind. + The countless clans that tread these dank abodes, + Who glean spontaneous fruits and range the woods, + Fixt here for ages, in their swarthy face + Display the wild complexion of the place. + Yet when the hordes to happy nations rise, + And earth By culture warms the genial skies, + A fairer tint and more majestic grace + Shall flush their features and exalt the race; + While milder arts, with social joys refined, + Inspire new beauties in the growing mind. + + Thy followers too, old Europe's noblest pride, + When future gales shall wing them o'er the tide, + A ruddier hue and deeper shade shall gain, + And stalk, in statelier figures, on the plain. + While nature's grandeur lifts the eye abroad + O'er these last labors of the forming God, + Wing'd on a wider glance the venturous soul + Bids greater powers and bolder thoughts unrol; + The sage, the chief, the patriot unconfined, + Shield the weak world and meliorate mankind. + But think not thou, in all the range of man, + That different pairs each different cast began; + Or tribes distinct, by signal marks confest, + Were born to serve or subjugate the rest. + + The Hero heard, and thus resumed the strain: + Who led these wanderers o'er the dreary main? + Could their weak sires, unskill'd in human lore, + Build the bold bark, to seek an unknown shore? + A shore so distant from the world beside, + So dark the tempests, and so wild the tide, + That Greece and Tyre, and all who tempt the sea, + Have shunn'd the task, and left the fame to me. + + When first thy roving race, the Power replied, + Learn'd by the stars the devious sail to guide, + From stormy Hellespont explored the way, + And sought the limits of the Midland sea; + Before Alcides form'd his impious plan + To check the sail, and bound the steps of man, + This hand had led them to this rich abode, + And braved the wrath of that strong demigod. + + Driven from the Calpian strait, a hapless train + Roll'd on the waves that sweep the western main; + Storms from the orient bhcken'd heaven with shade, + Nor sun nor stars could yield their wonted aid. + For many a darksome day o'erwhelm'd and tost, + Their sails, their oars in swallowing surges lost, + At length, the clouds withdrawn, they sad descry + Their course directing from their native sky. + No hope remains; far onward o'er the zone + The trade wind bears them with the circling sun; + Till wreck'd and stranded here, the sylvan coast + Receives to lonely seats the suffering host. + The fruitful vales invite their steps to roam, + Renounce their sorrows and forget their home; + Revolving years their ceaseless wanderings led, + And from their sons descending nations spread. + + These in the torrid tracts began their sway, + Whose cultured fields their growing arts display; + The northern tribes a later stock may boast, + A race descended from the Asian coast. + High in the Arctic, where Anadir glides, + A narrow strait the impinging worlds divides; + There Tartar fugitives from famine sail, + And migrant tribes these fruitful shorelands hail. + + He spoke; when Behren's pass before them lay, + And moving nations on the margin stray, + Thick swarming, venturous; sail and oar they ply, + Climb on the surge and o'er the billows fly. + As when autumnal storms awake their force. + The storks foreboding tempt their southern course; + From all the fields collecting throngs arise, + Mount on the wing and crowd along the skies: + Thus, to his eye, from bleak Tartaria's shore, + Thro isles and seas, the gathering people pour, + Change their cold regions for a happier strand, + Leap from the wave and tread the welcome land; + In growing tribes extend their southern sway, + And wander wide beneath a warmer day. + + But why, the Chief replied, if ages past + Led the bold vagrants to so mild a waste; + If human souls, for social compact given, + Inform their nature with the stamp of heaven. + Why the wild woods for ever must they rove, + Nor arts nor social joys their passions move? + Long is the lapse of ages, since thy hand + Conducted here thy first adventurous band. + On other shores, in every eastern clime, + Since that unletter'd, distant tract of time, + What arts have sprung, imperial powers to grace! + What sceptres sway'd the many-master'd race! + Guilt, grandeur, glory from their seats been hurl'd, + And dire divulsions shook the changing world! + + Ere Rome's first Eagle clave the frighted air, + Ere Sparta form'd her deathlike sons of war, + Ere Tyre and Ilion saw their towers arise, + Or Memphian pyramids usurp'd the skies, + These tribes have forester'd the fruitful zone, + Their seats unsettled, and their name unknown. + + Hesper to this replied: A scanty train, + In that far age, approach'd the wide domain; + The wide domain, with game and fruitage crown'd, + Supplied their food uncultured from the ground. + By nature form'd to rove, the humankind, + Of freedom fond, will ramble unconfined, + Till all the region fills, and rival right + Restrains their steps, and bids their force unite; + When common safety builds a common cause, + Conforms their interest and inspires their laws; + By mutual checks their different manners blend, + Their fields bloom joyous, and their walls ascend. + Here to the vagrant tribes no bounds arose, + They form'd no union, as they fear'd no foes; + Wandering and wild, from sire to son they stray, + A thousand ages, scorning every sway. + And what a world their seatless nations led! + A total hemisphere around them spread; + See the lands lengthen, see the rivers roll, + To each far main, to each extended pole! + + But lo, at last the destined course is run, + The realms are peopled and their arts begun. + Where yon mid region elevated lies, + A few famed cities glitter to the skies; + There move, in eastern pomp, the toils of state, + And temples heave, magnificently great. + + The Hero turn'd to greet the novel sight; + When three far splendors, yet confusedly bright, + Rose like a constellation; till more near, + Distinctly mark'd their different sites appear; + Diverging still, beneath their roofs of gold, + Three cities gay their mural towers unfold. + So, led by visions of his guiding God, + The seer of Patmos o'er the welkin trod, + Saw the new heaven its flamy cope unbend, + And walls and gates and spiry domes descend; + His well known sacred city grows, and gains + Her new built towers, her renovated fanes; + With golden skies and suns and rainbows crown'd, + Jerusalem looks forth and lights the world around. + + Bright on the north imperial Mexic rose; + A mimic morn her sparkling vanes disclose, + Her opening streets concentred hues display, + Give back the sun, and shed internal day; + The circling wall with guardian turrets frown'd, + And look'd defiance to the realms around; + A glimmering lake without the wall retires, + Inverts the towers, and seems a grove of spires. + + Proud o'er the midst, on columns lifted high, + A giant structure claims a loftier sky; + O'er the tall gates sublimer arches bend, + Courts larger lengthen, bolder walks ascend, + Starr'd with superior gems the porches shine, + And speak the royal residence writhin. + There, deck'd in state robes, on his golden throne, + Mid suppliant kings, dread Montezuma shone; + Mild in his eye a temper'd grandeur sate, + High seem'd his soul, with conscious power elate; + In aspect open, social and serene, + Enclosed by favorites, and of friends unseen. + + Round the rich throne, in various lustre dight, + Gems undistinguished cast a changing light; + Sapphire and emerald soften down the scene, + Cold azure mingling with the vernal green, + Pearl, amber, ruby warmer flames unfold, + And diamonds brighten from the burning gold; + Thro all the dome the living blazes blend, + And shoot their rainbows where the arches bend. + On every ceiling, painted light and gay, + Symbolic forms their graphic art display; + Recording, confident of endless fame, + Each feat of arms, each patriarchal name; + Like Memphian hieroglyphs, to stretch the span + Of memory frail in momentary man. + + Pour'd thro the gates a hundred nations greet, + Throng the rich mart and line each ample street, + Ply different labors, walls and structures rear, + Or till the fields, or train the ranks of war. + Thro spreading states the skirts of empire bend, + New temples rise and other plains extend; + Thrice ten wide provinces, in culture gay, + Bless the same king, and daily firm the sway. + + A smile benignant kindling in his eyes, + O happy realm! the glad Columbus cries, + Far in the midland, safe from every foe, + Thy arts shall flourish as thy virtues grow, + To endless years thy rising fame extend, + And sires of nations from thy sons descend. + May no gold-thirsty race thy temples tread, + Insult thy rites, nor heap thy plains with dead; + No Bovadilla seize the tempting spoil, + No dark Ovando, no religious Boyle, + In mimic priesthood grave, or robed in state, + Overwhelm thy glories in oblivious fate! + + Vain are thy hopes, the sainted Power replied, + These rich abodes from Spanish hordes to hide, + Or teach hard guilt and cruelty to spare + The guardless prize of sacrilegious war. + Think not the vulture, mid the field of slain, + Where base and brave promiscuous strow the plain, + Where the young hero in the pride of charms + Pours brighter crimson o'er his spotless arms, + Will pass the tempting prey, and glut his rage + On harder flesh, and carnage black with age; + O'er all alike he darts his eager eye, + Whets the blunt beak and hovers down the sky, + From countless corses picks the dainty food, + And screams and fattens in the purest blood. + So the vile hosts, that hither trace thy way, + On happiest tribes with fiercest fury prey. + Thine the dread task, O Cortez, here to show + What unknown crimes can heighten human woe, + On these fair fields the blood of realms to pour, + Tread sceptres down, and print thy steps in gore, + With gold and carnage swell thy sateless mind, + And live and die the blackest of mankind. + + He gains the shore. Behold his fortress rise, + His fleet high flaming suffocates the skies. + The march begins; the nations in affright + Quake as he moves, and wage the fruitless fight; + Thro the rich provinces he bends his way, + Kings in his chain, and kingdoms for his prey; + Full on the imperial town infuriate falls, + And pours destruction o'er its batter'd walls. + + In quest of peace great Montezuma stands, + A sovereign supplicant with lifted hands, + Brings all his treasure, yields the regal sway, + Bids vassal millions their new lord obey; + And plies the victor with incessant prayer, + Thro ravaged realms the harmless race to spare. + But treasures, tears and sceptres plead in vain, + Nor threats can move him, nor a world restrain; + While blind religion's prostituted name + And monkish fury guide the sacred flame. + O'er crowded fanes their fires unhallow'd bend, + Climb the wide roofs, the lofty towers ascend, + Pour thro the lowering skies the smoky flood, + And stain the fields, and quench the blaze in blood. + + Columbus heard; and, with a heaving sigh, + Dropt the full tear that started in his eye: + O hapless day! his trembling voice replied, + That saw my wandering pennon mount the tide. + Had but the lamp of heaven to that bold sail + Ne'er mark'd the passage nor awoke the gale, + Taught foreign prows these peopled shores to find, + Nor led those tigers forth to fang mankind; + Then had the tribes beneath these bounteous skies + Seen their walls widen and their harvests rise; + Down the long tracts of time their glory shone, + Broad as the day and lasting as the sun. + The growing realms, behind thy shield that rest, + Paternal monarch, still thy power had blest, + Enjoy'd the pleasures that surround thy throne, + Survey'd thy virtues and improved their own. + + Forgive me, prince; this luckless arm hath led + The storm unseen that hovers o'er thy head; + Taught the dark sons of slaughter where to roam, + To seize thy crown and seal the nation's doom. + Arm, sleeping empire, meet the murderous band, + Drive back the invaders, save the sinking land.-- + But vain the call! behold the streaming blood! + Forgive me, Nature! and forgive me, God! + + While sorrows thus his patriarch pride control, + Hesper reproving sooths his tender soul: + Father of this new world, thy tears give o'er, + Let virtue grieve and heaven be blamed no more. + Enough for man, with persevering mind, + To act his part and strive to bless his kind; + Enough for thee, o'er thy dark age to soar, + And raise to light that long-secluded shore. + For this my guardian care thy youth inspired, + To virtue rear'd thee, and with glory fired, + Bade in thy plan each distant world unite, + And wing'd thy vessel for the venturous flight. + + Nor think the labors vain; to good they tend; + Tyrants like these shall ne'er defeat their end; + Their end that opens far beyond the scope + Of man's past efforts and his present hope. + Long has thy race, to narrow shores confined, + Trod the same round that fetter'd fast the mind; + Now, borne on bolder plumes, with happier flight, + The world's broad bounds unfolding to the sight, + The mind shall soar; the coming age expand + Their arts and lore to every barbarous land; + And buried gold, drawn copious from the mine, + Give wings to commerce and the world refine. + + Now to yon southern cities turn thy view, + And mark the rival seats of rich Peru. + See Quito's airy plains, exalted high, + With loftier temples rise along the sky; + And elder Cusco's shining roofs unfold, + Flame on the day, and shed their suns of gold. + Another range, in these pacific climes, + Spreads a broad theatre for unborn crimes; + Another Cortez shall their treasures view, + His rage rekindle and his guilt renew; + His treason, fraud, and every fell design, + O curst Pizarro, shall revive in thine. + + Here reigns a prince, whose heritage proclaims + A long bright lineage of imperial names; + Where the brave roll of Incas love to trace + The distant father of their realm and race, + Immortal Capac. He, in youthful pride, + With young Oella his illustrious bride, + Announced their birth divine; a race begun + From heaven, the children of their God the Sun; + By him sent forth a polish'd state to frame, + Crush the fiend Gods that human victims claim, + With cheerful rites their pure devotions pay + To the bright orb that gives the changing day. + + On this great plan, as children of the skies, + They plied their arts and saw their hamlets rise. + First of their works, and sacred to their fame. + Yon proud metropolis received its name, + Cusco the seat of states, in peace design'd + To reach o'er earth, and civilize mankind. + Succeeding sovereigns spread their limits far, + Tamed every tribe, and sooth'd the rage of war; + Till Quito bow'd; and all the heliac zone + Felt the same sceptre, and confirm'd the throne. + + Near Cusco's walls, where still their hallow'd isle + Bathes in its lake and wears its verdant smile, + Where these prime parents of the sceptred line + Their advent made, and spoke their birth divine, + Behold their temple stand; its glittering spires + Light the glad waves and aid their father's fires. + Arch'd in the walls of gold, its portal gleams + With various gems of intermingling beams; + And flaming from the front, with borrow'd ray, + A diamond circlet gives the rival day; + In whose bright face forever looks abroad + The labor'd image of the radiant God. + There dwells the royal priest, whose inner shrine + Conceals his lore; tis there his voice divine + Proclaims the laws; and there a cloister'd quire + Of holy virgins keep the sacred fire. + + Columbus heard; and curious to be taught + What pious fraud such wondrous changes wrought, + Ask'd by what mystic charm, in that dark age, + They quell'd in savage souls the barbarous rage, + By leagues of peace combined a wide domain, + And taught the virtues in their laws to reign. + + Long is the tale; but tho their labors rest + By years obscured, in flowery fiction drest, + My voice, said Hesper, shall revive their name, + And give their merits to immortal fame. + Led by his father's wars, in early prime + Young Capac left his native northern clime; + The clime where Quito since hath rear'd her fanes, + And now no more her barbarous rites maintains. + He saw these vales in richer blooms array'd, + And tribes more numerous haunt the woodland shade, + Saw rival clans their local Gods adore, + Their altars staining with their children's gore, + Yet mark'd their reverence for the Sun, whose beam + Proclaims his bounties and his power supreme; + Who sails in happier skies, diffusing good, + Demands no victim and receives no blood. + + In peace return'd with his victorious sire, + New charms of glory all his soul inspire; + To conquer nations on a different plan, + And build his greatness on the good of man. + + By nature form'd for hardiest deeds of fame, + Tall, bold and full-proportion'd rose his frame; + Strong moved his limbs, a mild majestic grace + Beam'd from his eyes and open'd in his face; + O'er the dark world his mind superior shone, + And seem'd the semblance of his parent Sun. + But tho fame's airy visions lift his eyes, + And future empires from his labors rise; + Yet softer fires his daring views control, + And mixt emotions fill his changing soul. + Shall genius rare, that might the world improve, + Bend to the milder voice of careless love, + That bounds his glories, and forbids to part + From bowers that woo'd his fluctuating heart? + Or shall the toils imperial heroes claim + Fire his brave bosom with a patriot flame, + Bid sceptres wait him on Peruvia's shore, + And loved Oella meet his eyes no more? + + Still unresolved he sought the lonely maid, + Who plied her labors in the silvan shade; + Her locks loose rolling mantle deep her breast, + And wave luxuriant round her slender waist, + Gay wreaths of flowers her pensive brows adorn, + And her white raiment mocks the light of morn. + Her busy hand sustains a bending bough, + Where cotton clusters spread their robes of snow, + From opening pods unbinds the fleecy store, + And culls her labors for the evening bower. + + For she, the first in all Hesperia, fed + The turning spindle with the twisting thread; + The woof, the shuttle follow'd her command, + Till various garments grew beneath her hand. + And now, while all her thoughts with Capac rove + Thro former scenes of innocence and love, + In distant fight his fancied dangers share, + Or wait him glorious from the finish'd war; + Blest with the ardent hope, her sprightly mind + A vesture white had for the prince design'd; + And here she seeks the wool to web the fleece, + The sacred emblem of returning peace. + + Sudden his near approach the maid alarms; + He flew enraptured to her yielding arms, + And lost, dissolving in a softer flame, + His distant empire and the fire of fame. + At length, retiring thro the homeward field, + Their glowing souls to cooler converse yield; + O'er various scenes of blissful life they ran, + When thus the warrior to the maid began: + + Long have we mark'd the inauspicious reign + That waits our sceptre in this rough domain; + A soil ungrateful and a wayward race, + Their game but scanty, and confined their space. + Where late my steps the southern war pursued, + The fertile plains grew boundless as I view'd; + More numerous nations trod the grassy wild, + And joyous nature more delightful smiled. + No changing seasons there the flowers deform, + No dread volcano and no mountain storm; + Rains ne'er invade, nor livid lightnings play, + Nor clouds obscure the radiant King of day. + But while his orb, in ceaseless glory bright, + Rolls the rich day and fires his stars by night, + Unbounded fulness flows beneath his reign, + Seas yield their treasures, fruits adorn the plain; + His melting mountains spread their annual flood, + Night sheds her dews, the day-breeze fans the God. + Tis he inspires me with the vast design + To form those nations to a sway divine; + Destroy the rites of every demon Power, + Whose altars smoke with sacrilegious gore; + To laws and labor teach the tribes to yield, + And richer fruits to grace the cultured field. + + But great, my charmer, is the task of fame, + Their faith to fashion and their lives to tame; + Full many a spacious wild these eyes must see + Spread dreary bounds between my love and me; + And yon bright Godhead circle thrice the year, + Each lonely evening number'd with a tear. + Long robes of white my shoulders must embrace, + To speak my lineage of ethereal race; + That simple men may reverence and obey + The radiant offspring of the Power of day. + + When these my deeds the faith of nations gain, + And happy millions bless thy Capac's reign, + Then shall he feign a journey to the Sun, + To bring the partner of his well-earn'd throne; + So shall descending kings the line sustain, + Till earth's whole regions join the vast domain. + + Will then my fair, at my returning hour, + Forsake these wilds and hail a happier bower? + Will she consenting now resume her smiles, + Send forth her warrior to his glorious toils; + And, sweetly patient, wait the flight of days, + That crown our labors with immortal praise? + + Silent the damsel heard; her moistening eye + Spoke the full soul, nor could her voice reply; + Till softer accents sooth'd her wounded ear, + Composed her tumult and allay'd her fear: + Think not, heroic maid, my steps would part + While silent sorrows heave that tender heart. + Oella's peace more dear shall prove to me + Than all the realms that bound the raging sea; + Nor thou, bright Sun, shalt bribe my soul to rest, + And leave one struggle in her lovely breast. + + Yet think in tribes so vast, my gentle fair, + What millions merit our instructive care; + How age to age leads on their joyless gloom, + Habitual slaughter their poor piteous doom; + No social ties their wayward passions prove, + Nor peace nor pleasure treads the howling grove; + Mid thousand heroes and a thousand fair + No fond Oella meets her Capac there. + Yet, taught by thee domestic joys to prize, + With softer charms the virgin race shall rise, + Awake new virtues, every grace improve, + And form their minds for happiness and love. + + Ah think, as future years thro time descend, + What wide creations on thy voice depend; + And, like the Sun, whose all-delighting ray + To those mild regions gives his purest day, + Diffuse thy bounties, let me instant fly; + In three short moons the generous task I'll try; + Then swift returning, I'll conduct my fair + Where realms submissive wait her fostering care. + + And will my prince, my Capac, borne away, + Thro those dark wilds in quest of empire stray, + Where tigers fierce command the shuddering wood, + And men like tigers thirst for human blood? + Think'st thou no dangerous deed the course attends, + Alone, unaided by thy sire and friends? + Even chains and death may meet my hero there, + Nor his last groan could reach Oella's ear. + + But no! nor death nor chains shall Capac prove + Unknown to her, while she has power to rove. + Close by thy side, where'er thy wanderings stray, + My equal steps shall measure all the way; + With borrow'd soul each chance of fate I'll dare, + Thy toils to lessen and thy dangers share. + Quick shall my ready hand two garments weave, + Whose sunny whiteness shall the tribes deceive; + Thus clad, their homage shall secure our sway. + And hail us children of the God of day. + + The lovely counsel pleased. The smiling chief + Approved her courage and dispell'd her grief; + Then to their homely bower in haste they move. + Begin their labors and prepare to rove. + Soon grow the robes beneath her forming care, + And the fond parents wed the wondrous pair; + But whelm'd in grief beheld the following dawn, + Their joys all vanish'd and their children gone. + Nine days they march'd; the tenth effulgent morn + Saw their white forms that sacred isle adorn. + The work begins; they preach to every band + The well-form'd fiction, and their faith demand; + With various miracles their powers display, + To prove their lineage and confirm their sway. + They form to different arts the hand of toil, + To whirl the spindle and to spade the soil, + The Sun's bright march with pious finger trace, + And his pale sister with her changing face; + Show how their bounties clothe the labor'd plain, + The green maize shooting from its golden grain, + How the white cotton tree's expanding lobes + File into threads, and swell to fleecy robes; + While the tamed Llama aids the wondrous plan, + And lends his garment to the loins of man. + + The astonish'd tribes believe, with glad surprise, + The Gods descended from the favoring skies, + Adore their persons robed in shining white. + Receive their laws and leave each horrid rite, + Build with assisting hands the golden throne, + And hail and bless the sceptre of the Sun. + + + + + +Book III. + + + +Argument. + + + + Actions of the Inca Capac. A general invasion of his dominions + threatened by the mountain savages. Rocha, the Inca's son, sent with a + few companions to offer terms of peace. His embassy. His adventure with + the worshippers of the volcano. With those of the storm, on the Andes. + Falls in with the savage armies. Character and speech of Zamor, their + chief. Capture of Rocha and his companions. Sacrifice of the latter. + Death song of Azonto. War dance. March of the savage armies down the + mountains to Peru. Incan army meets them. Battle joins. Peruvians + terrified by an eclipse of the sun, and routed. They fly to Cusco. + Grief of Oella, supposing the darkness to be occasioned by the death of + Rocha. Sun appears. Peruvians from the city wall discover Roch + an altar in the savage camp. They march in haste out of the city and + engage the savages. Exploits of Capac. Death of Zamor. Recovery of + Rocha, and submission of the enemy. + + +Now twenty years these children of the skies + Beheld their gradual growing empire rise. + They ruled with rigid but with generous care, + Diffused their arts and sooth'd the rage of war, + Bade yon tall temple grace their favorite isle, + The mines unfold, the cultured valleys smile, + Those broad foundations bend their arches high, + And rear imperial Cusco to the sky; + Wealth, wisdom, force consolidate the reign + From the rude Andes to the western main. + + But frequent inroads from the savage bands + Lead fire and slaughter o'er the labor'd lands; + They sack the temples, the gay fields deface, + And vow destruction to the Incan race. + The king, undaunted in defensive war, + Repels their hordes, and speeds their flight afar; + Stung with defeat, they range a wider wood, + And rouse fresh tribes for future fields of blood. + + Where yon blue ridges hang their cliffs on high, + And suns infulminate the stormful sky, + The nations, temper'd to the turbid air, + Breathe deadly strife, and sigh for battle's blare; + Tis here they meditate, with one vast blow, + To crush the race that rules the plains below. + Capac with caution views the dark design, + Learns from all points what hostile myriads join. + And seeks in time by proffer'd leagues to gain + A bloodless victory, and enlarge his reign. + + His eldest hope, young Rocha, at his call, + Resigns his charge within the temple wall; + In whom began, with reverend forms of awe, + The functions grave of priesthood and of law, + + In early youth, ere yet the ripening sun + Had three short lustres o'er his childhood run, + The prince had learnt, beneath his father's hand, + The well-framed code that sway'd the sacred land; + With rites mysterious served the Power divine, + Prepared the altar and adorn'd the shrine, + Responsive hail'd, with still returning praise, + Each circling season that the God displays, + Sooth'd with funereal hymns the parting dead, + At nuptial feasts the joyful chorus led; + While evening incense and the morning song + Rose from his hand or trembled on his tongue. + + Thus form'd for empire ere he gain'd the sway, + To rule with reverence and with power obey, + Reflect the glories of the parent Sun, + And shine the Capac of his future throne, + Employed his docile years; till now from far + The rumor'd leagues proclaim approaching war; + Matured for active scenes he quits the shrine, + To aid in council or in arms to shine. + + Amid the chieftains that the court compose, + In modest mien the stripling pontiff rose, + With reverence bow'd, conspicuous o'er the rest, + Approach'd the throne, and thus the sire addrest: + Great king of nations, heaven-descended sage, + Thy second heir has reach'd the destined age + To take these priestly robes; to his pure hand + I yield them pure, and wait thy kind command. + Should foes invade, permit this arm to share + The toils, the triumphs, every chance of war; + For this dread conflict all our force demands, + In one wide field to whelm the brutal bands, + Pour to the mountain gods their wonted food, + And save thy realms from future leagues of blood. + Yet oh, may sovereign mercy first ordain + Propounded compact to the savage train! + I'll go with terms of peace to spread thy sway, + And teach the blessings of the God of day. + + The sire return'd: My great desire you know, + To shield from slaughter and preserve the foe, + In bands of concord all their tribes to bind, + And live the friend and guardian of mankind. + Should strife begin, thy youthful arm shall share + The toils of glory thro the walks of war; + But o'er their hills to seek alone the foes, + To gain their confidence or brave their blows, + Bend their proud souls to reason's voice divine, + Claims hardier limbs and riper years than thine. + Yet one of heavenly race the task requires, + Whose mystic rites control the solar fires; + So the sooth'd Godhead proves to faithless eyes + His love to man, his empire of the skies. + + Some veteran chief, in those rough labors tried, + Shall aid thee on, and go thy faithful guide; + O'er dreary heights thy sinking limbs sustain. + Teach the dark wiles of each insidious train, + Thro all extremes of life thy voice attend, + In counsel lead thee, or in arms defend. + And three firm youths, thy chosen friends, shall go + To learn the climes and meditate the foe; + That wars of future years their skill may find, + To serve the realm and save the savage kind. + + Rise then, my son, first partner of my fame, + With early toils to build thy sacred name; + In high behest, for his own legate known, + Proclaim the bounties of our sire the Sun. + Tell how his fruits beneath our culture rise, + His stars, how glorious, gem our cloudless skies; + And how to us his hand hath kindly given + His peaceful laws, the purest grace of heaven, + With power to widen his terrestrial sway, + And give our blessings where he gives the day. + Yet, should the stubborn nations still prepare + The shaft of slaughter for the barbarous war, + Tell them we know to tread the crimson plain, + And God's own children never yield to man. + + But ah, my child, with steps of caution go, + The ways are hideous, and enraged the foe; + Blood stains their altars, all their feasts are blood, + Death their delight, and darkness reigns their God; + Tigers and vultures, storms and earthquakes share + Their rites of worship and their spoils of war. + Shouldst thou, my Rocha, tempt too far their ire, + Should those dear relics feed a murderous fire, + Deep sighs would rend thy wretched mother's breast, + The pale Sun sink in clouds of darkness drest, + Thy sire and mournful nations rue the day + That drew thy steps from these sad walls away. + + Yet go; tis virtue calls; and realms unknown, + Won by these works, may bless thy future throne; + Millions of unborn souls in time may see + Their doom reversed, and owe their peace to thee, + Deluded sires, with murdering hands, no more + Feed fancied demons with their children's gore, + But, sway'd by happier sceptres, here behold + The rites of freedom and the shrines of gold. + Be wise, be mindful of thy realm and throne; + God speed thy labors and preserve my son! + + Soon the glad prince, in robes of white array'd, + Call'd his attendants and the sire obey'd. + A diamond broad, in burning gold imprest, + Display'd the sun's bright image on his breast; + A pearl-dropt girdle bound his waist below, + And the white lautu graced his lofty brow. + They journey'd forth, o'ermarching far the mound + That flank'd the kingdom on its Andean bound; + Ridge after ridge thro vagrant hordes they past, + Where each new tribe seem'd wilder than the last; + To all they preach and prove the solar sway, + And climb fresh mountains on their tedious way. + + At length, as thro disparting clouds they rise, + And hills above them still obstruct the skies, + While a dead calm o'er all the region stood? + And not a leaf could fan its parent wood, + Sudden a strange portentous noise began; + The birds fled wild, the beasts for shelter ran; + Slow, sullen, loud, with deep astounding blare, + Swell the strong tones of subterranean war; + Behind, before, beneath them groans the ground, + Earth heaves and labors with the shuddering sound; + Columns of smoke, that cap the rumbling height, + Roll reddening far thro heaven, and choke the light; + From tottering steeps descend their cliffs of snow, + The mountains reel, the valleys rend below; + The headlong streams forget their usual round, + And shrink and vanish in the gaping ground. + The sun descends; but night recals in vain + Her silent shades, to recommence her reign; + The bursting mount gapes high, a sudden glare + Coruscates wide, till all the purpling air + Breaks into flame, and wheels and roars and raves + And wraps the welkin in its folding waves; + Light sailing cinders, thro its vortex driven, + Stream high and brighten to the midst of heaven; + And, following slow, full floods of boiling ore + Swell, swoop aloft and thro the concave roar. + Torrents of molten rocks, on every side, + Lead o'er the shelves of ice their fiery tide; + Hills slide before them, skies around them burn, + Towns sink beneath and heaving plains upturn; + O'er many a league the flaming deluge hurl'd, + Sweeps total nations from the staggering world. + + Meanwhile, at distance thro the livid light, + A busy concourse met their wondering sight; + The prince drew near; where lo! an altar stood, + Rude in its form, and fill'd with burning wood; + Wrapt in the flames a youth expiring lay, + And the fond father thus was heard to pray: + Receive, O dreadful Power, from feeble age, + This last pure offering to thy sateless rage; + Thrice has thy vengeance on this hated land + Claim'd a dear infant from my yielding hand; + Thrice have those lovely lips the victim prest, + And all the mother torn that tender breast; + When the dread duty stifled every sigh, + And not a tear escaped her beauteous eye. + Our fourth and last now meets the fatal doom; + Groan not, my child, thy God remands thee home; + Attend once more, thou dark infernal Name, + From yon far streaming pyramid of flame; + Snatch from his heaving flesh the blasted breath. + Sacred to thee and all the fiends of death; + Then in thy hall, with spoils of nations crown'd, + Confine thy walks beneath the rending ground; + No more on earth the embowel'd flames to pour, + And scourge my people and my race no more. + + Thus Rocha heard; and to the trembling crowd + Turn'd the bright image of his beaming God. + The afflicted chief, with fear and grief opprest, + Beheld the sign, and thus the prince addrest: + From what far land, O royal stranger, say, + Ascend thy wandering steps this nightly way? + From plains like ours, by holy demons fired? + Have thy brave people in the flames expired? + And hast thou now, to stay the whelming flood, + No son to offer to the furious God? + + From happier lands I came, the prince returns, + Where no red flaming flood the concave burns, + No furious God bestorms our soil and skies, + Nor yield our hands the bloody sacrifice; + But life and joy the Power delights to give, + And bids his children but rejoice and live. + Thou seest thro heaven the day-dispensing Sun + In living radiance wheel his golden throne, + O'er earth's gay surface send his genial beams, + Force from yon cliffs of ice the vernal streams; + While fruits and flowers adorn the cultured field, + And seas and lakes their copious treasures yield; + He reigns our only God. In him we trace + The friend, the father of our happy race. + Late the lone tribes, on those unlabor'd shores, + Ran wild and served imaginary Powers; + Till he, in pity, taught their feuds to cease, + Devised their laws, and fashion'd all for peace. + My sacred parents first the reign began, + Sent from his courts to guide the paths of man, + To plant his fruits, to manifest his sway, + And give their blessings where he gives the day. + + The sachem proud replied: Thy garb and face + Proclaim thy lineage of superior race; + And our progenitors, no less than thine, + Sprang from a God, and own a birth divine. + From that sky-scorching mount, on floods of flame, + In elder times my great forefathers came; + There dwells the Sire, and from his dark abode + Oft claims, as now, the tribute of a God. + This victim due when willing mortals pay, + His terrors lessen and his fires decay; + While purer sleet regales the mountain air, + And our glad hosts are fired for fiercer war. + + Yet know, dread chief, the pious youth rejoin'd, + Some one prime Power produced all human kind: + Some Sire supreme, whose ever-ruling soul + Creates, preserves, and regulates the whole. + That Sire supreme must roll his radiant eye + Round the wide earth and thro the boundless sky; + That all their habitants, their gods and men, + May rise unveil'd beneath his careful ken. + Could thy dark fiend, that hides his blind abode, + And cauldrons in his cave that fiery flood, + Yield the rich fruits that distant nations find? + Or praise or punish or behold mankind? + But when my God, resurging from the night, + Shall gild his chambers with the morning light, + By mystic rites he'll vindicate his throne, + And own thy servant for his duteous son. + + Meantime, the chief replied, thy cares releast, + Rest here the night and share our scanty feast; + Which, driven in hasty rout, our train supplied, + When trembling earth foretold the boiling tide. + They fared, they rested; till with lucid horn + All-cheering Phosphor led the lively morn; + The prince arose, an altar rear'd in haste, + And watch'd the splendors of the reddening east. + + As o'er the mountain flamed the sun's broad eye, + He call'd the host, his holy rites to try; + Then took the loaves of maize, the bounties brake, + Gave to the chief, and bade them all partake; + The hallow'd relics on the pile he placed, + With tufts of flowers the simple offering graced, + Held to the sun the image from his breast, + Whose glowing concave all the God exprest; + O'er the dried leaves the rays concentred fly, + And thus his voice ascends the listening sky: + O thou, whose splendors kindle heaven with fire. + Great Soul of nature, man's immortal Sire, + If e'er my father found thy sovereign grace, + Or thy blest will ordain'd the Incan race, + Give these lorn tribes to learn thy awful name, + Receive this offering, and the pile inflame; + So shall thy laws o'er wider bounds be known, + And earth's whole race be happy as thy own. + + Thus pray'd the prince; the focal flames aspire, + The mute beholders tremble and retire, + Gaze on the miracle, full credence own, + And vow obedience to the sacred Sun. + + The legates now their farther course descried, + A young cazique attending as a guide, + O'er craggy cliffs pursued their eastern way, + Trod loftier champaigns, meeting high the day, + Saw timorous tribes, in these sublime abodes, + Adore the blasts and turn the storms to gods; + While every cloud that thunders thro the skies + Claims from their hands a human sacrifice. + Awhile the youth, their better faith to gain, + Strives with his usual art, but strives in vain; + In vain he pleads the mildness of the sun; + A gale refutes him ere his speech be done; + Continual tempests from their orient blow, + And load the mountains with eternal snow. + The sun's own beam, the timid clans declare, + Drives all their evils on the tortured air; + He draws the vapors up their eastern sky, + That sail and centre round his dazzling eye; + Leads the loud storms along his midday course, + And bids the Andes meet their sweeping force; + Builds their bleak summits with an icy throne, + To shine thro heaven, a semblance of his own; + Hence the sharp sleet, these lifted lawns that wait, + And all the scourges that attend their state. + + Two toilsome days the virtuous Inca strove + To social life their savage minds to move; + When the third morning glow'd serenely bright, + He led their elders to an eastern height; + The world unlimited beneath them lay, + And not a cloud obscured the rising day. + Vast Amazonia, starr'd with twinkling streams, + In azure drest, a heaven inverted seems; + Dim Paraguay extends the aching sight, + Xaraya glimmers like the moon of night, + Land, water, sky in blending borders play, + And smile and brighten to the lamp of day. + When thus the prince: What majesty divine! + What robes of gold! what flames about him shine! + There walks the God! his starry sons on high + Draw their dim veil and shrink behind the sky; + Earth with surrounding nature's born anew, + And men by millions greet the glorious view! + Who can behold his all-delighting soul + Give life and joy, and heaven and earth control, + Bid death and darkness from his presence move, + Who can behold, and not adore and love? + Those plains, immensely circling, feel his beams, + He greens the groves, he silvers gay the streams, + Swells the wild fruitage, gives the beast his food, + And mute creation hails the genial God. + But richer boons his righteous laws impart, + To aid the life and mould the social heart, + His arts of peace thro happy realms to spread, + And altars grace with sacrificial bread; + Such our distinguish'd lot, who own his sway, + Mild as his morning stars and liberal as the day. + + His unknown laws, the mountain chief replied, + May serve perchance your boasted race to guide; + And yon low plains, that drink his partial ray, + At his glad shrine their just devotions pay. + But we nor fear his frown nor trust his smile; + Vain as our prayers is every anxious toil; + Our beasts are buried in his whirls of snow, + Our cabins drifted to his slaves below. + Even now his placid looks thy hopes beguile, + He lures thy raptures with a morning smile; + But soon (for so those saffron robes proclaim) + His own black tempest shall obstruct his flame, + Storm, thunder, fire, against the mountains driven, + Rake deep their sulphur'd sides, disgorging here his + heaven. + + He spoke; they waited, till the fervid ray + High from the noontide shot the faithless day; + When lo, far gathering under eastern skies, + Solemn and slow, the dark red vapors rise; + Full clouds, convolving on the turbid air, + Move like an ocean to the watery war. + The host, securely raised, no dangers harm, + They sit unclouded and o'erlook the storm; + While far beneath, the sky-borne waters ride, + Veil the dark deep and sheet the mountain's side; + The lightning's glancing fires, in fury curl'd, + Bend their long forky foldings o'er the world; + Torrents and broken crags and floods of rain + From steep to steep roll down their force amain, + In dreadful cataracts; the bolts confound + The tumbling clouds, and rock the solid ground. + + The blasts unburden'd take their upward course, + And o'er the mountain top resume their force. + Swift thro the long white ridges from the north + The rapid whirlwinds lead their terrors forth; + High walks the storm, the circling surges rise, + And wild gyrations wheel the hovering skies; + Vast hills of snow, in sweeping columns driven, + Deluge the air and choke the void of heaven; + Floods burst their bounds, the rocks forget their place, + And the firm Andes tremble to their base. + + Long gazed the host; when thus the stubborn chief, + With eyes on fire, and fill'd with sullen grief: + Behold thy careless god, secure on high, + Laughs at our woes and peaceful walks the sky, + Drives all his evils on these seats sublime, + And wafts his favors to a happier clime; + Sire of the dastard race thy words disclose, + There glads his children, here afflicts his foes. + Hence! speed thy flight! pursue him where he leads; + Lest vengeance seize thee for thy father's deeds, + Thy immolated limbs assuage the fire + Of those curst Powers, who now a gift require. + + The youth in haste collects his scanty train, + And, with the sun, flies o'er the western plain; + The fading orb with plaintive voice he plies, + To guide his steps and light him down the skies. + So when the moon and all the host of even + Hang pale and trembling on the verge of heaven, + While storms ascending threat their nightly reign, + They seek their absent sire, and sink below the main. + + Now to the south he turns; where one vast plain + Calls from a hundred hordes the warrior train; + Of various dress and various form they show'd; + Each wore the ensign of his local god. + + From eastern hills a grisly troop descends, + Whose war song wild the shuddering concave rends; + Cloak'd in a tiger's hide their grim chief towers, + And apes the brinded god his tribe adores. + The tusky jaws grin o'er the sachem's brow, + The bald eyes glare, the paws depend below, + From his bored ears contorted serpents hung, + And drops of gore seem'd rolling on his tongue. + The northern glens pour forth the Vulture-race; + Brown tufts of quills their shaded foreheads grace; + The claws branch wide, the beak expands for blood, + And all the armor imitates the god. + The Condor, frowning from a southern plain, + Borne on a standard, leads a numerous train: + Clench'd in his talons hangs an infant dead, + His long bill pointing where the sachems tread, + His wings, tho lifeless, frighten still the wind, + And his broad tail o'ershades the file behind. + From other plains and other hills afar, + The tribes throng dreadful to the promised war; + Some twine their forelock with a crested snake, + Some wear the emblems of a stream or lake; + All from the Power they serve assume their mode, + And foam and yell to taste the Incan blood. + + The prince incautious with his men drew near, + Known for an Inca by his dress and air; + Till coop'd and caught amid the warrior trains, + They bow in silence to the victor's chains. + When now the gather'd thousands throng the plain, + And echoing skies the rending shouts retain; + Zamor, the chieftain of the Tiger-band, + By choice appointed to the first command, + Shrugg'd up his brinded spoils above the rest, + And grimly frowning thus the crowd addrest: + + Warriors, attend! tomorrow leads abroad + Our sacred vengeance for our brothers' blood. + On those scorch'd plains for ever must they lie, + Their bones still naked to the burning sky? + Left in the field for foreign hawks to tear, + Nor our own vultures can the banquet share. + But soon, ye mountain gods, yon dreary west + Shall sate your hunger with an ampler feast; + When the proud Sun, that terror of the plain, + Shall grieve in heaven for all his children slain, + As o'er his realm our slaughtering armies roam, + And give to your sad Powers a happier home. + Meanwhile, ye tribes, these men of solar race, + Food for the flames, your bloody rites shall grace; + Each to a different god his panting breath + Resigns in fire; this night demands their death: + All but the Inca; him reserved in state + These conquering hands ere long shall immolate + To all the Powers at once that storm the skies, + A grateful gift, before his mother's eyes. + + The sachem ceased; the chiefs of every race + Lead the bold captives to their destined place; + The sun descends, the parting day expires, + And earth and heaven display their sparkling fires. + Soon the raised altars kindle round the gloom, + And call the victims to their vengeful doom; + Led to their pyres, in sullen pomp they tread, + And sing by turns the triumphs of the dead. + Amid the crowd beside his altar stood + The youth devoted to the Tiger-god; + A beauteous form he rose, of noble grace, + The only hope of his illustrious race. + His aged sire, for numerous years, had shone + The first supporter of the Incan throne; + Wise Capac loved the youth, and graced his hand + With a fair virgin from a neighboring band; + And him the legate prince, in equal prime, + Had chose to share his mission round the clime. + He mounts the pyre, the flames approach his breath. + And thus he wakes the dauntless song of death: + + Dark vault of heaven, that greet his daily throne. + Where flee the glories of your absent Sun? + Ye starry hosts, who kindle from his eye, + Can you behold him in the western sky? + Or if unseen beneath his watery bed, + The wearied God reclines his radiant head, + When next his morning steps your courts inflame, + And seek on earth for young Azonto's name, + Then point these ashes, mark the smoky pile, + And say the hero suffer'd with a smile. + So shall the Power in vengeance view the place, + In crimson clothe his terror-beaming face, + Pour swift destruction on these curst abodes, + Whelm the grim tribes and all their savage gods. + + But ah, forbear to tell my stooping sire + His darling hopes have fed a coward fire; + Why should he know the tortures of the brave? + Why fruitless sorrows bend him to the grave? + Nor shalt thou e'er be told, my bridal fair, + What silent pangs these panting vitals tear; + But blooming still the patient hours employ + On the blind hope of future scenes of joy. + Now haste, ye fiends of death; the Sire of day + In absent slumber gives your malice way; + While fainter light these livid flames supply, + And short-lived thousands learn of me to die, + + He ceased not speaking; when the yell of war + Drowns all their death songs in a hideous jar; + The cries rebounding from the hillsides pour, + And wolves and tigers catch the distant roar. + Now more concordant all their voices join, + And round the plain they form the festive line; + When, to the music of the dismal din, + Indignant Zamor bids the dance begin. + Dim thro the shadowy fires each changing form + Moves like a cloud before an evening storm, + When o'er the moon's pale face and starry plain + The shifting shades lead on their broken train; + The mingling tribes their mazy gambols tread, + Till the last groan proclaims the victims dead, + Then part the smoky flesh, enjoy the feast, + And lose their labors in oblivious rest. + + Soon as the western hills announced the morn, + And falling fires were scarcely seen to burn, + Grimm'd by the horrors of the dreadful night, + The hosts woke fiercer for the promised fight; + And dark and silent thro the frowning grove + The different tribes beneath their standards move. + + Meantime the solar king collects from far + His martial bands, to meet the expected war, + Camps on the confines of an eastern plain + That skirts the steep rough limit of his reign; + He trains their ranks, their pliant force combines, + To close in columns or extend in lines, + To wheel, change front, in broken files dispart, + And draw new strength from all the warrior's art. + + But now the rising sun relumes the plain, + And calls to arms the well-accustom'd train. + High in the front imperial Capac strode, + In fair effulgence like the beaming God; + A golden girdle bound his snowy vest, + A mimic sun hung sparkling on his breast; + The lautu's horned wreath his temples twined, + The bow, the quiver shade his waist behind; + Raised high in air his golden sceptre burn'd, + And hosts surrounding trembled as he turn'd. + + O'er eastern hills he cast his watchful eye, + Thro the broad breaks that lengthen down the sky; + In whose blue clefts the sloping pathways bend, + Where annual floods from melting snows descend. + Now dry and deep, they lead from every height + The savage files that headlong rush to fight; + They throng and thicken thro the smoky air, + And every breach pours down the dusky war. + So when a hundred streams explore their way, + Down the same slopes, convolving to the sea, + They boil, they bend, they force their floods amain, + Swell o'er obstructing crags, and sweep the plain. + + Capac beholds and waits the coming shock, + As for the billows waits the storm-beat rock; + And while for fight his ardent troops prepare, + Thus thro the ranks he breathes the soul of war: + Ye tribes that flourish in the Sun's mild reign, + Long have your flocks adorn'd the peaceful plain, + As o'er the realm his smiles persuasive flow'd, + And conquer'd all without the stain of blood; + But lo, at last that wild infuriate band + With savage war demands your happy land. + Beneath the dark immeasurable host, + Descending, swarming, how the crags are lost! + Already now their ravening eyes behold + Your star-bright temples and your gates of gold; + And to their gods in fancied goblets pour + The warm libation of your children's gore. + Move then to vengeance, meet the sons of blood, + Led by this arm and lighted by that God; + The strife is fierce, your fanes and fields the prize, + The warrior conquers or the infant dies. + + Fill'd with his fire, the troops in squared array + Wait the wild hordes loose huddling to the fray; + Their pointed arrows, rising on the bow, + Look up the sky and chide the lagging foe. + + Dread Zamor leads the homicidious train, + Moves from the clefts and stretches o'er the plain. + He gives the shriek; the deep convulsing sound + The hosts reecho, and the hills around + Retain the rending tumult; all the air + Clangs in the conflict of the clashing war; + But firm undaunted as a shelvy strand + That meets the surge, the bold Peruvians stand, + With steady aim the sounding bowstring ply, + And showers of arrows thicken thro the sky; + When each grim host, in closer conflict join'd, + Clench the dire ax and cast the bow behind; + Thro broken ranks sweep wide their slaughtering course. + Now struggle back, now sidelong swray the force. + Here from grim chiefs is lopt the grisly head; + All gride the dying, all deface the dead; + There scattering o'er the field in thin array, + Man tugs with man, and clubs with axes play; + With broken shafts they follow and they fly, + And yells and groans and shouts invade the sky; + Round all the shatter'd groves the ground is strow'd + With sever'd limbs and corses bathed in blood. + Long raged the strife; and where, on either side, + A friend, a father or a brother died, + No trace remain'd of what he was before, + Mangled with horrid wounds and black with gore. + + Now the Peruvians, in collected might, + With one wide stroke had wing'd the savage flighty + But their bright Godhead, in his midday race, + With glooms unusual veil'd his radiant face, + Quench'd all his beams, tho cloudless, in affright, + As loth to view from heaven the finish'd fight. + A trembling twilight o'er the welkin moves, + Browns the dim void, and darkens deep the groves; + The waking stars, embolden'd at the sight, + Peep out and gem the anticipated night; + Day-birds, and beasts of light to covert fly, + And owls and wolves begin their evening cry. + The astonish'd Inca marks, with wild surprise, + Dead chills on earth, no cloud in all the skies, + His host o'ershaded in the field of blood, + Gored by his foes, deserted by his God. + Mute with amaze, they cease the war to wage, + Gaze on their leaders and forget their rage; + When pious Capac to the listening crowd + Raised high his wand and pour'd his voice aloud: + Ye chiefs and warriors of Peruvian race, + Some sore offence obscures my father's face; + What moves the Numen to desert the plain, + Nor save his children, nor behold them slain? + Fly! speed your course, regain the guardian town, + Ere darkness shroud you in a deeper frown; + The faithful walls your squadrons shall defend, + While my sad steps the sacred dome ascend, + To learn the cause, and ward the woes we fear: + Haste, haste, my sons! I guard the flying rear. + + The hero spoke; the trembling tribes obey, + While deeper glooms obscure the source of day. + Sudden the savage bands collect amain, + Hang on the rear and sweep them o'er the plain; + Their shouts, redoubling with the flying war. + Drown the loud groans and torture all the air. + The hawks of heaven, that o'er the field had stood, + Scared by the tumult from the scent of blood, + Cleave the far gloom; the beasts forget their prey, + And scour the waste, and give the war its way. + + Zamor elate with horrid joy beheld + The Sun depart, his children fly the field, + And raised his rending voice: Thou darkening sky, + Deepen thy damps, the fiend of death is nigh; + Behold him rising from his shadowy throne, + To veil this heaven and drive the conquer'd Sun; + The glaring Godhead yields to sacred night, + And his foil'd armies imitate his flight. + Confirm, infernal Power, thy rightful reign, + Give deadlier shades and heap the piles of slain; + Soon the young captive prince shall roll in fire, + And all his race accumulate the pyre. + Ye mountain vultures, here your food explore, + Tigers and condors, all ye gods of gore, + In these rich fields, beneath your frowning sky, + A plenteous feast shall every god supply. + Rush forward, warriors, hide the plains with dead; + Twas here our friends in former combat bled; + Strow'd thro the waste their naked bones demand + This tardy vengeance from our conquering hand. + + He said; and high before the Tiger-train + With longer strides hangs forward o'er the slain, + Bends like a falling tree to reach the foe, + And o'er tall Capac aims a forceful blow. + The king beheld the ax, and with his wand + Struck the raised weapon from the sachem's hand; + Then clench'd the falling helve, and whirling round, + Fell'd a close file of heroes to the ground; + Nor stay'd, but follow'd where his people run, + Fearing to fight, forsaken by the Sun; + Till Cusco's walls salute their longing sight, + And the wide gates receive their rapid flight. + The folds are barr'd, the foes in shade conceal'd, + Like howling wolves, rave round the frighted field. + + The monarch now ascends the sacred dome; + The Sun's fixt image there partakes the gloom; + Thro all the shrines, where erst on new-moon day + Swell'd the full quires of consecrated praise, + A tomb-like silence reigns; till female cries + Burst forth at last, and these sad accents rise: + Was it for this, my son to distant lands + Must trace the wilds, and tempt those lawless bands? + And does the God obscure his golden throne + In mournful darkness for my slaughter'd son? + Oh, had his beam; ere that disastrous day + That call'd the youth from these fond arms away, + Received my spirit to its native sky, + That sad Oella might have seen him die! + + Where slept thy shaft of vengeance, O my God, + When those fell tigers drank his sacred blood? + Did not the pious prince, with rites divine, + Feed the pure flame in this thy hallow'd shrine; + And early learn, beneath his father's hand, + To shed thy blessings round the favor'd land? + Form'd by thy laws the royal seat to grace, + Son of thy son, and glory of his race. + Where, my lost Rocha, rests thy lovely head? + Where the rent robes thy hapless mother made? + I see thee, mid those hideous hills of snow, + Pursued and slaughter'd by the wildman foe; + Or, doom'd a feast for some pretended god, + Drench his black altar with celestial blood. + Snatch me, O Sun, to happier worlds of light-- + No: shroud me, shroud me with thyself in night. + Thou hear'st me not, thou dread departed Power, + Thy face is dark, and Rocha lives no more. + + Thus heard the silent king; his equal heart + Caught all her grief, and bore a father's part. + The cause, suggested by her tender moan, + The cause perchance that veil'd the midday sun, + And shouts that spoke the still approaching foe, + Fixt him suspense, in all the strength of woe. + A doubtful moment held his changing choice; + Now would he sooth her, half assumes his voice; + But greater cares the rising wish control, + And call forth all his energy of soul. + Why should he cease to ward the coming fate? + Or she be told the foes besiege the gate? + He turn'd in haste; and now their image-god + High on the spire with newborn lustre glow'd; + Swift thro the portal flew the hero's eye, + And hail'd the growing splendor in the sky. + + The troops courageous at return of light + Throng round the dome, impatient for the fight; + The king descending in the portal stood, + And thus addrest the all-delighting God: + O sovereign Soul of heaven, thy changing face + Makes or destroys the glory of thy race. + If from this mortal life my child he fled, + First of thy line that ever graced the dead; + If thy bright splendor ceased on high to burn + For that loved youth who never must return. + Forgive thine armies, when in fields of blood + They lose their strength and fear the frowning God. + As now thy glory, with superior day, + Glows thro the field and leads the warrior's way, + May our exalted souls, to vengeance driven, + Burn with new brightness in the cause of heaven! + For thy slain son the murderous horde shall bleed; + We mourn the hero, but avenge the deed. + + He said; and from the battlement on high + A watchful warrior raised a sudden cry: + "An Inca white on yonder altar tied-- + Tis Rocha's self--the flame ascends his side." + + In sweeping haste the bursting gates unbar, + And flood the champaign with a tide of war; + A cloud of arrows leads the rapid train, + They shout, they swarm, they hide the dusty plain; + Bows, quivers, girdles strow the field behind, + And the raised axes cleave the passing wind. + The prince, confest to every warrior's sight, + Inspires each soul and centres all the fight; + Each hopes to snatch him from the kindling pyre, + Each fears his breath already flits in fire. + Here Zamor ranged his ax-men deep and wide, + Wedged like a wall, and thus the king defied: + Haste, son of Light, pour fast the winged war, + The prince, the dying prince demands your care; + Hear how his death song chides your dull delay, + Lift longer strides, bend forward to the fray, + Ere flames infolding suffocate his groan, + Child of your beaming God, a victim to our own. + + This said, he raised his shaggy shoulders high, + And bade the shafts glide thicker thro the sky. + Like the broad billows of the lifted main, + Rolls into sight the long Peruvian train; + A white sail bounding, on the billows tost, + Is Capac towering o'er the furious host. + + Now meet the dreadful chiefs, with eyes on fire; + Beneath their blows the parting ranks retire; + In whirlwind-sweep their meeting axes bound, + Wheel, crash in air, and plow the trembling ground; + Their sinewy limbs in fierce contortions bend, + And mutual strokes with equal force descend, + Parried with equal art, now gyring prest + High at the head, now plunging for the breast. + The king starts backward from the struggling foe, + Collects new strength, and with a circling blow + Rush'd furious on; his flinty edge, whirl'd wide, + Met Zamor's helve, and glancing grazed his side + And settled in his groin; so plunged it lay, + That scarce the king could tear his ax away. + The savage fell; when thro the Tiger-train + The driving Inca turns his force amain; + Where still compact they hem the murderous pyre, + And Rocha's voice seems faltering to expire. + The phrensied father rages, thunders wild, + Hews armies down, to save the sinking child; + The ranks fall staggering where he lifts his arm, + Or roll before him like a billowy storm; + Behind his steps collecting warriors close; + Deep centred in a circling ridge of foes + He cleaves his wasting way; the prince unties, + And thus his voice: Dread Sovereign of the skies. + Accept my living son, again bestow'd + To grace with rites the temple of his God. + Move, heroes, move; complete the work begun. + Crush the grim race, avenge your injured Sun. + + The savage host, that view'd the daring deed, + And saw their nations with their leader bleed, + Raised high the shriek of horror; all the plain + Is trod with flight and cover'd with the slain. + The bold Peruvians compass round the field, + Confine their flight, and force the rest to yield; + When Capac raised his placid voice again; + Ye conquering troops, collect the vanquish'd train; + The Sun commands to stay the rage of war, + He knows to conquer, but he loves to spare. + + He ceased; and where the savage leader lay + Weltering in gore, directs his eager way, + Unwraps the tiger's hide, and strives in vain + To close the wound, and mitigate the pain; + And while compassion for a foe distrest + Mixt with reproach, he thus the chief addrest: + Too long, proud prince, thy fearless heart withstood + Our sacred arms, and braved the living God; + His sovereign will commands all feuds to cease, + His realm is concord and his pleasure peace; + This copious carnage, spreading far the plain, + Insults his bounties, but confirms his reign. + Enough! tis past; thy parting breath demands + The last sad office from my yielding hands. + To share thy pains and feel thy hopeless woe, + Are rites ungrateful to a fallen foe: + Yet rest in peace; and know, a chief so brave, + When life departs, shall find an honor'd grave; + Myself in princely pomp thy tomb shall rear, + And tribes unborn thy hapless fate declare. + + Insult me not with tombs! the monster cried, + Let closing clods thy coward carcase hide; + But these brave bones, unburied on the plain, + Touch not with dust, nor dare with rites profane; + Let no curst earth conceal this gory head, + Nor songs proclaim the dreadful Zamor dead, + Me, whom the hungry gods from plain to plain + Have follow'd, feasting on thy slaughter'd train, + Me wouldst thou cover? No! from yonder sky, + The wide-beak'd hawk, that now beholds me die, + Soon with his cowering train my flesh shall tear, + And wolves and tigers vindicate their share. + Receive, dread Powers (since I can slay no more), + My last glad victim, this devoved gore. + + Thus pour'd the vengeful chief his fainting breath, + And lost his utterance in the gasp of death. + The sad remaining tribes confess the Power, + That sheds his bounties round Peruvia's shore; + All bow obedient to the Incan throne, + And blest Oella hails her living son. + + + + + + +Book IV. + + + +Argument + + + + Destruction of Peru foretold. Grief of Columbus. He is comforte + the promise of a vision of future ages. All Europe appears in vision. + Effect of the discovery of America upon the affairs of Europe. + Improvement in commerce; government. Revival of letters. Order of the + Jesuits. Religious persecution. Inquisition. Rise and progress of more + liberal principles. Character of Raleigh; who plans the settlement of + North America. Formation of the coast by the gulph stream. Nature of + the colonial establishments, the first great asylum and infant empire + of Liberty. Liberty the necessary foundation of morals. Delaware + arrives with a reinforcement of new settlers, to consolidate the colony + of Virginia. Night scene, as contemplated by these patriarchs, while + they are sailing up the Chesapeak, and are saluted by the river gods. + Prophetic speech of Potowmak. Fleets of settlers from seyeral parts of + Europe steering for America. + + +In one dark age, beneath a single hand, + Thus rose an empire in the savage land. + Its wealth and power with following years increase, + Its growing nations spread the walks of peace; + Religion here, that universal name, + Man's proudest passion, most ungovern'd flame, + Erects her altars on the same bright base, + That dazzled erst, and still deludes the race; + Sun, moon, all powers that forceful strike his eyes, + Earth-shaking storms and constellated skies. + + Yet all the pomp his labors here unfold, + The vales of verdure and the towers of gold, + Those infant arts and sovereign seats of state, + In short-lived glory hasten to their fate. + Thy followers, rushing like an angry flood, + Too soon shall drench them in the nation's blood; + Nor thou, Las Casas, best of men, shalt stay + The ravening legions from their guardless prey. + O hapless prelate! hero, saint and sage, + Foredoom'd with crimes a fruitless war to wage, + To see at last (thy life of virtue run) + A realm unpeopled and a world undone! + While pious Valverde mock of priesthood stands, + Guilt in his heart, the gospel in his hands, + Bids, in one field, their unarm'd thousands bleed, + Smiles o'er the scene and sanctifies the deed. + And thou, brave Gasca, with persuasive strain, + Shalt lift thy voice and urge thy power in vain; + Vain are thy hopes the sinking land to save, + Or call her slaughter'd millions from the grave. + + Here Hesper paused. Columbus with a sigh + Cast o'er the continent his moisten'd eye, + And thus replied: Ah, hide me in the tomb; + Why should I live to see the impending doom? + If such foul deeds the scheme of heaven compose, + And virtue's toils induce redoubled woes, + Unfold no more; but grant a kind release; + Give me, tis all I ask, to rest in peace. + + And thou shalt rest in peace, the Saint rejoin'd, + Ere these conflicting shades involve mankind. + But broader views shall first thy mind engage, + Years far advanced beyond this darksome age + Shall feast thee here; the fruits of thy long care + A grateful world beneath thy ken shall share. + Europe's contending kings shall soon behold + These fertile plains and hills of treasured gold; + And in the path of thy adventurous sail + Their countless navies float on every gale, + For wealth and commerce search the western shore. + And load each ocean with the shining ore. + + As up the orient heaven the dawning ray + Smiles o'er the hills and gives the promised day, + Drives fraud and rapine from their nightly spoil, + And social nature wakes to various toil; + So from the blazing mine the golden store + Mid rival states shall spread from shore to shore, + Unite their force, its opulence to share, + Extend the pomp but sooth the rage of war; + Wide thro the world while genius unconfined + Tempts loftier flights, and opens all the mind, + Dissolves the slavish bands of monkish lore, + Wakes the bold arts and bids the Muses soar. + Then shall thy northern climes their seats display + United nations there commence their sway; + O'er earth and ocean spread their peerless fame, + And send thro time thy patriarchal name. + + Now turn thy view to Europe; see the rage + Of feudal faction every court engage; + All honest labor, all commercial ties + Their kings discountenance, their lords despise. + The naked harbors, looking to the main, + Rear their kind cliffs and break the storms in vain, + The willing wave no foreign treasures lade, + Nor sails nor cities cast a watery shade; + Save, where yon opening gulph the strand divides, + Proud Venice bathes her in the broken tides, + Weds her tamed sea, shakes every distant throne, + And deems by right the naval world her own. + + Yet must we mark, the bondage of the mind + Spreads deeper glooms, and subj ugates mankind; + The zealots fierce, whom local creeds enrage, + In holy feuds perpetual combat wage, + Support all crimes by full indulgence given, + Usurp the power and wield the sword of heaven, + + But lo, where future years their scenes unrol, + The rising arts inspire the venturous soul. + From all the ports that cleave the coast of Spain, + New fleets ascending streak the western main; + From Tago's bank, from Albion's rocky round, + Commercing squadrons o'er the billows bound; + Thro Afric's isles observe the sweeping sails, + Full pinions tossing in Arabian gales, + Indus and Ganges deep in canvass lost, + And navies crowding round Cambodia's coast; + New nations rise, all climes and oceans brave, + And shade with sheets the immeasurable wave. + + See lofty Ximenes with solemn gait + Move from the cloister to the walks of state, + And thro the factious monarchies of Spain, + Curb the fierce lords and fix one royal reign. + Behold dread Charles the imperial seat ascends, + O'er Europe's thrones his conquering arm extends; + While wealthier shores, beneath the western day, + Unfold their treasures to confirm his sway. + + Roused at false glory's fascinating call, + See Francis train the gallant youths of Gaul, + O'erstrain the strength of her extended states, + Scale the proud Alps, or burst their granite gates, + On Pavia's plain for Cesar's crown contend, + Of arms the votary, but of arts the friend. + + And see proud Wolsey rise, securely great, + Kings at his call and mitres round him wait; + From monkish walls the hoarded wealth he draws + To aid the tyrant and restrain the laws, + Wakes Albion's genius, neighboring princes braves, + And shares with them the commonwealth of waves, + + Behold dark Solyman, from eastern skies, + With his grim host magnificently rise, + Wave his broad crescent o'er the Midland sea, + Thro vast Hungaria drive his conquering way, + Crowd close the Christian powers, and carry far + The rules of homicide, the lore of war. + + The Tuscan dukes excite a nobler strife; + Lorenzo calls the Fine Arts forth to life, + Fair nature's mimic maids; whose powers divine + Her charms develop and her laws define; + From sire to son the splendid labors spread, + And Leo follows where good Cosmo led. + Waked from the ground that Gothic rovers trod, + Starts the bronze hero and the marble god; + Monks, prelates, pontiffs pay the reverence due + To that bold taste their Grecian masters knew; + Resurgent temples throng the Latian shore, + The Pencil triumphs and the Muses soar. + + O'er the dark world Erasmus rears his eye, + In schoolman lore sees kings and nations lie, + With strength of judgment and with fancy warm, + Derides their follies and dissolves the charm, + Tears the deep veil that bigot zeal has thrown + On pagan books and science long unknown, + From faith in senseless rites relieves mankind, + And seats bold virtue in the conscious mind. + But still the frightful task, to face alone + The jealous vengeance of the papal throne, + Restrains his hand: he gives the contest o'er, + And leaves his hardier sons to curb that power. + + Luther walks forth in yon majestic frame, + Bright beam of heaven, and heir of endless fame, + Born, like thyself, thro toils and griefs to wind, + From slavery's chains to free the captive mind, + Brave adverse crowns, control the pontiff sway, + And bring benighted nations into day. + + Remark what crowds his name around him brings, + Schools, synods, prelates, potentates and kings, + All gaining knowledge from his boundless store, + And join'd to shield him from the papal power. + First of his friends, see Frederic's princely form + Ward from the sage divine the gathering storm, + In learned Wittemburgh secure his seat, + High throne of thought, religion's safe retreat. + There sits Melancthon, mild as morning light, + And feuds, tho sacred, soften in his sight; + In terms so gentle flows his tuneful tongue, + Even cloister'd bigots join the pupil throng; + By all sectarian chiefs he lives approved, + By monarchs courted and by men beloved. + + And lo, where Europe's utmost limits bend, + From this new source what various lights ascend! + See haughty Henry from the papal tie + His realms dissever, and the priest defy; + While Albion's sons disdain a foreign throne, + And learn to bound the oppressions of their own. + + Then rises Loyola, a strange new name, + By paths unseen to reach the goal of fame; + Thro courts and camps he teaches how to wind, + To mine whole states and overreach mankind. + Train'd in his school, a bold and artful race + Range o'er the world, and every sect embrace, + All creeds and powers and policies explore, + New seats of science raise on every shore; + Till their wide empire gains a wondrous birth, + Built in all empires o'er this ancient earth. + Our wildmen too, the tribes of Paraguay, + Receive their rites and bow beneath their sway. + + The world of men thus moving in thy view + Improve their state, more useful works pursue; + Unwonted deeds in rival greatness shine, + Call'd into life, and first inspired by thine. + So while imperial Homer tunes the lyre, + His living lays unnumber'd bards inspire; + From age to age the kindling spirit flies, + Sounds thro the earth and echoes to the skies. + + Now roll the years, when Europe's ample space + By peace and culture rears a wiser race, + Men bred to labor, school'd in freedom's lore, + And formed to colonize our favorite shore. + To speed their course, the sons of bigot rage + In persecution whelm the inquiring age; + Myriads of martyr'd heroes mount the pyre, + And blind devotion lights the sacred fire. + + Led by the dark Dominicans of Spain, + A newborn Fury walks the wide domain, + Gaunt INQUISITION; mark her giant stride, + Her blood-nursed vulture screaming at her side. + Her priestly train the tools of torment brings. + Racks, wheels and crosses, faggots, stakes and strings; + Scaffolds and cages round her altar stand, + And, tipt with sulphur, waves her flaming brand. + Her imps of inquest round the Fiend advance, + Suspectors grave, and spies with eye askance, + Pretended heretics who worm the soul, + And sly confessors with their secret scroll, + Accusers hired, for each conviction paid, + Judges retain'd and witnesses by trade. + + Dragged from a thousand jails her victim trains, + Jews, Moors and Christians, clank alike their chains, + Read their known sentence in her fiery eyes, + And breathe to heaven their unavailing cries; + Lash'd on the pile their writhing bodies turn, + And, veil'd in doubling smoke, begin to burn. + Where the flames open, lo! their limbs in vain + Reach out for help, distorted by the pain; + Till folded in the fires they disappear, + And not a sound invades the startled ear. + + See Philip, throned in insolence and pride, + Enjoy their wailings and their pangs deride; + While o'er the same dread scenes, on Albion's isles, + His well-taught spouse, the cruel Mary, smiles. + What clouds of smoke hang heavy round the shore! + What altars hecatomb'd with Christian gore! + Her sire's best friends, the wise, the brave, the good, + Roll in the flames or fly the land of blood. + + To Gallia's plains the maddening phrensy turns. + Religion raves and civil discord burns; + Leaguers and Huguenots their vengeance pour, + They swell Bartholemy's wide feast of gore, + Alternate victors bid their gibbets rise, + And the foul stench of victims chokes the skies. + + Now cease the factions with the Valois line, + And Bourbon's virtues every voice combine. + Quell'd by his fame, the furious sects accord, + Europe respires beneath his guardian sword; + Batavia's states to independence soar, + And curb the cohorts of Iberian power. + From Albion's ports her infant navies heave, + Stretch forth and thunder on the Flandrian wave; + Her Howard there first foils the force of Spain, + And there begins her mastery of the main. + + The Seraph spoke; when full beneath their eye + A new-form'd squadron rose along the sky. + High on the tallest deck majestic shone + Sage Raleigh, pointing to the western sun; + His eye, bent forward, ardent and sublime, + Seem'd piercing nature and evolving time; + Beside him stood a globe, whose figures traced + A future empire in each present waste; + All former works of men behind him shone + Graved by his hand in ever-during stone; + On his calm brow a various crown displays + The hero's laurel and the scholar's bays; + His graceful limbs in steely mail were drest, + The bright star burning on his lofty breast; + His sword, high waving, flash'd the solar ray. + Illumed the shrouds and rainbow'd far the spray; + The smiling crew rose resolute and brave, + And the glad sails hung bounding o'er the wave. + + Storms of wild Hatteras, suspend your roar, + Ye tumbling billows, cease to shake the shore; + Look thro the doubling clouds, thou lamp of day, + Teach the bold Argonauts their chartless way; + Your viewless capes, broad Chesapeak, unfold, + And show your promised Colchis fleeced with gold. + No plundering squadron your new Jason brings; + No pirate demigods nor hordes of kings + From shore to shore a faithless miscreant steers, + To steal a maid and leave a sire in tears. + But yon wise chief conducts with careful ken + The queen of colonies, the best of men, + To wake to fruitful life your slumbering soil, + And rear an empire with the hand of toil. + Your fond Medea too, whose dauntless breast + All danger braves to screen her hunted guest. + Shall quit her native tribe, but never share + The crimes and sufferings of the Colchian fair. + Blest Pocahontas! fear no lurking guile; + Thy hero's love shall well reward thy smile. + Ah sooth the wanderer in his desperate plight, + Hide him by day and calm his cares by night; + Tho savage nations with thy vengeful sire + Pursue their victim with unceasing ire, + And tho their threats thy startled ear assail, + Let virtue's voice o'er filial fears prevail. + Fly with the faithful youth, his steps to guide, + Pierce the known thicket, breast the fordless tide, + Illude the scout, avoid the ambush'd line, + And lead him safely to his friends and thine; + For thine shall be his friends, his heart, his name; + His camp shall shout, his nation boast thy fame. + + But now the Bay unfolds a passage wide, + And leads the squadron up the freshening tide; + Where Pohatan spreads deep her sylvan soil, + And grassy lawns allure the steps of toil. + Here, lodged in peace, they tread the welcome land. + An instant harvest waves beneath their hand, + Spontaneous fruits their easy cares beguile, + And opening fields in living culture smile. + + With joy Columbus view'd; when thus his voice: + Ye grove-clad shores, ye generous hosts, rejoice! + Exchange your benefits, your gifts combine; + What nature fashions, let her sons refine. + + Be thou, my Seer, the people's guardian friend, + Protect their virtues and their lives defend; + May wealth and wisdom with their arts unfold, + Yet save, oh, save them from the thirst of gold! + Let the poor guardless natives never feel + The flamen's fraud, the soldier's fateful steel; + But learn the blessings that alone attend + On civil rights where social virtues blend, + In these brave leaders find a welcome guide, + And rear their fanes and empires by their side. + Smile, great Hesperia, smile; the star of morn + Illumes thy heavens and bids thy day be born; + Thy opening forests show the work begun, + Thy plains unshaded drink a purer sun; + Yield now thy bounties, load the laboring main, + Give birth to nations, and begin thy reign. + + The Hero spoke; when thus the Saint rejoin'd, + Approved his joy, and feasted still his mind: + Well may thy voice, with patriarch pride elate, + Burst forth triumphant at a scene so great; + Here springs indeed the day, since time began, + The brightest, broadest, happiest morn of man. + In these prime settlements thy raptures trace + The germ, the genius of a sapient race, + Predestined here to methodise and mould + New codes of empire to reform the old. + + A work so vast a second world required, + By oceans bourn'd, from elder states retired; + Where, uncontaminated, unconfined, + Free contemplation might expand the mind, + To form, fix, prove the well-adjusted plan, + And base and build the commonwealth of man. + + This arm, that leads the stellar host of even, + That stretch'd o'er yon rude ridge the western heaven, + That heal'd the wounded earth, when from her side + The moon burst forth, and left the South Sea tide, + That calm'd these elements, and taught them where + To mould their mass and rib the crusted sphere, + Line the closed continent with wrecks of life, + And recommence their generating strife, + That rear'd the mountain, spread the subject plain, + Led the long stream and roll'd the billowy main, + Stole from retiring tides the growing strand, + Heaved the green banks, the shadowy inlets plann'd, + Strow'd the wild fruitage, gave the beast his place, + And form'd the region for thy filial race,-- + This arm prepared their future seats of state, + Design'd their limits and prescribed their date. + + When first the staggering globe its breach repair'd, + And this bold hemisphere its shoulders rear'd, + Back to those heights, whose hovering vapor shrouds + My rock-raised world in Alleganian clouds, + The Atlantic waste its coral kingdom spread, + And scaly nations here their gambols led; + Till by degrees, thro following tracts of time, + From laboring ocean rose the sedgy clime, + As from unloaded waves the rising sand + Swell'd into light and gently drew to land. + For, moved by trade winds o'er the flaming zone, + The waves roll westward with the constant sun, + Meet my firm isthmus, scoop that gulphy bed, + Wheel to the north, and here their current spread. + Those ravaged banks, that move beneath their force, + Borne on the tide and lost along their course, + Create the shore, consolidate the soil. + And hither lead the enlighten'd steps of toil. + + Think not the lust of gold shall here annoy, + Enslave the nation and its nerve destroy. + No useles mine these northern hills enclose, + No ruby ripens and no diamond glows; + But richer stores and rocks of useful mould + Repay in wealth the penury of gold. + Freedom's unconquer'd race, with healthy toil, + Shall lop the grove and warm the furrow'd soil, + From iron ridges break the rugged ore, + And plant with men the man-ennobling shore; + Sails, villas, towers and temples round them heave, + Shine o'er the realms and light the distant wave. + Nor think the native tribes shall rue the day + That leads our heroes o'er the watery way. + A cause like theirs no mean device can mar, + Nor bigot rage nor sacerdotal war. + From eastern tyrants driven, resolved and brave, + To build new states or seek a distant grave, + Our sons shall try a new colonial plan, + To tame the soil, but spare their kindred man. + + Thro Europe's wilds when feudal nations spread. + The pride of conquest every legion led. + Each fur-clad chief, by servile crowds adored, + O'er conquer'd realms assumed the name of lord, + Built the proud castle, ranged the savage wood, + Fired his grim host to frequent fields of blood, + With new-made honors lured his subject bands, + Price of their lives, and purchase of their lands; + For names and titles bade the world resign + Their faith, their freedom and their rights divine. + + Contending baronies their terrors spread, + And slavery follow'd where the standard led; + Till, little tyrants by the great o'erthrown, + The spoils of nobles build the regal crown; + Wealth, wisdom, virtue, every claim of man + Unguarded fall to consummate the plan. + Ambitious cares, that nature never gave, + Torment alike the monarch and the slave, + Thro all degrees in gradual pomp ascend, + Honor the name, but tyranny the end. + + Far different honors here the heart shall claim, + Sublimer objects, deeds of happier fame; + A new creation waits the western shore, + And moral triumphs o'er monarchic power. + Thy freeborn sons, with genius unconfined, + Nor sloth can slacken nor a tyrant bind; + With self-wrought fame and worth internal blest, + No venal star shall brighten on their breast, + Nor king-created name nor courtly art + Damp the bold thought or desiccate the heart. + Above all fraud, beyond all titles great, + Truth in their voice and sceptres at their feet, + Like sires of unborn states they move sublime, + Look empires thro and span the breadth of time, + Hold o'er the world, that men may choose from far, + The palm of peace, or scourge of barbarous war; + Till their example every nation charms, + Commands its friendship and its rage disarms. + + Here social man a second birth shall find, + And a new range of reason lift his mind, + Feed his strong intellect with purer light, + A nobler sense of duty and of right, + The sense of liberty; whose holy fire + His life shall temper and his laws inspire, + Purge from all shades the world-embracing scope + That prompts his genius and expands his hope. + + When first his form arose erect on earth, + Parturient nature hail'd the wondrous birth, + With fairest limbs and finest fibres wrought, + And framed for vast and various toils of thought. + To aid his promised powers with loftier flight, + And stretch his views beyond corporeal sight, + Prometheus came, and from the floods of day + Sunn'd his clear soul with heaven's internal ray, + The expanding spark divine; that round him springs, + And leads and lights him thro the immense of things, + Probes the dense earth, explores the soundless main, + Remoulds their mass thro all its threefold reign, + O'er great, o'er small extends his physic laws, + Empalms the empyrean or dissects a gaz, + Weighs the vast orbs of heaven, bestrides the sky, + Walks on the windows of an insect's eye; + Turns then to self, more curious still to trace + The whirls of passion that involve the race, + That cloud with mist the visual lamp of God, + And plunge the poniard in fraternal blood. + Here fails his light. The proud Titanian ray + O'er physic nature sheds indeed its day; + Yet leaves the moral in chaotic jars, + The spoil of violence, the sport of wars, + Presents contrasted parts of one great plan, + Earth, heaven subdued, but man at swords with man; + His wars, his errors into science grown, + And the great cause of all his ills unknown. + + But when he steps on these regenerate shores, + His mind unfolding for superior powers, + FREEDOM, his new Prometheus, here shall rise, + Light her new torch in my refulgent skies, + Touch with a stronger life his opening soul, + Of moral systems fix the central goal, + Her own resplendent essence. Thence expand + The rays of reason that illume the land; + Thence equal rights proceed, and equal laws, + Thence holy Justice all her reverence draws; + Truth with untarnish'd beam descending thence, + Strikes every eye, and quickens every sense, + Bids bright Instruction spread her ample page, + To drive dark dogmas from the inquiring age, + Ope the true treasures of the earth and skies, + And teach the student where his object lies. + + Sun of the moral world! effulgent source + Of man's best wisdom and his steadiest force, + Soul-searching Freedom! here assume thy stand, + And radiate hence to every distant land; + Point out and prove how all the scenes of strife, + The shock of states, the impassion'd broils of life, + Spring from unequal sway; and how they fly + Before the splendor of thy peaceful eye; + Unfold at last the genuine social plan, + The mind's full scope, the dignity of man, + Bold nature bursting thro her long disguise, + And nations daring to be just and wise. + + Yes! righteous Freedom, heaven and earth and sea + Yield or withold their various gifts for thee; + Protected Industry beneath thy reign + Leads all the virtues in her filial train; + Courageous Probity with brow serene, + And Temperance calm presents her placid mien + Contentment, Moderation, Labor, Art, + Mould the new man and humanize his heart; + To public plenty private ease dilates, + Domestic peace to harmony of states. + Protected Industry, careering far, + Detects the cause and cures the rage of war, + And sweeps, with forceful arm, to their last graves, + Kings from the earth and pirates from the waves. + + But slow proceeds the work. Long toils, my son, + Must base the fabric of so vast a throne; + Where Freedom founds her everlasting reign, + And earth's whole empires form the fair domain. + That great coloniarch, whose exalted soul + Pervades all scenes that future years unrol, + Must yield the palm, and at a courtier's shrine + His plans relinquish and his life resign; + His life that brightens, as his death shall stain, + The fair, foul annals of his master's reign. + + That feeble band, the lonely wilds who tread, + Their sire, their genius in their Raleigh dead, + Shall pine and perish in the savage gloom, + Or mount the wave and seek their ancient home. + Others in vain the generous task pursue, + The dangers tempt and all the strife renew; + While kings and ministers obstruct the plan, + Unfaithful guardians of the weal of man. + + At last brave Delaware, with his blithe host, + Sails in full triumph to the well-known coast, + Aids with a liberal hand the patriot cause, + Reforms their policy, designs their laws; + Till o'er Virginia's plains they spread their sway, + And push their hamlets tow'rd the setting day. + He comes, my Delaware! how mild and bland + My zephyrs greet him from the long-sought land! + From fluvial glades that thro my cantons run, + From those rich mounds that mask the falling sun. + + Borne up my Chesapeak, as first he hails + The flowery banks that scent his slackening sails, + Descending twilight mellows down the gleam + That spreads far forward on the broad blue stream; + The moonbeam dancing, as the pendants glide, + Silvers with trembling tints the ripply tide; + The sand-sown beach, the rocky bluff repays + The faint effulgence with their amber'd rays; + O'er greenwood glens a browner lustre flies, + And bright-hair'd hills walk shadowy round the skies. + + Profound solicitude and strong delight + Absorb the chief, as thro the waste of night + He walks the lonely deck, and skirts the lands + That wait their nations from his guiding hands. + Tall thro the tide the river Sires by turns + Rise round the bark and blend their social urns; + Majestic brotherhood! each feels the power + To feed an empire from his future store. + They stand stupendous, flooding full the bay, + And pointing each thro different climes the way. + + Resplendent o'er the rest, the regent god + Potowmak towers, and sways the swelling flood; + Vines clothe his arms, wild fruits o'erfill his horn, + Wreaths of green maize his reverend brows adorn, + His silver beard reflects the lunar day, + And round his loins the scaly nations play. + The breeze falls calm, the sails in silence rest, + While thus his greetings cheer the stranger guest: + + Blest be the bark that seized the promised hour + To waft thee welcome to this friendly shore! + Long have we learnt the fame that here awaits + The future sires of our unplanted states; + We all salute thee with our mingling tides, + Our high-fenced havens and our fruitful sides. + The hundred realms our myriad fountains drain + Shall lose their limits in the vast domain; + But my bold banks with proud impatience wait + The palm of glory in a work so great; + On me thy sons their central seat shall raise, + And crown my labors with distinguish'd praise. + For this, from rock-ribb'd lakes I forced my birth, + And climb'd and sunder'd many a mound of earth, + Rent the huge hills that yonder heave on high + And with their tenfold ridges rake the sky, + Removed whole mountains in my headlong way, + Strow'd a strong soil around this branching Bay, + Scoop'd wide his basins to the distant main, + And hung with headlands every marsh they drain. + + Haste then, my heroes, tempt the fearless toil, + Enrich your nations with the nurturing spoil; + O'er my vast vales let yellow harvests wave, + Quay the calm ports and dike the lawns I lave. + Win from the waters every stagnant fen, + Where truant rills escape my conscious ken; + And break those remnant rocks that still impede + My current crowding thro the gaps I made. + + So shall your barks pursue my branching bed, + Slope after slope, to every fountain's head, + Seat your contiguous towns on all my shores, + And charge my channel with their seaward stores. + Freedom and Peace shall well reward your care, + My guardian mounds protect the friendly pair; + Or if delirious War shall dare draw nigh, + And eastern storms o'ercast the western sky, + My soil shall rear the chief to guide your host, + And drive the demon cringing from the coast; + Yon verdant hill his sylvan seat shall claim, + And grow immortal from his deathless fame. + + Then shall your federal towers my bank adorn, + And hail with me the great millennial morn + That gilds your capitol. Thence earth shall draw + Her first clear codes of liberty and law; + There public right a settled form shall find, + Truth trim her lamp to lighten humankind, + Old Afric's sons their shameful fetters cast, + Our wild Hesperians humanize at last, + All men participate, all time expand + The source of good my liberal sages plann'd. + + This said, he plunges in the sacred flood; + That closes calm and lulls the cradled god. + Exulting at his words, the gallant crew + Brace the broad canvass and their course pursue: + For now the breathing airs, from ocean born, + Breeze up the bay, and lead the lively morn + That lights them to their port. Tis here they join + Their bold precursors in the work divine; + And here their followers, yet a numerous train, + Wind o'er the wave and swell the new domain. + For impious Laud, on England's wasted shore, + Renews the flames that Mary fed before; + Contristed sects his sullen fury fly, + To seek new seats beneath a safer sky; + Where faith and freedom yield a forceful charm, + And toils and dangers every bosom warm. + + Amid the tried unconquerable train, + Whom tyrants press and seas oppose in vain, + See Plymouth colons stretch their standards o'er, + Face the dark wildmen and the wintry shore; + See virtuous Baltimore ascend the wave, + See peaceful Penn its unknown terrors brave; + Swedes, Belgians, Gauls their various flags display, + Full pinions crowding on the watery way; + All from their different ports, their sails unfurl'd, + Point their glad streamers to the western world. + + + + + + +Book V. + + + +Argument. + + + Vision confined to North America. Progress of the colonies. Troubles + with the natives. Settlement of Canada. Spirit of the English and + French colonies compared. Hostilities between France and England + extended to America. Braddock's defeat. Washington saves the re + of the English army. Actions of Abercrombie, Amherst, Wolfe. Peace. + Darkness overspreads the continent. Apprehensions of Columbus from that + appearance. Cause explained. Cloud bursts away in the centre. + of congress, and of the different regions from which its members are + delegated. Their endeavors to arrest the violence of England compared + with those of the Genius of Rome to dissuade Cesar from passing the + Rubicon. The demon War stalking over the ocean and leading on the + English invasion. Conflagration of towns from Falmouth to Norfolk. + Battle of Bunker Hill seen thro the smoke. Death of Warren. American + army assembles. Review of its chiefs. Speech of Washington. Actions and + death of Montgomery. Loss of Newyork. + + +Columbus hail'd them with a father's smile, + Fruits of his cares and children of his toil; + While still his eyes, thro tears of joy, descried + Their course adventurous on the distant tide. + Thus, when o'er deluged earth her Numen stood, + The tost ark bounding on the shoreless flood, + The sacred treasure fixt his guardian view, + While climes unnoticed in the wave withdrew. + + The Hero saw them reach the rising strand, + Leap from their ships and share the joyous land; + Receding forests yield the laborers room, + And opening wilds with fields and gardens bloom. + Fill'd with the glance ecstatic, all his soul + Now seems unbounded with the scene to roll, + And now impatient, with retorted eye, + Perceives his station in another sky: + Waft me, indulgent Angel, waft me o'er, + With those blest heroes, to the happy shore; + There let me live and die. But all appears + A fleeting vision! these are future years. + Yet grant the illusion still may nearer spread, + And my glad steps may seem their walks to tread; + While Europe, wrapt in momentary night, + Shall rise no more to intercept the sight. + + Columbus thus; when Hesper's potent hand + Moves brightening o'er the visionary land; + The height that bore them still sublimer grew, + And earth's whole circuit settled from their view. + A dusky deep, serene as breathless even, + Seem'd vaulting downward like another heaven; + The sun, rejoicing on his western way, + Stampt his fair image in the inverted day: + When now Hesperia's coast arose more nigh, + And life and action fill'd the dancing eye. + + Between the gulphs, where Laurence drains the world + And where Floridia's farthest floods are curl'd, + Where midlands broad their swelling mountains heave + And slope their champaigns to the Atlantic wave, + The sandy streambank and the woodgreen plain + Raise into sight the new-made seats of man. + The placid ports, that break the seaborn gales, + Shoot forth their quays and stretch aloft their sails, + Full harvests wave, new groves with fruitage bend, + Gay villas smile, defensive towers ascend; + All the rich works of art their charms display, + To court the planter and his cares repay: + Till war invades; when soon the dales disclose + Their meadows path'd with files of savage foes; + High tufted quills their painted foreheads press, + Dark spoils of beasts their shaggy shoulders dress, + The bow bent forward for the combat strung, + Ax, quiver, scalpknife on the girdle hung; + Discordant yells, convulsing long the air, + Tone forth at last the war whoop's hideous blare. + + The Patriarch look'd; and every frontier height + Pours down the swarthy nations to the fight. + Where Kennebec's high source forsakes the sky, + Where long Champlain's yet unkeel'd waters lie, + Where Hudson crowds his hill-dissundering tide, + Where Kaatskill dares the starry vault divide, + Where the dim Alleganies sit sublime + And give their streams to every neighboring clime, + The swarms descended like an evening shade, + And wolves and vultures follow'd where they spread. + Thus when a storm, on eastern pinions driven, + Meets the firm Andes in the midst of heaven, + The clouds convulse, the torrents pour amain, + And the black waters sweep the subject plain. + + Thro harvest fields the bloody myriads tread, + Sack the lone village, strow the streets with dead; + The flames in spiry volumes round them rise, + And shrieks and shouts redoubling rend the skies. + Fair babes and matrons in their domes expire, + Or bursting frantic thro the folding fire + They scream, fly, fall; promiscuous rave along + The yelling victors and the driven throng; + The streams run purple; all the peopled shore + Is wrapt in flames and trod with steps of gore. + Till colons, gathering from the shorelands far, + Stretch their new standards and oppose the war, + With muskets match the many-shafted bow, + With loud artillery stun the astonish'd foe. + When, like a broken wave, the barbarous train + Lead back the flight and scatter from the plain + Slay their weak captives, drop their shafts in haste, + Forget their spoils and scour the trackless waste; + From wood to wood in wild confusion hurl'd, + They hurry o'er the hills far thro the savage world. + + Now move secure the cheerful works of peace, + New temples rise and fruitful fields increase. + Where Delaware's wide waves behold with pride + Penn's beauteous town ascending on their side, + The crossing streets in just allinement run, + The walls and pavements sparkle to the sun, + Like that famed city rose the checker'd plan, + Whose spacious towers Semiramis began; + Long ages finish'd what her hand design'd, + The pride of kings and wonder of mankind. + + Newyork ascends o'er Hudson's seaward isles, + And flings the sunbeams from her glittering tiles; + Albania, opening thro the distant wood, + Rolls her rich treasures on her parent flood; + Amid a thousand sails young Boston laves, + High looms majestic Newport o'er the waves, + Patapsco's bay contracts his yielding side, + As spreading Baltimore invades his tide; + Aspiring Richmond tops the bank of James, + And Charleston sways her two contending streams. + + Thro each colonial realm, for wisdom great, + Elected sires assume the cares of state; + Nursed in equality, to freedom bred, + Firm is their step and straight the paths they tread; + Dispensing justice with paternal hand, + By laws of peace they rule the happy land; + While reason's page their statute codes unfold, + And rites and charters flame in figured gold. + All rights that Britons know they here transfuse, + Their sense invigorate and expand their views, + Dare every height of human soul to scan, + Find, fathom, scope the moral breadth of man, + Learn how his social powers may still dilate, + And tone their tension to a stronger state. + + Round the long glade where lordly Laurence strays, + Gaul's migrant sons their forts and villas raise, + Stretch over Canada their colon sway, + And circling far beneath the western day + Plant sylvan Wabash with a watchful post, + O'er Missisippi spread a mantling host, + Bid Louisiana's lovely clime prepare + New arts to prove and infant states to rear; + While the bright lakes, that wide behind them spread, + Unfold their channels to the paths of trade, + Ohio's waves their destined honors claim, + And smile, as conscious of approaching fame. + + But Gallic planters still their trammels wear, + Their feudal genius still attends them here; + Dependent feelings for a distant throne + Gyve the crampt soul that fears to think alone, + Demand their rulers from the parent land, + Laws ready made, and generals to command. + Judge, priest and pedagogue, and all the slaves + Of foreign masters, crowding o'er the waves, + Spread thick the shades of vassalage and sloth, + Absorb their labors and prevent their growth, + Damp every thought that might their tyrants brave, + And keep the vast domain a desert and a grave. + + Too soon the mother states, with jealous fear, + Transport their feuds and homebred quarrels here. + Now Gallia's war-built barks ascend in sight, + White flags unfold, and armies robed in white + On all the frontier streams their forts prepare, + And coop our cantons with surrounding war. + Quebec, as proud she rears her rocky seat, + Feeds their full camp and shades their anchored fleet: + Oswego's rampart frowns athwart his flood, + And wild Ontario swells beneath his load. + + And now a friendly host from Albion's strand + Arrives to aid her young colonial band. + They join their force, and tow'rd the falling day + Impetuous Braddock leads their hasty way; + O'er Allegany heights, like streams of fire, + The red flags wave and glittering arms aspire + To meet the savage hordes, who there advance + Their skulking files to join the arms of France. + + Where, old as earth, yet still unstain'd with blood, + Monongahela roll'd his careless flood, + Flankt with his mantling groves the fountful hills, + Drain'd the vast region thro his thousand rills, + Lured o'er his lawns the buffle herds, and spread + For all his fowls his piscatory glade; + But now perceives, with hostile flag unfurl'd, + A Gallic fortress awe the western world; + There Braddock bends his march; the troops within + Behold their danger and the fire begin. + Forth bursting from the gates they rush amain, + Front, flank and charge the fast approaching train; + The batteries blaze, the leaden volleys pour, + The vales, the streams, the solid mountains roar; + Clouds of convolving smoke the welkin spread, + The champaign shrouding in sulphureous shade. + Lost in the rocking thunder's loud career, + No shouts nor groans invade the Patriarch's ear, + Nor valorous feats are seen, nor flight nor fall, + But one broad burst of darkness buries all; + Till chased by rising winds the smoke withdrew, + And the wide slaughter open'd on his view. + He saw the British leader borne afar, + In dust and gore, beyond the wings of war; + And while delirious panic seized his host, + Their flags, their arms in wild confusion tost, + Bold in the midst a youthful warrior strode, + And tower'd undaunted o'er the field of blood; + He checks the shameful rout, with vengeance burns, + And the pale Britons brighten where he turns. + So, when thick vapors veil the nightly sky, + The starry host in half-seen lustre fly, + Till Phosphor rises o'er the twinkling crowd, + And gives new splendor thro his parting cloud. + + Swift on a fiery steed the stripling rose, + Form'd the light files to pierce the line of foes; + Then waved his gleamy sword that flash'd the day, + And thro the Gallic legions hew'd his way: + His troops press forward like a loose-broke flood, + Sweep ranks away and smear their paths in blood; + The hovering foes pursue the combat far, + And shower their balls along the flying war; + When the new leader turns his single force, + Points the flight forward, speeds his backward course; + The French recoiling half their victory yield, + And the glad Britons quit the fatal field. + + These deathful deeds as great Columbus eyed, + With anxious tone he thus addrest the Guide: + Why combat here these transatlantic bands, + And strow their corses thro thy pathless lands? + Can Europe's realms, the seat of endless strife, + Afford no trophies for the waste of life? + Can monarchs there no proud applauses gain, + No living laurel for their people slain? + Nor Belgia's plains, so fertile made with gore, + Hide heroes' bones nor feast the vultures more? + Will Rhine no longer cleanse the crimson stain, + Nor Danube bear their bodies to the main, + That infant empires here the shock must feel, + And these pure streams with foreign carnage swell? + But who that chief? his name, his nation say, + Whose lifeblood seems his follies to repay; + And who the youth, that from the combat lost + Springs up and saves the remnant of his host? + + The Power replied: Each age successive brings + Their varying views to earth's contentious kings; + Here roll the years when Albion's parent hand, + In aid of thy brave children, guards the land; + That growing states their veteran force may train, + A nobler prize in later fields to gain; + In fields where Albion's self shall turn their foe, + Spread broader sails and aim a deadlier blow, + Recross, in evil hour, the astonish'd wave, + Her own brave sons to ravage and enslave. + But here she combats with the powers of Gaul: + Here her bold Braddock finds his destined fall; + Thy Washington, in that young martial frame, + From yon lost field begins a life of fame. + Tis he, in future straits, with loftier stride, + The colon states to sovereign rule shall guide; + When, prest by wrongs, their own full force they find, + To wield the sword for man, and bulwark humankind. + + The Seraph spoke; when thro the purpled air + The northern armies spread the flames of war. + Swift o'er the lake, to Crownpoint's fortful strand, + Rash Abercrombie leads his headlong band + To fierce unequal fight; the batteries roar, + Shield the strong foes and rake the banner'd shore; + Britannia's sons again the contest yield, + Again proud Gaul triumphant sweeps the field. + + But Amherst quick renews the raging toil, + And drives wide hosting o'er Acadia's isle; + Young Wolfe beside him points the lifted lance, + The boast of Britain and the scourge of France. + The tide of victory here the heroes turn, + And Gallic navies in their harbors burn; + High flame the ships, the billows swell with gore, + And the red standard shades the conquer'd shore. + + Wolfe, now detacht and bent on bolder deeds, + A sail-borne host up sealike Laurence leads, + Stems the long lessening tide; till Abraham's height + And famed Quebec rise frowning into sight. + Swift bounding on the bank, the foe they claim. + Climb the tall mountain like a rolling flame, + Push wide their wings, high bannering bright the air, + And move to fight as comets cope in war. + The smoke falls folding thro the downward sky. + And shrouds the mountain from the Patriarch's eye, + While on the towering top, in glare of day, + The flashing swords in fiery arches play. + As on a side-seen storm, adistance driven, + The flames fork round the semivault of heaven, + Thick thunders roll, descending torrents flow, + Dash down the clouds and whelm the hills below; + Or as on plains of light when Michael strove, + The swords of cherubim to combat move, + Ten thousand fiery forms together fray, + And flash new lightning on empyreal day. + + Long raged promiscuous combat, half conceal'd, + When sudden parle suspended all the field; + Then roar the shouts, the smoke forsakes the plain + And the huge hill is topt with heaps of slain. + Stretch'd high in air Britannia's standard waved, + And good Columbus hail'd his country saved; + While calm and silent, where the ranks retire, + He saw brave Wolfe in victory's arms expire. + So the pale moon, when morning beams arise, + Veils her lone visage in her midway skies; + She needs no longer drive the shades away, + Nor waits to view the glories of the day. + + Again the towns aspire; the cultured field + And crowded mart their copious treasures yield; + Back to his plough the colon soldier moves, + And songs of triumph fill the warbling groves, + The conscious flocks, returning joys that share, + Spread thro the grassland o'er the walks of war, + Streams, freed of gore, their crystal course regain, + Serener sunbeams gild the tentless plain; + A general jubilee, o'er earth and heaven, + Leads the gay morn and lights the lambent even. + + Rejoicing, confident of long repose, + (Their friends triumphant, far retired their foes,) + The British colonies now feel their sway + Span the whole north and crowd the western day. + Acadia, Canada, earth's total side, + From Slave's long lake to Pensacola's tide, + Expand their soils for them; and here unfold + A range of highest hope, a promised age of gold. + + But soon from eastern seas dark vapors rise, + Sweep the vast Occident and shroud the skies, + Snatch all the vision from the Hero's sight, + And wrap the coast in sudden shades of night. + He turn'd, and sorrowful besought the Power: + Why sinks the scene, or must I view no more? + Must here the fame of that young world descend? + Shall our brave children find so quick their end? + Where then the promised grace? "Thou soon shalt see + That half mankind shall owe their seats to thee." + + The Saint replied: Ere long, beneath thy view + The scene shall brighten and thy joys renew. + Here march the troublous years, when goaded sore + Thy sons shall rise to change the ruling power; + When Albion's prince, who sways the happy land, + To lawless rule extends his tyrant hand, + To bind in slavery's bands the peaceful host, + Their rights unguarded and their charters lost. + Now raise thine eye; from this delusive plain; + What nations leap to life, what deeds adorn their fame! + + Columbus look'd; and still around them spread, + From south to north, the immeasurable shade; + At last the central darkness burst away, + And rising regions opened on the day. + Once more bright Delaware's commercial stream + And Penn's throng'd city cast a cheerful gleam; + The dome of state, as conscious of his eye, + Now seem'd to silver in a loftier sky, + Unfolding fair its gates; when lo, within + The assembled states in solemn Congress shine. + + The sires elect from every province came, + Where wide Columbia bore the British name, + Where Freedom's sons their highborn lineage trace, + And homebred bravery still exalts the race: + Her sons who plant each various vast domain + That Chesapeak's uncounted currents drain; + The race who Roanoke's clear stream bestride, + Who fell the pine on Apalachia's side, + To Albemarle's wide wave who trust their store, + Who dike proud Pamlico's unstable shore. + Whose groaning barks o'erload the long Santee, + Wind thro the realms and labor to the sea, + (Their cumbrous cargoes, to the sail consign'd, + Seek distant worlds, and feed and clothe mankind;) + The race whose rice-fields suck Savanna's urn, + Whose verdant vines Oconee's bank adorn; + Who freight the Delaware with golden grain, + Who tame their steeds on Monmouth's flowery plain, + From huge Toconnok hills who drag their ore, + And sledge their corn to Hudson's quay-built shore. + Who keel Connecticut's long meadowy tide, + With patient plough his fallow plains divide, + Spread their white flocks o'er Narraganset's vale, + Or chase to each chill pole the monstrous whale; + Whose venturous prows have borne their fame afar, + Tamed all the seas and steer'd by every star, + Dispensed to earth's whole habitants their store, + And with their biting flukes have harrow'd every shore. + + The virtuous delegates behold with pain + The hostile Britons hovering o'er the main, + Lament the strife that bids two worlds engage, + And blot their annals with fraternal rage; + Two worlds in one broad state! whose bounds bestride, + Like heaven's blue arch, the vast Atlantic tide, + By language, laws and liberty combined, + Great nurse of thought, example to mankind. + Columbia rears her warning voice in vain, + Brothers to brothers call across the main; + Britannia's patriots lend a listening ear, + But kings and courtiers push their mad career; + Dissension raves, the sheathless falchions glare, + And earth and ocean tremble at the war. + + Thus with stern brow, as worn by cares of state, + His bosom big with dark unfolding fate, + High o'er his lance the sacred Eagle spread, + And earth's whole crown still resting on his head, + Rome's hoary Genius rose, and mournful stood + On roaring Rubicon's forbidden flood, + When Cesar's ensigns swept the Alpine air, + Led their long legions from the Gallic war, + Paused on the opposing bank with wings unfurl'd, + And waved portentous o'er the shuddering world. + The god, with outstretch'd arm and awful look, + Call'd the proud victor and prophetic spoke: + Arrest, my son, thy parricidious hate, + Pass not the stream nor stab my filial state, + Stab not thyself, thy friends, thy total kind, + And worlds and ages in one state combined. + The chief, regardless of the warning god, + Rein'd his rude steed and headlong past the flood, + Cried, Farewel, Peace! took Fortune for his guide, + And o'er his country pour'd the slaughtering tide. + + High on the foremost seat, in living light, + Resplendent Randolph caught the world's full sight. + He opes the cause, and points in prospect far + Thro all the toils that wait impending war: + But, reverend sage! thy race must soon be o'er, + To lend thy lustre and to shine no more. + So the mild morning star, from shades of even, + Leads up the dawn and lights the front of heaven, + Points to the waking world the sun's broad way, + Then veils his own, and vaults above the day. + And see bright Washington behind thee rise, + Thy following sun, to gild our morning skies, + O'er shadowy climes to pour enlivening flame, + The charms of freedom and the fire of fame. + For him the patriot bay beheld with pride + The hero's laurel springing by its side; + His sword still sleeping rested on his thigh, + On Britain still he cast a filial eye; + But sovereign fortitude his visage bore, + To meet her legions on the invaded shore. + + Sage Franklin next arose with cheerful mien, + And smiled unruffled o'er the solemn scene; + His locks of age a various wreath embraced, + Palm of all arts that e'er a mortal graced; + Beneath him lay the sceptre kings had borne, + And the tame thunder from the tempest torn. + + Wythe, Mason, Pendleton with Henry join'd, + Rush, Rodney, Langdon, friends of humankind, + Persuasive Dickinson, the former's boast, + Recording Thomson, pride of all the host, + Nash, Jay, the Livingstons, in council great, + Rutledge and Laurens held the rolls of fate, + O'er wide creation turn'd their ardent eyes, + And bade the opprest to selfexistence rise; + All powers of state, in their extended plan, + Spring from consent, to shield the rights of man. + Undaunted Wolcott urged the holy cause, + With steady hand the solemn scene he draws; + Stern thoughtful temperance with his ardorjoin'd, + Nor kings nor worlds could warp his steadfast mind. + + With graceful ease but energetic tones; + And eloquence that shook a thousand thrones, + Majestic Hosmer stood; the expanding soul + Darts from his eyebeams while his accents roll. + But lo! the shaft of death untimely flew, + And fell'd the patriot from the Hero's view; + Wrapt in the funeral shroud he sees descend + The guide of nations and the Muse's friend. + Columbus dropt a tear; while Hesper's eye + Traced the freed spirit mounting thro the sky. + + Each generous Adams, freedom's favorite pair, + And Hancock rose the tyrant's rage to dare, + Groupt with firm Jefferson, her steadiest hope, + Of modest mien but vast unclouded scope. + Like four strong pillars of her state they stand, + They clear from doubt her brave but wavering band; + Colonial charters in their hands they bore, + And lawless acts of ministerial power. + Some injured right in every page appears, + A king in terrors and a land in tears; + From all his guileful plots the veil they drew, + With eye retortive look'd creation thro, + Traced moral nature thro her total plan, + Markt all the steps of liberty and man; + Crowds rose to reason while their accents rung. + And INDEPENDENCE thunder'd from their tongue. + + Columbus turn'd; when rolling to the shore + Swells o'er the seas an undulating roar; + Slow, dark, portentous, as the meteors sweep. + And curtain black the illimitable deep, + High stalks, from surge to surge, a demon Form, + That howls thro heaven and breathes a billowing storm. + His head is hung with clouds; his giant hand + Flings a blue flame far flickering to the land; + His blood-stain'd limbs drip carnage as he strides, + And taint with gory grume the staggering tides; + Like two red suns his quivering eyeballs glare, + His mouth disgorges all the stores of war, + Pikes, muskets, mortars, guns and globes of fire. + And lighted bombs that fusing trails exspire. + Percht on his helmet, two twin sisters rode, + The favorite offspring of the murderous god, + Famine and Pestilence; whom whilom bore + His wife, grim Discord, on Trinacria's shore; + When first their Cyclop sons, from Etna's forge, + Fill'd his foul magazine, his gaping gorge: + Then earth convulsive groan'd, high shriek'd the air. + And hell in gratulation call'd him War. + + Behind the fiend, swift hovering for the coast, + Hangs o'er the wave Britannia's sail-wing'd host; + They crowd the main, they spread their sheets abroad, + From the wide Laurence to the Georgian flood, + Point their black batteries to the peopled shore, + And spouting flames commence the hideous roar. + + Where fortless Falmouth, looking o'er her bay, + In terror saw the approaching thunders play, + The fire begins; the shells o'er arching fly, + And shoot a thousand rainbows thro the sky; + On Charlestown spires, on Bedford roofs they light, + Groton and Fairfield kindle from the flight, + Norwalk expands the blaze; o'er Reading hills + High flaming Danbury the welkin fills; + Esopus burns, Newyork's delightful fanes + And sea-nursed Norfolk light the neighboring plains. + From realm to realm the smoky volumes bend, + Reach round the bays and up the streams extend; + Deep o'er the concave heavy wreaths are roll'd, + And midland towns and distant groves infold. + + Thro solid curls of smoke, the bursting fires + Climb in tall pyramids above the spires, + Concentring all the winds; whose forces, driven + With equal rage from every point of heaven, + Whirl into conflict, round the scantling pour + The twisting flames and thro the rafters roar, + Suck up the cinders, send them sailing far, + To warn the nations of the raging war, + Bend high the blazing vortex, swell'd and curl'd, + Careering, brightening o'er the lustred world, + Absorb the reddening clouds that round them run, + Lick the pale stars, and mock their absent sun: + Seas catch the splendor, kindling skies resound, + And falling structures shake the smouldering ground. + + Crowds of wild fugitives, with frantic tread, + Flit thro the flames that pierce the midnight shade, + Back on the burning domes revert their eyes, + Where some lost friend, some perisht infant lies. + Their maim'd, their sick, their age-enfeebled sires + Have sunk sad victims to the sateless fires; + They greet with one last look their tottering walls, + See the blaze thicken, as the ruin falls, + Then o'er the country train their dumb despair, + And far behind them leave the dancing glare; + Their own crusht roofs still lend a trembling light, + Point their long shadows and direct their flight. + Till wandering wide they seek some cottage door, + Ask the vile pittance due the vagrant poor; + Or faint and faltering on the devious road, + They sink at last and yield their mortal load. + + But where the sheeted flames thro Charlestown roar, + And lashing waves hiss round the burning shore, + Thro the deep folding fires dread Bunker's height + Thunders o'er all and shows a field of fight. + Like nightly shadows thro a flaming grove, + To the dark fray the closing squadrons move; + They join, they break, they thicken thro the glare, + And blazing batteries burst along the war; + Now wrapt in reddening smoke, now dim in sight, + They rake the hill, or wing the downward flight; + Here, wheel'd and wedged, Britannia's veterans turn, + And the long lightnings from their muskets burn; + There scattering strive the thin colonial train, + Whose broken platoons still the field maintain; + Till Britain's fresh battalions rise the height, + And with increasing vollies give the fight. + When, choked with dust, discolor'd deep in gore, + And gall'd on all sides from the ships and shore, + Hesperia's host moves off the field afar, + And saves, by slow retreat, the sad remains of war. + + There strides bold Putnam, and from all the plains + Calls the tired troops, the tardy rear sustains, + And, mid the whizzing balls that skim the lowe, + Waves back his sword, defies the following foe. + + In this prime prelude of the toil that waits + The nascent glories of his infant states, + Columbus mourn'd the slain. A numerous crowd, + Half of each host, had bought their fame with blood; + From the whole hill he saw the lifestream pour, + And sloping pathways trod with tracks of gore. + Here, glorious Warren, thy cold earth was seen, + Here spring thy laurels in immortal green; + Dearest of chiefs that ever prest the plain, + In freedom's cause with early honors slain; + Still dear in death, as when before our sight + You graced the senate, or you led the fight. + The grateful Muse shall tell the world your fame, + And unborn realms resound the deathless name. + + Now from all plains, as settling smokes decay, + The banded freemen rise in open day; + Tall thro the lessening shadows, half conceal'd, + They throng and gather in a central field; + In unskill'd ranks but ardent soul they stand, + Claim quick the foe, and eager strife demand. + + In front firm Washington superior shone, + His eye directed to the half-seen sun; + As thro the cloud the bursting splendors glow, + And light the passage to the distant foe. + His waving steel returns the living day, + And points, thro unfought fields, the warrior's way; + His valorous deeds to be confined no more, + Monongahela, to thy desert shore. + Matured with years, with nobler glory warm, + Fate in his eye and empire on his arm, + He feels his sword the strength of nations wield, + And moves before them with a broader shield. + + Greene rose beside him emulous in arms, + His genius brightening as the danger warms, + In counsel great, in every science skill'd, + Pride of the camp and terror of the field. + With eager look, conspicuous o'er the crowd, + And port majestic, brave Montgomery strode, + Bared his tried blade, with honor's call elate, + Claim'd the first field and hasten'd to his fate. + Lincoln, with force unfolding as he rose, + Scoped the whole war and measured well the foes; + Calm, cautious, firm, for frugal counsels known, + Frugal of other's blood but liberal of his own. + Heath for impending toil his falchion draws, + And fearless Wooster aids the sacred cause, + Mercer advanced an early death to prove, + Sinclair and Mifflin swift to combat move; + Here stood stern Putnam, scored with ancient scars. + The living records of his country's wars; + Wayne, like a moving tower, assumes his post. + Fires the whole field, and is himself a host; + Undaunted Stirling, prompt to meet his foes, + And Gates and Sullivan for action rose; + Macdougal, Clinton, guardians of the state, + Stretch the nerved arm to pierce the depth of fate; + Marion with rapture seized the sword of fame, + Young Laurens graced a father's patriot name; + Moultrie and Sumter lead their banded powers, + Morgan in front of his bold riflers towers, + His host of keen-eyed marksmen, skill'd to pour + Their slugs unerring from the twisted bore. + No sword, no bayonet they learn to wield, + They gall the flank, they skirt the battling field, + Cull out the distant foe in full horse speed, + Couch the long tube and eye the silver bead, + Turn as he turns, dismiss the whizzing lead, + And lodge the death-ball in his heedless head. + + So toil'd the huntsman Tell. His quivering dart, + Prest by the bended bowstring, fears to part, + Dreads the tremendous task, to graze but shun + The tender temples of his infant son; + As the loved youth (the tyrant's victim led) + Bears the poised apple tottering on his head. + The sullen father, with reverted eye, + Now marks the satrap, now the bright-hair'd boy; + His second shaft impatient lies, athirst + To mend the expected error of the first, + To pierce the monster, mid the insulted crowd, + And steep the pangs of nature in his blood. + Deep doubling tow'rd his breast, well poised and slow. + Curve the strain'd horns of his indignant bow; + His left arm straightens as the dexter bends, + And his nerved knuckle with the gripe distends; + Soft slides the reed back with the stiff drawn strand, + Till the steel point has reacht his steady hand; + Then to his keen fixt eye the shank he brings, + Twangs the loud cord, the feather'd arrow sings. + Picks off the pippin from the smiling boy, + And Uri's rocks resound with shouts of joy. + Soon by an equal dart the tyrant bleeds, + The cantons league, the work of fate proceeds; + Till Austria's titled hordes, with their own gore, + Fat the fair fields they lorded long before; + On Gothard's height while freedom first unfurl'd + Her infant banner o'er the modern world. + + Bland, Moylan, Sheldon the long lines enforce + With light-arm'd scouts, with solid squares of horse; + And Knox from his full park to battle brings + His brazen tubes, the last resort of kings. + The long black rows in sullen silence wait, + Their grim jaws gaping, soon to utter fate; + When at his word the carbon clouds shall rise, + And well aim'd thunders rock the shores and skies. + + Two foreign Youths had caught the splendent flame, + To Fame's hard school the warm disciples came; + To learn sage Liberty's unlesson'd lore, + To brave the tempest on her war-beat shore, + Prometheus like, to snatch a beam of day, + And homeward bear the unscintillating ray, + To pour new life on Europe's languid horde, + Where millions crouch beneath one stupid lord. + Tho Austria's keiser and the Russian czar + To dungeons doom them, and with fetters mar, + Fayette o'er Gaul's vast realm some light shall spread, + Brave Kosciusko rear Sarmatia's head; + From Garonne's bank to Duna's wintry skies, + The morn shall move, and slumbering nations rise. + And tho their despots quake with wild alarms, + And lash and agonize the world to arms, + Whelm for a while the untutor'd race in blood, + And turn against themselves the raging flood; + Yet shall the undying dawn, with silent pace, + Reach over earth and every land embrace; + Till Europe's well taught sons the boon shall share, + And bless the labors of the imprison'd Pair. + + So Leda's Twins from Colchis raped the Fleece, + And brought the treasure to their native Greece. + She hail'd her heroes from their finished wars, + Assigned their place amid the cluster'd stars, + Bade round the eternal sky their trophies flame, + And charged the zodiac with their deathless fame. + --Here move the Strangers, here in freedom's cause + His untried blade each stripling hero draws, + On the great chief their eyes in transport roll, + And war and Washington renerve the soul. + + Steuben advanced, in veteran armor drest, + For Prussian lore distinguish'd o'er the rest, + The tactic lore; to this he bends his care, + And here transplants the discipline of war. + Other brave chieftains of illustrious name + Rise into sight and equal honors claim; + But who can tell the dew-drops of the morn, + Or count the rays that in the diamond burn? + --Grieve not, my valiant friends; the faithful song + Shall soon redress the momentary wrong; + Your own bright swords have cleaved your course to fame, + And all her hundred tongues recognize every claim. + + Now the broad field as untaught warriors shade, + The sun's glad beam their shining arms display'd; + High waved great Washington his glittering steel, + Bade the long train in circling order wheel; + And, while the banner'd youths around him prest, + With voice revered he thus the ranks addrest: + Ye generous bands, behold the task to save, + Or yield whole nations to an instant grave. + See hosted myriads crowding to your shore, + Hear from all ports their vollied thunders roar; + From Boston heights their bloody standards play, + O'er long Champlain they lead their northern way, + Virginian banks behold their streamers glide, + And hostile navies load each southern tide. + Beneath their steps your towns in ashes lie, + Your inland empires feast their greedy eye; + Soon shall your fields to lordly parks be turn'd, + Your children butcher'd and your villas burn'd; + While following millions, thro the reign of time. + Who claim their birth in this indulgent clime, + Bend the weak knee, to servile toils consigned, + And sloth and slavery still degrade mankind. + Rise then to war, to timely vengeance rise, + Ere the gray sire, the helpless infant dies; + Look thro the world, see endless years descend, + What realms, what ages on your arms depend! + Reverse the fate, avenge the insulted sky, + Move to the work; we conquer or we die. + + So spoke Columbia's chief; his guiding hand + Points out their march to every ardent band, + Assigns to each brave leader, as they claim, + His test of valor and his task of fame. + With his young host Montgomery first moves forth, + To crush the vast invasion of the north; + O'er streams and lakes their flags far onward play, + Navies and forts surrendering mark their way; + Rocks, fens and deserts thwart the paths they go, + And hills before them lose their crags in snow. + Loud Laurence, clogg'd with ice, indignant feels + Their sleet-clad oars, choked helms and crusted keels; + They buffet long his tides; when rise in sight + Quebec's dread walls, and Wolfe's unclouded height + Already there a few brave patriots stood, + Worn down with toil, by famine half subdued; + Untrench'd before the town, they dare oppose + Their fielded cohorts to the forted foes. + Ah gallant troop! deprived of half the praise + That deeds like yours in other times repays, + Since your prime chief (the favorite erst of fame) + Hath sunk so deep his hateful, hideous name, + That every honest Muse with horror flings + The name unsounded from her sacred strings; + Else what high tones of rapture must have told + The first great action of a chief so bold! + Twas his, twas yours, to brave unusual storms, + To tame rude nature in her drearest forms; + Foodless and guideless, thro that waste of earth, + You march'd long months; and, sore reduced by dearth, + Reach'd the proud capital, too feeble far + To tempt unaided such a task of war; + Till now Montgomery's host, with hopes elate, + Joins your scant powers, to try the test of fate. + + With skilful glance he views the fortress round. + Bristled with pikes, with dark artillery crown'd; + Resolves with naked steel to scale the towers, + And snatch a realm from Britain's hostile powers. + Now drear December's boreal blasts arise, + A roaring hailstorm sweeps the shuddering skies, + Night with condensing horror mantles all, + And trembling watch-lights glimmer from the wall. + From bombs o'erarching, fusing, bursting high, + The glare scarce wanders thro the loaded sky; + And in the louder shock of meteors drown'd, + The accustom'd ear in vain expects the sound. + + He points the assault; and, thro the howling air, + O'er rocky ramparts leads audacious war. + Swift rise the rapid files; the walls are red + With flashing flames, that show the piles of dead; + Till back recoiling from the ranks of slain, + They leave their leader with a feeble train, + Begirt with foes within the sounding wall, + Who thick beneath his single falchion fall. + But short the conflict; others hemm'd him round, + And brave Montgomery prest the gory ground. + A second Wolfe Columbus here beheld, + In youthful charms, a soul undaunted yield; + Forlorn, o'erpower'd, his hardy host remains, + Stretch'd by his side, or led in captive chains. + Macpherson, Cheesman share their general's doom; + Meigs, Morgan, Dearborn, planning deeds to come, + Resign impatient prisoners; soon to wield + Their happier swords in many a broader field. + + Triumphant to Newyork's ill forted post + Britannia turns her vast amphibious host, + That seas and storms, obedient to her hand, + Heave and discharge on every distant land; + Fleets, floating batteries shake Manhattan's shore, + And Hellgate rocks reverberate the roar. + Swift o'er the shuddering isles that line the bay + The red flags wave, and battering engines play; + Howe leads aland the interminable train, + While his bold brother still bestorms the main, + Great Albion's double pride; both famed afar + On each vext element, each world of war; + Where British rapine follows peaceful toil, + And murders nations but to seize their spoil. + + Wide sweep the veteran myriads o'er the strand, + Outnumbering thrice the raw colonial band; + Flatbush and Harlem sink beneath their fires, + Brave Stirling yields, and Sullivan retires. + In vain sage Washington, from hill to hill, + Plays round his foes with more than Fabian skill, + Retreats, advances, lures them to his snare, + To balance numbers by the shifts of war. + For not their swords alone, but fell disease + Thins his chill camp and chokes the neighboring seas. + The baleful malady, from Syrius sent, + floats in each breeze, impesting every tent, + Strikes the young soldier with the morning ray, + And lays him lifeless ere the close of day, + Far from his father's house, his mother's care, + And all the charities that nursed him there. + + Damp'd is the native rage that first impell'd + The insulted colons to the battling field; + When first their high-soul'd sentiment of right + And full-vein'd vigor nerved their arm to fight. + For stript of health, benumb'd thy vital flood, + Thy muscles lax'd and decomposed thy blood, + What is thy courage, man? a foodless flame, + A light unseen, a soul without a frame. + + Each day the decimated ranks forgo + Their dying comrades to repulse the foe, + And each damp night, along the slippery trench, + Breathe at their post the suffocating stench; + They sink by hundreds on the vapory soil, + Till a new fight relieves their deadlier toil. + At last from fruitless combat, sore defeat, + To Croton hills they lead a long retreat; + Pale, curbed, exanimate, in dull despair, + Train the scant relics of the twofold war: + The sword, the pestilence press hard behind; + The body both assail, and one beats down the mind. + + + + + + +Book VI. + + + +Argument. + + + British cruelty to American prisoners. Prison Ship. Retreat of + Washington with the relics of his army, pursued by Howe. Washington + recrossing the Delaware in the night, to surprise the British van, is + opposed by uncommon obstacles. His success in this audacious enterprise + lays the foundation of the American empire. A monument to be ere + on the bank of the Delaware. Approach of Burgoyne, sailing up the St. + Laurence with an army of Britons and various other nations. Indignant + energy of the colonies, compared to that of Greece in opposing the + invasion of Xerxes. Formation of an army of citizens, under the command + of Gates. Review of the American and British armies, and of the savage + tribes who join the British standard. Battle of Saratoga. Story of + Lucinda. Second battle, and capture of Burgoyne and his army. + + +But of all tales that war's black annals hold, + The darkest, foulest still remains untold; + New modes of torture wait the shameful strife, + And Britain wantons in the waste of life. + + Cold-blooded Cruelty, first fiend of hell, + Ah think no more with savage hordes to dwell; + Quit the Caribian tribes who eat their slain, + Fly that grim gang, the Inquisitors of Spain, + Boast not thy deeds in Moloch's shrines of old, + Leave Barbary's pirates to their blood-bought gold, + Let Holland steal her victims, force them o'er + To toils and death on Java's morbid shore; + Some cloak, some color all these crimes may plead; + Tis avarice, passion, blind religion's deed; + But Britons here, in this fraternal broil, + Grave, cool, deliberate in thy service toil. + Far from the nation's eye, whose nobler soul + Their wars would humanize, their pride control, + They lose the lessons that her laws impart, + And change the British for the brutal heart. + Fired by no passion, madden'd by no zeal, + No priest, no Plutus bids them not to feel; + Unpaid, gratuitous, on torture bent, + Their sport is death, their pastime to torment; + All other gods they scorn, but bow the knee, + And curb, well pleased, O Cruelty, to thee. + + Come then, curst goddess, where thy votaries reign, + Inhale their incense from the land and main; + Come to Newyork, their conquering arms to greet, + Brood o'er their camp and breathe along their fleet; + The brother chiefs of Howe's illustrious name + Demand thy labors to complete their fame. + What shrieks of agony thy praises sound! + What grateless dungeons groan beneath the ground! + See the black Prison Ship's expanding womb + Impested thousands, quick and dead, entomb. + Barks after barks the captured seamen bear, + Transboard and lodge thy silent victims there; + A hundred scows, from all the neighboring shore, + Spread the dull sail and ply the constant oar, + Waft wrecks of armies from the well fought field, + And famisht garrisons who bravely yield; + They mount the hulk, and, cramm'd within the cave, + Hail their last house, their living, floating grave. + + She comes, the Fiend! her grinning jaws expand, + Her brazen eyes cast lightning o'er the strand, + Her wings like thunder-clouds the welkin sweep, + Brush the tall spires and shade the shuddering deep; + She gains the deck, displays her wonted store, + Her cords and scourges wet with prisoners' gore; + Gripes, pincers, thumb-screws spread beneath her feet, + Slow poisonous drugs and loads of putrid meat; + Disease hangs drizzling from her slimy locks, + And hot contagion issues from her box. + + O'er the closed hatches ere she takes her place, + She moves the massy planks a little space, + Opes a small passage to the cries below, + That feast her soul on messages of woe; + There sits with gaping ear and changeless eye, + Drinks every groan and treasures every sigh, + Sustains the faint, their miseries to prolong, + Revives the dying and unnerves the strong. + + But as the infected mass resign their breath. + She keeps with joy the register of death. + As tost thro portholes from the encumber'd cave, + Corpse after corpse fall dashing in the wave; + Corpse after corpse, for days and months and years, + The tide bears off, and still its current clears; + At last, o'erloaded with the putrid gore, + The slime-clad waters thicken round the shore. + Green Ocean's self, that oft his wave renews, + That drinks whole fleets with all their battling crews, + That laves, that purifies the earth and sky, + Yet ne'er before resign'd his natural dye, + Here purples, blushes for the race he bore + To rob and ravage this unconquer'd shore; + The scaly nations, as they travel by, + Catch the contagion, sicken, gasp and die. + + Now Hesper turns the Hero's tearful eye + To other fields where other standards fly; + For here constrain'd new warfare to disclose, + And show the feats of more than mortal foes, + Where interposing with celestial might, + His own dread labors must decide the fight, + He bids the scene with pomp unusual rise, + To teach Columbus how to read the skies. + + He marks the trace of Howe's triumphant course, + And wheels o'er Jersey plains his gathering force; + Where dauntless Washington, begirt with foes, + Still greater rises as the danger grows, + And wearied troops, o'er kindred warriors slain, + Attend his march thro many a sanguine plain. + + From Hudson's bank to Trenton's wintry strand, + He guards in firm retreat his feeble band; + Britons by thousands on his flanks advance, + Bend o'er his rear and point the lifted lance. + Past Delaware's frozen stream, with scanty force, + He checks retreat; then turning back his course, + Remounts the wave, and thro the mingled roar + Of ice and storm reseeks the hostile shore, + Wrapt in the gloom of night. The offended Flood + Starts from his cave, assumes the indignant god, + Rears thro the parting tide his foamy form, + And with his fiery eyeballs lights the storm. + He stares around him on the host he heard, + Clears his choked urn and smooths his icy beard, + And thus: Audacious chief, this troubled wave + Tempt not; or tempting, here shall gape thy grave. + Is nothing sacred to thy venturous might? + The howling storm, the holy truce of night, + High tossing ice-isles crashing round thy side, + Insidious rocks that pierce the tumbling tide? + Fear then this forceful arm, and hear once more, + Death stands between thee and that shelvy shore. + + The chief beholds the god, and notes his cry, + But onward drives, nor pauses to reply; + Calls to each bark, and spirits every host + To toil, gain, tempt the interdicted coast. + The crews, regardless of the doubling roar, + Breast the strong helm, and wrestle with the oar, + Stem with resurgent prow the struggling spray, + And with phosphoric lanterns shape their way. + + The god perceived his warning words were vain, + And rose more furious to assert his reign, + Lash'd up a loftier surge, and heaved on high + A ridge of billows that obstruct the sky; + And, as the accumulated mass he rolls, + Bares the sharp rocks and lifts the gaping shoals. + Forward the fearless barges plunge and bound, + Top the curl'd wave, or grind the flinty ground, + Careen, whirl, right, and sidelong dasht and tost, + Now seem to reach and now to lose the coast. + + Still unsubdued the sea-drench'd army toils, + Each buoyant skiff the flouncing godhead foils; + He raves and roars, and in delirious woe + Calls to his aid his ancient hoary foe, + Almighty Frost; when thus the vanquish'd Flood + Bespeaks in haste the great earth-rending god: + Father of storms! behold this mortal race + Confound my force and brave me to my face. + Not all my waves by all my tempests driven, + Nor black night brooding o'er the starless heaven, + Can check their course; they toss and plunge amain, + And lo, my guardian rocks project their points in vain. + + Come to my help, and with thy stiffening breath + Clog their strain'd helms, distend their limbs indeath. + Tho ancient enmity our realms divide, + And oft thy chains arrest my laboring tide, + Let strong necessity our cause combine, + Thy own disgrace anticipate in mine; + Even now their oars thy sleet in vain congeals, + Thy crumbling ice-cakes crash beneath their keels; + Their impious arms already cope with ours, + And mortal man defies immortal Powers. + + Roused at the call, the Monarch mounts the storm; + In muriat flakes he robes his nitrous form, + Glares thro the compound, all its blast inhales, + And seas turn crystal where he breathes his gales. + He comes careering o'er his bleak domain, + But comes untended by his usual train; + Hail, sleet and snow-rack far behind him fly, + Too weak to wade thro this petrific sky, + Whose air consolidates and cuts and stings, + And shakes hoar tinsel from its flickering wings. + Earth heaves and cracks beneath the alighting god; + He gains the pass, bestrides the roaring flood, + Shoots from his nostrils one wide withering sheet + Of treasured meteors on the struggling fleet; + The waves conglaciate instant, fix in air, + Stand like a ridge of rocks, and shiver there. + The barks, confounded in their headlong surge, + Or wedged in crystal, cease their oars to urge; + Some with prone prow, as plunging down the deep, + And some remounting o'er the slippery steep + Seem laboring still, but moveless, lifeless all; + And the chill'd army here awaits its fall. + + But Hesper, guardian of Hesperia's right, + From his far heaven looks thro the rayless night; + And, stung to vengeance at the unequal strife, + To save her host, in jeopardy of life, + Starts from his throne, ascends his flamy car. + And turns tremendous to the field of war. + His wheels, resurging from the depth of even, + Roll back the night, streak wide the startled heaven, + Regain their easting with reverted gyres, + And stud their path with scintillating fires. + He cleaves the clouds; and, swift as beams of day, + O'er California sweeps his splendid way; + Missouri's mountains at his passage nod, + And now sad Delaware feels the present god, + And trembles at his tread. For here to fight + Rush two dread Powers of such unmeasured might, + As threats to annihilate his doubtful reign, + Convulse the heaven and mingle earth and main. + + Frost views his brilliant foe with scornful eye, + And whirls a tenfold tempest thro the sky; + Where each fine atom of the immense of air, + Steel'd, pointed, barb'd for unexampled war, + Sings o'er the shuddering ground; when thus he broke + Contemptuous silence, and to Hesper spoke: + Thou comest in time to share their last disgrace, + To change to crystal with thy rebel race, + Stretch thy huge corse o'er Delaware's bank afar, + And learn the force of elemental war. + Or if undying life thy lamp inspire, + Take that one blast and to thy sky retire; + There, roll'd eternal round the heavens, proclaim + Thy own disaster and my deathless fame. + + I come, said Hesper, not to insult the brave, + But break thy sceptre and let loose my wave, + Teach the proud Stream more peaceful tides to roll, + And send thee howling to thy stormy pole; + That drear dominion shall thy rage confine; + This land, these waters and those troops are mine. + + He added not; and now the sable storm, + Pierced by strong splendor, burst before his form; + His visage stern an awful lustre shed, + His pearly planet play'd around his head. + He seized a lofty pine, whose roots of yore + Struck deep in earth, to guard the sandy shore + From hostile ravage of the mining tide, + That rakes with spoils of earth its crumbling side. + He wrencht it from the soil, and o'er the foe + Whirl'd the strong trunk, and aim'd a sweeping blow, + That sung thro air, but miss'd the moving god, + And fell wide crashing on the frozen flood. + For many a rood the shivering ice it tore, + Loosed every bark and shook the sounding shore; + Stroke after stroke with doubling force he plied, + Foil'd the hoar Fiend and pulverized the tide. + The baffled tyrant quits the desperate cause; + From Hesper's heat the river swells and thaws, + The fleet rolls gently to the Jersey coast, + And morning splendors greet the landing host. + + Tis here dread Washington, when first the day + O'er Trenton beam'd to light his rapid way, + Pour'd the rude shock on Britain's vanguard train, + And led whole squadrons in his captive chain; + Where veteran troops to half their numbers yield, + Tread back their steps, or press the sanguine field, + To Princeton plains precipitate their flight, + Thro new disasters and unfinish'd fight, + Resign their conquests by one sad surprise, + Sink in their pride and see their rivals rise. + + Here dawn'd the daystar of Hesperia's fame, + Here herald glory first emblazed her name; + On Delaware's bank her base of empire stands, + The work of Washington's immortal hands; + Prompt at his side while gallant Mercer trod, + And seal'd the firm foundation with his blood. + + In future years, if right the Muse divine, + Some great memorial on this bank shall shine; + A column bold its granite shaft shall rear, + Swell o'er the strand and check the passing air, + Cast its broad image on the watery glade, + And Bristol greet the monumental shade; + Eternal emblem of that gloomy hour, + When the great general left her storm-beat shore, + To tempest, night and his own sword consign'd + His country's fates, the fortunes of mankind. + + Where sealike Laurence, rolling in his pride, + With Ocean's self disputes the tossing tide, + From shore to shore, thro dim distending skies, + Beneath full sails imbanded nations rise. + Britain and Brunswick here their flags unfold, + Here Hessia's hordes, for toils of slaughter sold, + Anspach and Darmstadt swell the hireling train, + Proud Caledonia crowds the masted main, + Hibernian kerns and Hanoverian slaves + Move o'er the decks and darken wide the waves. + + Tall on the boldest bark superior shone + A warrior ensign'd with a various crown; + Myrtles and laurels equal honors join'd, + Which arms had purchased and the Muses twined; + His sword waved forward, and his ardent eye + Seem'd sharing empires in the southern sky. + Beside him rose a herald to proclaim + His various honors, titles, feats and fame; + Who raised an opening scroll, where proudly shone + _Burgoyne and vengeance from the British throne._ + + Champlain receives the congregated host, + And his husht waves beneath the sails are lost; + Ticonderoga rears his rocks in vain, + Nor Edward's walls the weighty shock sustain; + Deep George's loaded lake reluctant guides + Their bounding barges o'er his sacred tides. + State after state the splendid pomp appalls, + Each town surrenders, every fortress falls; + Sinclair retires; and with his feeble train, + In slow retreat o'er many a fatal plain, + Allures their march; wide moves their furious force, + And flaming hamlets mark their wasting course; + Thro fortless realms their spreading ranks are wheel'd, + On Mohawk's wrestern wave, on Bennington's dread field. + + At last where Hudson, with majestic pace, + Swells at the sight, and checks his rapid race, + Thro dark Stillwater slow and silent moves, + And flying troops with sullen pause reproves, + A few firm bands their starry standard rear, + Wheel, front and face the desolating war. + Sudden the patriot flame each province warms, + Deep danger calls, the freemen quit their farms, + Seize their tried muskets, name their chiefs to lead, + Endorse their knapsacks and to vengeance speed. + O'er all the land the kindling ardor flies, + Troop follows troop, and flags on flags arise, + Concentred, train'd, their forming files unite, + Swell into squadrons and demand the fight. + + When Xerxes, raving at his sire's disgrace, + Pour'd his dark millions on the coast of Thrace, + O'er groaning Hellespont his broad bridge hurl'd, + Hew'd ponderous Athos from the trembling world, + Still'd with his weight of ships the struggling main, + And bound the billows in his boasted chain, + Wide o'er proud Macedon he wheel'd his course, + Thrace, Thebes, Thessalia join'd his furious force. + Thro six torn states his hovering swarms increase, + And hang tremendous on the skirts of Greece; + Deep groan the shrines of all her guardian gods, + Sad Pelion shakes, divine Olympus nods, + Shock'd Ossa sheds his hundred hills of snow, + And Tempe swells her murmuring brook below; + Wild in her starts of rage the Pythian shrieks, + Dodona's Oak the pangs of nature speaks, + Eleusis quakes thro all her mystic caves, + And black Trophonius gapes a thousand graves. + But soon the freeborn Greeks to vengeance rise, + Brave Sparta springs where first the danger lies, + Her self-devoted Band, in one steel'd mass, + Plunge in the gorge of death, and choke the Pass, + Athenian youths, the unwieldy war to meet, + Couch the stiff lance, or mount the well arm'd fleet; + They sweep the incumber'd seas of their vast load, + And fat their fields with lakes of Asian blood. + + So leapt our youths to meet the invading hordes, + Fame fired their courage, freedom edged their swords. + Gates in their van on high-hill'd Bemus rose, + Waved his blue steel and dared the headlong foes; + Undaunted Lincoln, laboring on his right, + Urged every arm, and gave them hearts to fight; + Starke, at the dexter flank, the onset claims, + Indignant Herkimer the left inflames; + He bounds exulting to commence the strife. + And buy the victory with his barter'd life. + + And why, sweet Minstrel, from the harp of fame + Withhold so long that once resounding name? + The chief who, steering by the boreal star, + O'er wild Canadia led our infant war, + In desperate straits superior powers display'd, + Burgoyne's dread scourge, Montgomery's ablest aid; + Ridgefield and Compo saw his valorous might + With ill-arm'd swains put veteran troops to flight. + Tho treason foul hath since absorb'd his soul, + Bade waves of dark oblivion round him roll, + Sunk his proud heart abhorrent and abhorr'd, + Effaced his memory and defiled his sword; + Yet then untarnisht roll'd his conquering car; + Then famed and foremost in the ranks of war + Brave Arnold trod; high valor warm'd his breast, + And beams of glory play'd around his crest. + Here toils the chief; whole armies from his eye + Resume their souls, and swift to combat fly. + + Camp'd on a hundred hills, and trench'd in form, + Burgoyne's long legions view the gathering storm; + Uncounted nations round their general stand, + And wait the signal from his guiding hand. + Canadia crowds her Gallic colons there, + Ontario's yelling tribes torment the air, + Wild Huron sends his lurking hordes from far, + Insidious Mohawk swells the woodland war; + Scalpers and ax-men rush from Erie's shore, + And Iroquois augments the war whoop roar; + While all his ancient troops his train supply, + Half Europe's banners waving thro the sky; + Deep squadron'd horse support his endless flanks, + And park'd artillery frowns behind the ranks. + Flush'd with the conquest of a thousand fields, + And rich with spoils that all the region yields, + They burn with zeal to close the long campaign, + And crush Columbia on this final plain. + + His fellow chiefs inhale the hero's flame, + Nerves of his arm and partners in his fame: + Phillips, with treasured thunders poised and wheel'd + In brazen tubes, prepares to rake the field; + The trench-tops darken with the sable rows, + And, tipt with fire, the waving match-rope glows. + There gallant Reidesel in German guise, + And Specht and Breyman, prompt for action, rise; + His savage hordes the murderous Johnson leads, + Files thro the woods and treads the tangled weeds, + Shuns open combat, teaches where to run, + Skulk, couch the ambush, aim the hunter's gun, + Whirl the sly tomahawk, the war whoop sing, + Divide the spoils and pack the scalps they bring. + + Frazer in quest of glory seeks the field;-- + False glare of glory, what hast thou to yield? + How long, deluding phantom, wilt thou blind, + Mislead, debase, unhumanize mankind? + Bid the bold youth, his headlong sword who draws, + Heed not the object, nor inquire the cause; + But seek adventuring, like an errant knight, + Wars not his own, gratuitous in fight, + Greet the gored field, then plunging thro the fire, + Mow down his men, with stupid pride expire, + Shed from his closing eyes the finish'd flame, + And ask, for all his crimes, a deathless name? + And when shall solid glory, pure and bright, + Alone inspire us, and our deeds requite? + When shall the applause of men their chiefs pursue + In just proportion to the good they do, + On virtue's base erect the shrine of fame, + Define her empire, and her code proclaim? + + Unhappy Frazer! little hast thou weigh'd + The crirneful cause thy valor comes to aid. + Far from thy native land, thy sire, thy wife, + Love's lisping race that cling about thy life, + Thy soul beats high, thy thoughts expanding roam + On battles past, and laurels yet to come: + Alas, what laurels? where the lasting gain? + A pompous funeral on a desert plain! + The cannon's roar, the muffled drums proclaim, + In one short blast, thy momentary fame, + And some war minister per-hazard reads + In what far field the tool of placemen bleeds. + + Brave Heartly strode in youth's o'erweening pride; + Housed in the camp he left his blooming bride, + The sweet Lucinda; whom her sire from far, + On steeds high bounding o'er the waste of war, + Had guided thro the lines, and hither led, + That fateful morn, the plighted chief to wed. + He deem'd, deluded sire! the contest o'er, + That routed rebels dared the fight no more; + And came to mingle, as the tumult ceased, + The victor's triumph with the nuptial feast. + They reach'd his tent; when now with loud alarms + The morn burst forth and roused the camp to arms; + Conflicting passions seized the lover's breast, + Bright honor call'd, and bright Lucinda prest:-- + And wilt thou leave me for that clangorous call? + Traced I these deserts but to see thee fall? + I know thy valorous heart, thy zeal that speeds + Where dangers press and boldest battle bleeds. + My father said blest Hymen here should join + With sacred Love to make Lucinda thine; + But other union these dire drums foredoom, + The dark dead union of the eternal tomb. + On yonder plain, soon sheeted o'er with blood, + Our nuptial couch shall prove a crimson clod; + For there this night thy livid corse must lie, + I'll seek it there, and on that bosom die. + Yet go; tis duty calls; but o'er thy head + Let this white plume its floating foliage spread; + That from the rampart, thro the troubled air, + These eyes may trace thee toiling in the war. + She fixt the feather on his crest above, + Bound with the mystic knot, the knot of love; + He parted silent, but in silent prayer + Bade Love and Hymen guard the timorous fair. + + Where Saratoga show'd her champaign side, + That Hudson bathed with still untainted tide, + The opposing pickets push'd their scouting files, + Wheel'd skirmisht, halted, practised all their wiles; + Each to mislead, insnare, exhaust their foes, + And court the conquest ere the armies close. + + Now roll like winged storms the solid lines, + The clarion thunders and the battle joins, + Thick flames in vollied flashes load the air, + And echoing mountains give the noise of war; + Sulphureous clouds rise reddening round the height, + And veil the skies, and wrap the sounding fight. + Soon from the skirts of smoke, where thousands toil, + Ranks roll away and into light recoil; + Starke pours upon them in a storm of lead; + His hosted swains bestrew the field with dead, + Pierce with strong bayonets the German reins, + Whelm two battalions in their captive chains, + Bid Baum, with wounds enfeebled, quit the field, + And Breyman next his gushing lifeblood yield. + + This Frazer sees, and thither turns his course, + Bears down before them with Britannia's force, + Wheels a broad column on the victor flank, + And springs to vengeance thro the foremost rank. + Lincoln, to meet the hero, sweeps the plain; + His ready bands the laboring Starke sustain; + Host matching host, the doubtful battle burns, + And now the Britons, now their foes by turns + Regain the ground; till Frazer feels the force + Of a rude grapeshot in his flouncing horse; + Nor knew the chief, till struggling from the fall, + That his gored thigh had first received the ball. + He sinks expiring on the slippery soil; + Shock'd at the sight, his baffled troops recoil; + Where Lincoln, pressing with redoubled might, + Broke thro their squadrons and confirmed the flight; + When this brave leader met a stunning blow, + That stopt his progress and avenged the foe. + He left the field; but prodigal of life, + Unwearied Francis still prolong'd the strife; + Till a chance carabine attained his head, + And stretch'd the hero mid the vulgar dead. + His near companions rush with ardent gait, + Swift to revenge, but soon to share his fate; + Brown, Adams, Coburn, falling side by side, + Drench the chill sod with all their vital tide. + + Firm on the west bold Herkimer sustains + The gather'd shock of all Canadia's trains; + Colons and wildmen post their skulkers there, + Outflank his pickets and assail his rear, + Drive in his distant scouts with hideous blare, + And press, on three sides close, the hovering war. + Johnson's own shrieks commence the deafening din, + Rouse every ambush and the storm begin. + A thousand thickets, thro each opening glen, + Pour forth their hunters to the chase of men; + Trunks of huge trees, and rocks and ravines lend + Unnumber'd batteries and their files defend; + They fire, they squat, they rise, advance and fly, + And yells and groans alternate rend the sky. + The well aim'd hatchet cleaves the helmless head, + Mute showers of arrows and loud storms of lead + Rain thick from hands unseen, and sudden fling + A deep confusion thro the laboring wing. + + But Herkimer undaunted quits the stand, + Breaks in loose files his disencumbered band, + Wheels on the howling glens each light-arm'd troop, + And leads himself where Johnson tones his whoop, + Pours thro his copse a well directed fire; + The semisavage sees his tribes retire, + Then follows thro the brush in full horse speed, + And gains the hilltop where the Hurons lead; + Here turns his courser; when a grateful sight + Recals his stragglers, and restrains his flight. + For Herkimer no longer now sustains + The loss of blood that his faint vitals drains: + A ball had pierced him ere he changed his field; + The slow sure death his prudence had conceal'd, + Till dark derouted foes should yield to flight, + And his firm friends could finish well the fight. + + Lopt from his horse the hero sinks at last; + The Hurons ken him, and with hallooing blast + Shake the vast wilderness; the tribes around + Drink with broad ears and swell the rending sound, + Rush back to vengeance with tempestuous might, + Sweep the long slopes from every neighboring height, + Full on their check'd pursuers; who regain, + From all their woods, the first contested plain. + Here open fight begins; and sure defeat + Had forced that column to a swift retreat, + But Arnold, toiling thro the distant smoke, + Beheld their plight, a small detachment took, + Bore down behind them with his field-park loud, + And hail'd his grapeshot thro the savage crowd; + Strow'd every copse with dead, and chased afar + The affrighted relics from the skirts of war. + + But on the centre swells the heaviest charge, + The squares develop and the lines enlarge. + Here Kosciusko's mantling works conceal'd + His batteries mute, but soon to scour the field; + Morgan with all his marksmen flanks the foe, + Hull, Brooks and Courtlandt in the vanguard glow; + Here gallant Dearborn leads his light-arm'd train, + Here Scammel towers, here Silly shakes the plain. + + Gates guides the onset with his waving brand, + Assigns their task to each unfolding band, + Sustains, inspirits, prompts the warrior's rage, + Now bids the flank and now the front engage, + Points the stern riflers where their slugs to pour, + And tells the unmasking batteries when to roar. + For here impetuous Powell wheels and veers + His royal guards, his British grenadiers; + His Highland broadswords cut their wasting course, + His horse-artillery whirls its furious force. + Here Specht and Reidesel to battle bring + Their scattering yagers from each folding wing; + And here, concentred in tremendous might, + Britain's whole park, descending to the fight, + Roars thro the ranks; tis Phillips leads the train, + And toils and thunders o'er the shuddering plain. + + Burgoyne, secure of victory, from his height, + Eyes the whole field and orders all the fight, + Marks where his veterans plunge their fiercest fire, + And where his foes seem halting to retire, + Already sees the starry staff give way. + And British ensigns gaining on the day; + When from the western wing, in steely glare, + All-conquering Arnold surged the tide of war. + Columbia kindles as her hero comes; + Her trump's shrill clangor and her deafening drums + Redoubling sound the charge; they rage, they burn, + And hosted Europe trembles in her turn. + So when Pelides' absence check'd her fate, + All Ilion issued from her guardian gate; + Her huddling squadrons like a tempest pour'd, + Each man a hero and each dart a sword, + Full on retiring Greece tumultuous fall, + And Greece reluctant seeks her sheltering wall; + But Pelius' son rebounding o'er the plain, + Troy backward starts and seeks her towers again. + + Arnold's dread falchion, with terrific sway, + Rolls on the ranks and rules the doubtful day, + Confounds with one wide sweep the astonish'd foes, + And bids at last the scene of slaughter close. + Pale rout begins, Britannia's broken train + Tread back their steps and scatter from the plain, + To their strong camp precipitate retire, + And wide behind them streams the roaring fire. + + Meantime, the skirts of war as Johnson gored, + His kindred cannibals desert their lord; + They scour the waste for undistinguish'd prey, + Howl thro the night the horrors of the day, + Scalp every straggler from all parties stray'd, + Each wounded wanderer thro the moonlight glade; + And while the absent armies give them place, + Each camp they plunder and each world disgrace. + + One deed shall tell what fame great Albion draws + From these auxiliars in her barbarous cause, + Lucinda's fate; the tale, ye nations, hear; + Eternal ages, trace it with a tear. + Long from the rampart, thro the imbattled field, + She spied her Heartly where his column wheel'd, + Traced him with steadfast eye and tortured breast, + That heaved in concert with his dancing crest; + And oft, with head advanced and hand outspread, + Seem'd from her Love to ward the flying lead; + Till, dimm'd by distance and the gathering cloud; + At last he vanish'd in the warrior crowd. + She thought he fell; and wild with fearless air, + She left the camp to brave the woodland war, + Made a long circuit, all her friends to shun, + And wander'd wide beneath the falling sun; + Then veering to the field, the pickets past, + To gain the hillock where she miss'd him last. + Fond maid, he rests not there; from finish'd fight + He sought the camp, and closed the rear of flight. + + He hurries to his tent;--oh rage! despair! + No glimpse, no tidings of the frantic fair; + Save that some carmen, as acamp they drove, + Had seen her coursing for the western grove. + Faint with fatigue and choked with burning thirst, + Forth from his friends with bounding leap he burst, + Vaults o'er the palisade with eyes on flame, + And fills the welkin with Lucinda's name, + Swift thro the wild wood paths phrenetic springs,-- + Lucind! Lucinda! thro the wild wood rings. + All night he wanders; barking wolves alone + And screaming night-birds answer to his moan; + For war had roused them from their savage den; + They scent the field, they snuff the walks of men. + + The fair one too, of every aid forlorn, + Had raved and wander'd, till officipus morn + Awaked the Mohawks from their short repose, + To glean the plunder, ere their comrades rose. + Two Mohawks met the maid,--historian, hold!-- + Poor Human Nature! must thy shame be told? + Where then that proud preeminence of birth, + Thy Moral Sense? the brightest boast of earth. + Had but the tiger changed his heart for thine, + Could rocks their bowels with that heart combine, + Thy tear had gusht, thy hand relieved her pain, + And led Lucinda to her lord again. + + She starts, with eyes upturn'd and fleeting breath, + In their raised axes views her instant death, + Spreads her white hands to heaven in frantic prayer, + Then runs to grasp their knees, and crouches there. + Her hair, half lost along the shrubs she past, + Rolls in loose tangles round her lovely waist; + Her kerchief torn betrays the globes of snow + That heave responsive to her weight of woe. + Does all this eloquence suspend the knife? + Does no superior bribe contest her life? + There does: the scalps by British gold are paid; + A long-hair'd scalp adorns that heavenly head; + Arid comes the sacred spoil from friend or foe, + No marks distinguish, and no man can know. + + With calculating pause and demon grin, + They seize her hands, and thro her face divine + Drive the descending ax; the shriek she sent + Attain'd her lover's ear; he thither bent + With all the speed his wearied limbs could yield, + Whirl'd his keen blade, and stretch'd upon the field + The yelling fiends; who there disputing stood + Her gory scalp, their horrid prize of blood. + He sunk delirious on her lifeless clay, + And past, in starts of sense, the dreadful day. + + Are these thy trophies, Carleton! these the swords + Thy hand unsheath'd and gave the savage hordes, + Thy boasted friends, by treaties brought from far, + To aid thy master in his murderous war? + + But now Britannia's chief, with proud disdain + Coop'd in his camp, demands the field again. + Back to their fate his splendid host he drew, + Swell'd high their rage, and led the charge anew; + Again the batteries roar, the lightnings play, + Again they fall, again they roll away; + For now Columbia, with rebounding might, + Foil'd quick their columns, but confined their flight. + Her wings, like fierce tornados, gyring ran, + Crusht their wide flanks and gain'd their flying van; + Here Arnold charged; the hero storm'd and pour'd + A thousand thunders where he turn' + No pause, no parley; onward far he fray'd, + Dispersed whole squadrons every bound he made, + Broke thro their rampart, seized theircampand stores + And pluck'd the standard from their broken towers. + + Aghast, confounded in the midway field, + They drop their arms; the banded nations yield. + When sad Burgoyne, in one disastrous day, + Sees future crowns and former wreaths decay, + His banners furl'd, his long battalions wheel'd + To pile their muskets on the battle field; + While two pacific armies shade one plain, + The mighty victors and the captive train. + + + + + + +Book VII. + + + + +Argument. + + + Coast of France rises in vision. Louis, to humble the British power, + forms an alliance with the American states. This brings France, Spain + and Holland into the war, and rouses Hyder Ally to attack the English + in India. The vision returns to America, where the military operations + continue with various success. Battle of Monmouth. Storming of + Stonypoint by Wayne. Actions of Lincoln, and surrender of Charleston. + Movements of Cornwallis. Actions of Greene, and battle of Eutaw. French + army arrives, and joins the American. They march to besiege the English + army of Cornwallis in York and Gloster. Naval battle of Degrasse and + Graves. Two of their ships grappled and blown up. Progress of the + siege. A citadel mined and blown up. Capture of Cornwallis and his + army. Their banners furled and muskets piled on the field of battle. + + +Thus view'd the Pair; when lo, in eastern skies, + From glooms unfolding, Gallia's coasts arise. + Bright o'er the scenes of state a golden throne, + Instarr'd with gems and hung with purple, shone; + Young Bourbon there in royal splendor sat, + And fleets and moving armies round him wait. + For now the contest, with increased alarms, + Fill'd every court and roused the world to arms; + As Hesper's hand, that light from darkness brings, + And good to nations from the scourge of kings, + In this dread hour bade broader beams unfold, + And the new world illuminate the old. + + In Europe's realms a school of sages trace + The expanding dawn that waits the Reasoning Race; + On the bright Occident they fix their eyes, + Thro glorious toils where struggling nations rise; + Where each firm deed, each new illustrious name + Calls into light a field of nobler fame: + A field that feeds their hope, confirms the plan + Of well poized freedom and the weal of man. + They scheme, they theorize, expand their scope, + Glance o'er Hesperia to her utmost cope; + Where streams unknown for other oceans stray, + Where suns unseen their waste of beams display, + Where sires of unborn nations claim their birth, + And ask their empires in those wilds of earth. + While round all eastern climes, with painful eye, + In slavery sunk they see the kingdoms lie, + Whole states exhausted to enrich a throne, + Their fruits untasted and their rights unknown; + Thro tears of grief that speak the well taught mind, + They hail the aera that relieves mankind. + + Of these the first, the Gallic sages stand, + And urge their king to lift an aiding hand. + The cause of humankind their souls inspired, + Columbia's wrongs their indignation fired; + To share her fateful deeds their counsel moved, + To base in practice what in theme they proved: + That no proud privilege from birth can spring, + No right divine, nor compact form a king; + That in the people dwells the sovereign sway, + Who rule by proxy, by themselves obey; + That virtues, talents are the test of awe, + And Equal Rights the only source of law. + Surrounding heroes wait the monarch's word, + In foreign fields to draw the patriot sword, + Prepared with joy to join those infant powers, + Who build republics on the western shores. + + By honest guile the royal ear they bend, + And lure him on, blest Freedom to defend; + That, once recognised, once establisht there, + The world might learn her profer'd boon to share. + But artful arguments their plan disguise, + Garb'd in the gloss that suits a monarch's eyes. + By arms to humble Britain's haughty power, + From her to sever that extended shore, + Contents his utmost wish. For this he lends + His powerful aid, and calls the opprest his friends. + The league proposed, he lifts his arm to save, + And speaks the borrow'd language of the brave: + + Ye states of France, and ye of rising name + Who work those distant miracles of fame, + Hear and attend; let heaven the witness bear, + We wed the cause, we join the righteous war. + Let leagues eternal bind each friendly land, + Given by our voice, and stablisht by our hand; + Let that brave people fix their infant sway, + And spread their blessings with the bounds of day. + Yet know, ye nations; hear, ye Powers above, + Our purposed aid no views of conquest move; + In that young world revives no ancient claim + Of regions peopled by the Gallic name; + Our envied bounds, already stretch'd afar, + Nor ask the sword, nor fear encroaching war; + But virtue, coping with the tyrant power + That drenches earth in her best children's gore, + With nature's foes bids former compact cease; + We war reluctant, and our wish is peace; + For man's whole race the sword of France we draw; + Such is our will, and let our will be law. + + He spoke; his moving armies veil'd the plain, + His fleets rode bounding on the western main; + O'er lands and seas the loud applauses rung, + And war and union dwelt on every tongue. + + The other Bourbon caught the splendid strain, + To Gallia's arms he joins the powers of Spain; + Their sails assemble; Crillon lifts the sword, + Minorca bows and owns her ancient lord. + But while dread Elliott shakes the Midland wave, + They strive in vain the Calpian rock to brave. + Batavia's states with equal speed prepare + Thro western isles to meet the naval war; + For Albion there rakes rude the tortured main, + And foils the force of Holland, France and Spain. + + Where old Indostan still perfumes the skies, + To furious strife his ardent myriads rise; + Fierce Hyder there, unconquerably bold, + Bids a new flag its horned moons unfold, + Spreads o'er Carnatic kings his splendid force, + And checks the Britons in their waiting course. + + Europe's pacific powers their counsels join, + The laws of trade to settle and define. + The imperial Moscovite around him draws + Each Baltic state to join the righteous cause; + Whose arm'd Neutrality the way prepares + To check the ravages of future wars; + Till by degrees the wasting sword shall cease, + And commerce lead to universal peace. + + Thus all the ancient world with anxious eyes + Enjoy the lights that gild Atlantic skies, + Wake to new life, assume a borrow'd flame, + Enlarge the lustre and partake the fame. + So mounts of ice, that polar heavens invade, + Tho piled unseen thro night's long wintry shade. + When morn at last illumes their glaring throne, + Give back the day and imitate the sun. + + But still Columbus, on his war-beat shore, + Sees Albion's fleets her new battalions pour; + The states unconquer'd still their terrors wield, + And stain with mingled gore the embattled field. + On Pennsylvania's various plains they move, + And adverse armies equal slaughter prove; + Columbia mourns her Nash in combat slain, + Britons around him press the gory plain; + Skirmish and cannonade and distant fire + Each power diminish and each nation tire. + Till Howe from fruitless toil demands repose, + And leaves despairing in a land of foes + His wearied host; who now, to reach their fleet, + O'er Jersey hills commence their long retreat, + Tread back the steps their chief had led before, + And ask in vain the late abandon'd shore, + Where Hudson meets, the main; for on their rear + Columbia moves; and checks their swift career. + + But where green Monmouth lifts his grassy height, + They halt, they face, they dare the coming fight. + Howe's proud successor, Clinton, hosting there, + To tempt once more the desperate chance of war, + Towers at their head, in hopes to work relief, + And mend the errors of his former chief. + Here shines his day; and here with loud acclaim + Begins and ends his little task of fame. + He vaults before them with his balanced blade, + Wheels the bright van, and forms the long parade; + Where Britons, Hessians crowd the glittering field, + And all their powers for ready combat wield. + As the dim sun, beneath the skirts of even, + Crimsons the clouds that sail the western heaven; + So, in red wavy rows, where spread the train + Of men and standards, shone the fateful plain. + + They shone, till Washington obscured their light, + And his long ranks roll'd forward to the fight. + He points the charge; the mounted thunders roar, + And rake the champaign to the distant shore. + Above the folds of smoke that veil the war, + His guiding sword illumes the fields of air; + And vollied flames, bright bursting o'er the plain, + Break the brown clouds, discovering far the slain: + Till flight begins; the smoke is roll'd away, + And the red standards open into day. + Britons and Germans hurry from the field, + Now wrapt in dust, and now to sight reveal'd; + Behind, swift Washington his falchion drives, + Thins the pale ranks, but saves submissive lives. + Hosts captive bow and move behind his arm, + And hosts before him wing the sounding storm; + When the glad sea salutes their fainting sight, + And Albion's fleet wide thundering aids their flight; + They steer to sad Newyork their hasty way, + And rue the toils of Monmouth's mournful day. + + But Hudson still, with his interior tide, + Laves a rude rock that bears Britannia's pride, + Swells round the headland with indignant roar, + And mocks her thunders from his murmuring shore; + When a firm cohort starts from Peekskill plain, + To crush the invaders and the post regain. + Here, gallant Hull, again thy sword is tried, + Meigs, Fleury, Butler, laboring side by side, + Wayne takes the guidance, culls the vigorous band, + Strikes out the flint, and bids the nervous hand + Trust the mute bayonet and midnight skies, + To stretch o'er craggy walls the dark surprise. + With axes, handspikes on the shoulder hung, + And the sly watchword whisper'd from the tongue, + Thro different paths the silent march they take, + Plunge, climb the ditch, the palisado break, + Secure each sentinel, each picket shun, + Grope the dim postern where the byways run. + Soon the roused garrison perceives its plight; + Small time to rally and no means of flight, + They spring confused to every post they know, + Point their poized cannon where they hear the foe, + Streak the dark welkin with the flames they pour, + And rock the mountain with convulsive roar. + + The swift assailants still no fire return, + But, tow'rd the batteries that above them burn, + Climb hard from crag to crag; and scaling higher + They pierce the long dense canopy of fire + That sheeted all the sky; then rush amain, + Storm every outwork, each dread summit gain, + Hew timber'd gates, the sullen drawbridge fall, + File thro and form within the sounding wall. + The Britons strike their flag, the fort forgo, + Descend sad prisoners to the plain below. + A thousand veterans, ere the morning rose, + Received their handcuffs from five hundred foes; + And Stonypoint beheld, with dawning day, + His own starr'd standard on his rampart play. + + From sack'd Savanna, whelm'd in hostile fires, + A few raw troops brave Lincoln now retires; 2l + With rapid march to suffering Charleston goes, + To meet the myriads of concentring foes, + Who shade the pointed strand. Each fluvial flood + Their gathering fleets and floating batteries load, + Close their black sails, debark the amphibious host, + And with their moony anchors fang the coast. + + The bold beleaguer'd post the hero gains, + And the hard siege with various fate sustains. + Cornwallis, towering at the British van, + In these fierce toils his wild career began; + He mounts the forky streams, and soon bestrides + The narrow neck that parts converging tides, + Sinks the deep trench, erects the mantling tower, + Lines with strong forts the desolated shore, + Hems on all sides the long unsuccour'd place, + With mines and parallels contracts the space; + Then bids the battering floats his labors crown, + And pour their bombard on the shuddering town. + + High from the decks the mortar's bursting fires + Sweep the full streets, and splinter down the spires. + Blaze-trailing fuses vault the night's dim round, + And shells and langrage lacerate the ground; + Till all the tented plain, where heroes tread, + Is torn with crags and cover'd with the dead. + Each shower of flames renews the townsmen's woe, + They wail the fight, they dread the cruel foe. + Matrons in crowds, while tears bedew their charms, + Babes at their sides and infants in their arms, + Press round their Lincoln and his hand implore, + To save them trembling from the tyrant's power. + He shares their anguish with a moistening eye, + And bids the balls rain thicker thro the sky; + Tries every aid that art and valor yield, + The sap, the countermine, the battling field, + The bold sortie, by famine urged afar, + That dreadful daughter of earth-wasting War. + But vain the conflict now; on all the shore + The foes in fresh brigades around him pour; + He yields at last the well contested prize, + And freedom's banners quit the southern skies. + + The victor Britons soon the champaign tread, + And far anorth their fire and slaughter spread; + Thro fortless realms, where unarm'd peasants fly, + Cornwallis bears his bloody standard high; + O'er Carolina rolls his growing force, + And thousands fall and thousands aid his course; + While in his march athwart the wide domain, + Colonial dastards join his splendid train. + So mountain streams thro slopes of melting snow + Swell their foul waves and flood the world below. + + Awhile the Patriarch saw, with heaving sighs, + These crimson flags insult the saddening skies, + Saw desolation whelm his favorite coast, + His children scattered and their vigor lost, + Dekalb in furious combat press the plain, + Morgan and Smallwood every shock sustain, + Gates, now no more triumphant, quit the field, + Indignant Davidson his lifeblood yield, + Blount, Gregory, Williamson, with souls of fire + But slender force, from hill to hill retire; + When Greene in lonely greatness takes the ground, + And bids at last the trump of vengeance sound. + + A few firm patriots to the chief repair, + Raise the star standard and demand the war. + But o'er the regions as he turns his eyes, + What foes develop! and what forts arise! + Rawdon with rapid marches leads their course, + From state to state Cornwallis whirls their force, + Impetuous Tarleton like a torrent pours, + And fresh battalions land along the shores; + Where, now resurgent from his captive chain, + Phillips wide storming shakes the field again; + And traitor Arnold, lured by plunder o'er, + Joins the proud powers his valor foil'd before. + + Greene views the tempest with collected soul, + Arid fates of empires in his bosom roll; + So small his force, where shall he lift the steel? + (Superior hosts o'er every canton wheel) + Or how behold their wanton carnage spread, + Himself stand idle and his country bleed? + Fixt in a moment's pause the general stood, + And held his warriors from the field of blood; + Then points the British legions where to steer, + Marks to their chief a rapid wild career, + Wide o'er Virginia lets him foeless roam, + To search for pillage and to find his doom, + With short-lived glory feeds his sateless flame, + But leaves the victory to a nobler name, + Gives to great Washington to meet his way, + Nor claims the honors of so bright a day. + + Now to the conquer'd south he turns his force, + Renerves the nation by his rapid course; + Forts fall around him, hosts before him fly, + And captive bands his growing train supply; + A hundred leagues of coast, in one campaign, + Return reconquer'd to their lords again. + At last Britannia's vanguard, near the strand, + Veers on her foe to make one vigorous stand. + Her gallant Stuart here amass'd from far + The veteran legions of the Georgian war, + To aid her hard-pusht powers, and quick restore + The British name to that extended shore. + He checks their flight, and chooses well their field, + Flank'd with a marsh, by lofty woods concealed; + Where Eutaw's fountains, tinged of old with gore, + Still murmuring swell'd amid the bones they bore, + Destined again to foul their pebbly stream, + The mournful monuments of human fame; + There Albion's columns, ranged in order bright, + Stand like a fiery wall and wait the shock of fight. + + Swift on the neighboring hill as Greene arose, + He view'd, with rapid glance, the glittering foes, + Disposed for combat all his ardent train, + To charge, change front, each echelon sustain; + Roused well their rage, superior force to prove, + Waved his bright blade and bade the onset move. + As hovering clouds, when morning beams arise, + Hang their red curtains round our eastern skies, + Unfold a space to hail the promised sun, + And catch their splendors from his rising throne; + Thus glow'd the opposing fronts, whose steely glare + Glanced o'er the shuddering interval of war. + + From Albion's left the cannonade began, + And pour'd thick thunders on Hesperia's van, + Forced in her dexter guards, that skirmisht wide + To prove what powers the forest hills might hide; + They break, fall back, with measured quickstep tread, + Form close, and flank the solid squares they led. + Now roll, with kindling haste, the long stark lines, + From wing to wing the sounding battle joins; + Batteries and field-parks and platoons of fire, + In mingled shocks their roaring blasts exspire. + Each front approaching fast, with equal pace, + Devours undaunted their dividing space; + Till, dark beneath the smoke, the meeting ranks + Slope their strong bayonets, with short firm shanks + Protruded from their tubes; each bristling van, + Steel fronting steel, and man encountering man, + In dreadful silence tread. As, wrapt from sight, + The nightly ambush moves to secret fight; + So rush the raging files, and sightless close + In plunging thrust with fierce conflicting foes. + They reach, they strike, they stagger o'er the slain, + Deal doubtful blows, or closing clench their man, + Intwine their twisting limbs, the gun forgo, + Wrench off the bayonet and dirk the foe; + Then struggling back, reseize the musket bare, + Club the broad breech, and headlong whirl to war + Ranks crush on ranks with equal slaughter gored; + Warm dripping streams from every lifted sword + Stain the thin carnaged corps who still maintain, + With mutual shocks, the vengeance of the plain. + At last where Williams fought and Campbell fell, + Unwonted strokes the British line repel. + The rout begins; the shattered wings afar + Roll back in haste and scatter from the war; + They drop their arms, they scour the marshy field, + Whole squadrons fall and faint battalions yield. + + The great Observer, fixt in his midsky, + View'd the whole combat, saw them fall and fly: + He mark'd where Greene with every onset drove, + Saw death and victory with his presence move, + Beneath his arm saw Marion, Sumter, Gaine, + Pickens and Sumner shake the astonish'd plain; + He saw young Washington, the child of fame, + Preserve in fight the honors of his name. + Lee, Jackson, Hampton, Pinckney, matcht in might, + Roll'd on the storm and hurried fast the flight: + While numerous chiefs, that equal trophies raise, + Wrought, not unseen, the deeds of deathless praise. + + As Europe now the newborn states beheld + The shock sustain of many a hard-fought field; + Swift o'er the main, with high-spread sails, advance + Our brave auxiliars from the coast of France. + On the tall decks their curious chiefs explore, + With optic tube, our camp-encumber'd shore; + And, as the lessening wave behind them flies, + Wide scenes of conflict open on their eyes. + Rochambeau foremost with his gleamy brand + Points to each field and singles every band, + Sees Washington the power of nations guide, + And longs to toil and conquer by his side. + Two brother chiefs, Viominil the name, + Brothers in birth but twins in generous fame, + Behold with steadfast eye the plains disclose, + Uncase their arms and claim the promised foes. + Biron, beneath his sail, in armor bright, + Frown'd o'er the wave impatient for the fight; + A fiery steed beside the hero stood, + And his blue blade waved forward o'er the crowd. + + With eager haste descending on the coast, + Thro the glad states they march their veteran host, + From sea-nursed Newport file o'er western roads, + Pitch many a camp, and bridge a hundred floods, + Pass the full towns, where joyful crowds admire + Their foreign speech, gay mien and gilt attire, + Applaud their generous deeds, the zeal that draws + Their swords untried in freedom's doubtful cause. + Thro Hartford plains, on Litchfield hills they gleam, + Wave their white flags o'er Hudson's loaded stream, + Band after band with Delaware's current pour, + Shade Schuylkill's wave and Elk's indented shore, + Join their new friends, where allied banners lead, + Demand the foe and bid the war proceed. + + Again Columbus turn'd his anxious eye + Where Britain's banner waved along the sky; + And, graced with spoils of many fields of blood, + Cornwallis boastful on a bulwark stood. + Where York and Gloster's rocky towers bestride + Their parent stream, Virginia's midmost tide, + He camp'd his hundred nations, to regain + Their force, exhausted in the long campaign; + Paused for a moment on a scene so vast, + To plan the future and review the past. + Thro vanquisht provinces and towns in flame + He mark'd his recent monuments of fame, + His checker'd marches, long and various toils, + And camp well stored with wide collected spoils. + + High glittering to the sun his hands unfold + A map new drafted on a sheet of gold; + There in delusive haste his burin graved + A country conquer'd and a race enslaved. + Its middle realm, by fairer figures known + And rich with fruits, lay bounded for his own; + Deep thro the centre spreads a branching bay, + Full sails ascend and golden rivers stray; + Bright palaces arise relieved in gold, + And gates and streets the crossing lines unfold. + James furrows o'er the plate with turgid tide, + Young Richmond roughens on his masted side; + Reviving Norfolk from her ashes springs, + A golden phoenix on refulgent wings; + Potowmak's yellow waves reluctant spread, + And Vernon rears his rich and radiant head, + Tis here the chief his pointed graver stays, + The bank to burnish with a purer blaze, + Gives all his art, on this bright hill to trace + His future seat and glory of his race; + Deems his long line of lords the realm shall own, + The kings predestined to Columbia's throne. + + But while his mind thus quafft its airy food, + And gazing thousands round the rampart stood, + Whom future ease and golden dreams employ, + The songs of triumph and the feast of joy; + Sudden great Washington arose in view, + And allied flags his stately steps pursue; + Gaul's veteran host and young Hesperia's pride + Bend the long march concentring at his side, + Stream over Chesapeak, like sheets of flame, + And drive tempestuous to the field of fame. + + Far on the wild expanse, where ocean lies, + And scorns all confines but incumbent skies, + Scorns to retain the imprinted paths of men + To guide their wanderings or direct their ken; + Where warring vagrants, raging as they go, + Ask of the stars their way to find the foe, + Columbus saw two hovering fleets advance, + And rival ensigns o'er their pinions dance. + Graves, on the north, with Albion's flag unfurl'd, + Waves proud defiance to the watery world; + Degrasse, from southern isles, conducts his train, + And shades with Gallic sheets the moving main. + + Now Morn, unconscious of the coming fray + That soon shall storm the crystal cope of day, + Glows o'er the heavens, and with her orient breeze + Fans her fair face and curls the summer seas. + The swelling sails, as far as eye can sweep, + Look thro the skies and awe the shadowy deep, + Lead their long bending lines; and, ere they close, + To count, recognise, circumvent their foes, + Each hauls his wind, the weathergage to gain + And master all the movements of the plain; + Or bears before the breeze with loftier gait, + And, beam to beam, begins the work of fate. + + As when the warring winds, from each far pole, + Their adverse storms across the concave roll, + Thin fleecy vapors thro the expansion run, + Veil the blue vault and tremble o'er the sun, + Till the dark folding wings together drive, + And, ridged with fire and rock'd with thunder, strive; + So, hazing thro the void, at first appear + White clouds of canvass floating on the air, + Then frown the broad black decks, the sails are stay'd, + The gaping portholes cast a frightful shade, + Flames, triple tier'd, and tides of smoke, arise. + And fulminations rock the seas and skies. + + From van to rear the roaring deluge runs, + The storm disgorging from a thousand guns, + Each like a vast volcano, spouting wide + His hissing hell-dogs o'er the shuddering tide, + Whirls high his chainshot, cleaves the mast and strews + The shiver'd fragments on the staggering foes; + Whose gunwale sides with iron globes are gored, + And a wild storm of splinters sweeps the board. + Husht are the winds of heaven; no more the gale + Breaks the red rolls of smoke nor flaps the sail; + A dark dead calm continuous cloaks the glare, + And holds the clouds of sulphur on the war, + Convolving o'er the space that yawns and shines, + With frequent flash, between the laboring lines. + Nor sun nor sea nor skyborn lightning gleams, + But flaming Phlegethon's asphaltic steams + Streak the long gaping gulph; where varying glow + Carbonic curls above, blue flakes of fire below. + + Hither two hostile ships to contact run, + Both grappling, board to board and gun to gun; + Each thro the adverse ports their contents pour, + Rake the lower decks, the interior timbers bore, + Drive into chinks the illumined wads unseen, + Whose flames approach the unguarded magazine. + Above, with shrouds afoul and gunwales mann'd, + Thick halberds clash; and, closing hand to hand, + The huddling troops, infuriate from despair, + Tug at the toils of death, and perish there; + Grenados, carcasses their fragments spread, + And pikes and pistols strow the decks with dead. + Now on the Gallic board the Britons rush, + The intrepid Gauls the rash adventurers crush; + And now, to vengeance Stung, with frantic air, + Back on the British maindeck roll the war. + There swells the carnage; all the tar-beat floor + Is clogg'd with spatter'd brains and glued with gore; + And down the ship's black waist fresh brooks of blood + Course o'er their clots, and tinge the sable flood. + Till War, impatient of the lingering strife + That tires and slackens with the waste of life, + Opes with engulphing gape the astonish'd wave, + And whelms the combat whole, in one vast grave. + For now the imprison'd powder caught the flames, + And into atoms whirl'd the monstrous frames + Of both the entangled ships; the vortex wide + Roars like an AEtna thro the belching tide, + And blazing into heaven, and bursting high, + Shells, carriages and guns obstruct the sky; + Cords, timbers, trunks of men the welkin sweep, + And fall on distant ships, or shower along the deep. + + The matcht armadas still the fight maintain, + But cautious, distant; lest the staggering main + Drive their whole lines afoul, and one dark day + Glut the proud ocean with too rich a prey. + At last, where scattering fires the cloud disclose, + Hulls heave in sight and blood the decks o'erflows; + Here from the field tost navies rise to view, + Drive hack to vengeance and the roar renew, + There shatter'd ships commence their flight afar, + Tow'd thro the smoke, hard struggling from the war; + And some, half seen amid the gaping wave, + Plunge in the whirl they make, and gorge their grave. + + Soon the dark smoky volumes roll'd away, + And a long line ascended into day; + The pinions swell'd, Britannia's cross arose + And flew the terrors of triumphing foes; + When to Virginia's bay, new shocks to brave, + The Gallic powers their conquering banners wave. + Glad Chesapeak unfolds his bosom wide, + And leads their prows to York's contracting tide; + Where still dread Washington directs his way, + And seas and continents his voice obey; + While brave Cornwallis, mid the gathering host, + Perceives his glories gone, his promised empire lost. + + Columbus here with silent joy beheld + His favorite sons the fates of nations wield. + Here joyous Lincoln rose in arms again, + Nelson and Knox moved ardent o'er the plain; + Scammel alert with force unusual trod, + Prepared to seal their victory with his blood; + Cobb, Dearborn, Laurens, Tilghman, green in years + But ripe in glory, tower'd amid their peers; + Death-daring Hamilton with splendor shone, + And claim'd each post of danger for his own, + Skill'd every arm in war's whole hell to wield, + An Ithacus in camp, an Ajax in the field. + + Their Gallic friends an equal ardor fires; + Brisk emulation every troop inspires: + Where Tarleton turns, with hopes of flight elate, + Brave Biron moves and drives him back to fate, + Hems in his host, to wait, on Gloster plains, + Their finish'd labors and their destined chains. + + Two British forts the growing siege outflank, + Rake its wide works and awe the tide-beat bank; + Swift from the lines two chosen bands advance, + Our light-arm'd scouts, the grenadiers of France; + These young Viominil conducts to fame, + And those Fayette's unerring guidance claim. + No cramm'd cartouch their belted back attires, + No grains of sleeping thunder wait their fires; + The flint, the ramrod spurn'd, away they cast; + The strong bright bayonet, imbeaded fast, + Stands beaming from the bore; with this they tread, + Nor heed from high-wall'd foes their showers of lead. + Each rival band, tho wide and distant far, + Springs simultaneous to this task of war; + For here a twofold force each hero draws, + His own proud country and the general cause; + And each with twofold energy contends, + His foes to vanquish and outstrip his friends. + They summon all their zeal, and wild and warm + O'er flaming ramparts pour the maddening storm, + The mounted cannons crush, and lead the foe + Two trains of captives to the plain below; + An equal prize each gallant troop ameeds, + Alike their numbers and alike their deeds. + + A strong high citadel still thundering stood, + And stream'd her standard o'er the field of blood, + Check'd long the siege with fulminating blare, + Scorn'd all the steel and every globe of war, + Defied fell famine, heapt her growing store, + And housed in bombproof all the host she bore. + No rude assault can stretch the scale so high, + In vain the battering siege-guns round her ply; + Mortars well poized their deafening deluge rain, + Load the red skies and shake the shores in vain; + Her huge rock battlements rebound the blow, + And roll their loose crags on the men below. + + But while the fusing fireballs scorch the sky, + Their mining arts the staunch besiegers ply, + Delve from the bank of York, and gallery far, + Deep subterranean, to the mount of war; + Beneath the ditch, thro rocks and fens they go, + Scoop the dark chamber plumb beneath the foe; + There lodge their tons of powder and retire, + Mure the dread passage, wave the fatal fire, + Send a swift messenger to warn the foe + To seek his safety and the post forgo. + A taunting answer comes; he dares defy + To spring the mine and all its AEtnas try; + When a black miner seized the sulphur'd brand, + Shriek'd high for joy, and with untrembling hand + Touch'd quick the insidious train; lest here the chief + Should change his counsel and afford relief: + For hard the general's task, to speak the doom + That sends a thousand heroes to the tomb; + Heroes who know no wrong; who thoughtless speed + Where kings command or where their captains lead, + --Burst with the blast, the reeling mountain roars, + Heaves, labors, boils, and thro the concave pours + His flaming contents high; he chokes the air + With all his warriors and their works of war; + Guns, bastions, magazines confounded fly, + Vault wide their fresh explosions o'er the sky, + Encumber each far camp, and plough profound + With their rude fragments every neighboring ground. + + Britain's brave leader, where he sought repose, + And deem'd his hill-fort still repulsed the foes, + Starts at the astounding earthquake, and descries + His chosen veterans whirling down the skies. + Their mangled members round his balcon fall, + Scorch'd in the flames, and dasht on every wall: + Sad field of contemplation! Here, ye great, + Kings, priests of God, and ministers of state, + Review your system here! behold and scan + Your own fair deeds, your benefits to man! + You will not leave him to his natural toil, + To tame these elements and till the soil. + To reap, share, tithe you what his hand has sown, + Enjoy his treasures and increase your own, + Build up his virtues on the base design'd, + The well-toned harmonies of humankind. + You choose to check his toil, and band his eyes + To all that's honest and to all that's wise; + Lure with false fame, false morals and false lore, + To barter fields of corn for fields of gore, + To take by bands what single thieves would spare, + And methodise his murders into war. + + Now the prest garrison fresh danger warms; + They rush impetuous to each post of arms, + Man the long trench, each embrasure sustain, + And pour their langrage on the allied train; + Whose swift approaches, crowding on the line, + Each wing envelop and each front confine. + O'er all sage Washington his arm extends, + Points every movement, every work defends, + Bids closer quarters, bloodier strokes proceed, + New batteries blaze and heavier squadrons bleed. + Line within line fresh parallels enclose; + Here runs a zigzag, there a mantlet grows, + Round the pent foe approaching breastworks rise, + And bombs, like meteors, vault the flaming skies. + Night, with her hovering wings, asserts in vain + The shades, the silence of her rightful reign; + High roars her canopy with fiery flakes, + And War stalks wilder thro the glare he makes. + + With dire dismay the British chief beheld + The foe advance, his veterans shun the field, + Despair and slaughter where he turns his eye, + No hope in combat and no power to fly; + Degrasse victorious shakes the shadowy tide, + Imbodied nations all the champaign hide, + Fosses and batteries, growing on the sight, + Still pour new thunders and increase the fight; + Shells rain before him, rending every mound, + Crags, gunstones, balls o'erturn the tented ground, + From post to post his driven ranks retire, + The earth in crimson and the skies on fire. + + Death wantons proud in this decisive round, + For here his hand its favorite victim found; + Brave Scammel perisht here. Ah! short, my friend, + Thy bright career, but glorious to its end. + Go join thy Warren's ghost, your fates compare, + His that commenced, with thine that closed the war; + Freedom, with laurel'd brow but tearful eyes, + Bewails her first and last, her twinlike sacrifice. + + Now grateful truce suspends the burning war, + And groans and shouts promiscuous load the air; + When the tired Britons, where the smokes decay, + Quit their strong station and resign the day. + Slow files along the immeasurable train, + Thousands on thousands redden all the plain, + Furl their torn bandrols, all their plunder yield. + And pile their muskets on the battle field. + Their wide auxiliar nations swell the crowd, + And the coop'd navies, from the neighboring flood, + Repeat surrendering signals, and obey + The landmen's fate on this concluding day. + + Cornwallis first, their late all-conquering lord, + Bears to the victor chief his conquer'd sword, + Presents the burnisht hilt, and yields with pain + The gift of kings, here brandisht long in vain. + Then bow their hundred banners, trailing far + Their wearied wings from all the skirts of war. + Battalion'd infantry and squadron'd horse + Dash the silk tassel and the golden torse; + Flags from the forts and ensigns from the fleet + Roll in the dust, and at Columbia's feet + Prostrate the pride of thrones; they firm the base + Of Freedom's temple, while her arms they grace. + Here Albion's crimson Cross the soil o'erspreads, + Her Lion crouches and her Thistle fades; + Indignant Erin rues her trampled Lyre, + Brunswick's pale Steed forgets his foamy fire, + Proud Hessia's Castle lies in dust o'erthrown, + And venal Anspach quits her broken Crown. + + Long trains of wheel'd artillery shade the shore, + Quench their blue matches and forget to roar; + Along the encumber'd plain, thick planted rise + High stacks of muskets glittering to the skies, + Numerous and vast. As when the toiling swains + Heap their whole harvest on the stubbly plains, + Gerb after gerb the bearded shock expands, + Shocks, ranged in rows, hill high the burden'd lands; + The joyous master numbers all the piles, + And o'er his well-earn'd crop complacent smiles: + Such growing heaps this iron harvest yield, + So tread the victors this their final field. + + Triumphant Washington, with brow serene, + Regards unmoved the exhilarating scene, + Weighs in his balanced thought the silent grief + That sinks the bosom of the fallen chief. + With all the joy that laurel crowns bestow, + A world reconquer'd and a vanquished foe. + Thus thro extremes of life, in every state, + Shines the clear soul, beyond all fortune great; + While smaller minds, the dupes of fickle chance, + Slight woes o'erwhelm and sudden joys entrance. + So the full sun, thro all the changing sky, + Nor blasts nor overpowers the naked eye; + Tho transient splendors, borrowed from his light, + Glance on the mirror and destroy the sight. + + He bids brave Lincoln guide with modest air + The last glad triumph of the finish'd war; + Who sees, once more, two armies shade one plain, + The mighty victors and the captive train. + + + + + + +Book VIII. + + + + +Argument. + + + + Hymn to Peace. Eulogy on the heroes slain in the war; in which the + Author finds occasion to mention his Brother. Address to the patriots + who have survived the conflict; exhorting them to preserve + liberty they have established. The danger of losing it by inattention + illustrated in the rape of the Golden Fleece. Freedom succeeding to + Despotism in the moral world, like Order succeeding to Chaos in the + physical world. Atlas, the guardian Genius of Africa, denounces to + Hesper the crimes of his people in the slavery of the Afripans. The + Author addresses his countrymen on that subject, and on the principles + of their government. + + Hesper, recurring to his object of showing Columbus the importance of + his discoveries, reverses the order of time, and exhibits the continent + again in its savage state. He then displays the progress of arts in + America. Fur-trade. Fisheries. Productions. Commerce. Education. + Philosophical discoveries. Painting. Poetry. + + +Hail, holy Peace, from thy sublime abode + Mid circling saints that grace the throne of God! + Before his arm around our embryon earth + Stretch'd the dim void, and gave to nature birth. + Ere morning stars his glowing chambers hung, + Or songs of gladness woke an angel's tongue, + Veil'd in the splendors of his beamful mind, + In blest repose thy placid form reclined, + Lived in his life, his inward sapience caught, + And traced and toned his universe of thought. + Borne thro the expanse with his creating voice + Thy presence bade the unfolding worlds rejoice, + Led forth the systems on their bright career, + Shaped all their curves and fashion'd every sphere, + Spaced out their suns, and round each radiant goal, + Orb over orb, compell'd their train to roll, + Bade heaven's own harmony their force combine. + Taught all their host symphonious strains to join, + Gave to seraphic harps their sounding lays, + Their joys to angels, and to men their praise. + + From scenes of blood, these verdant shores that stain, + From numerous friends in recent battle slain, + From blazing towns that scorch the purple sky, + From houseless hordes their smoking walls that fly, + From the black prison ships, those groaning graves, + From warring fleets that vex the gory waves, + From a storm'd world, long taught thy flight to mourn, + I rise, delightful Peace, and greet thy glad return. + + For now the untuneful trump shall grate no more; + Ye silver streams, no longer swell with gore, + Bear from your war-beat banks the guilty stain + With yon retiring navies to the main. + While other views, unfolding on my eyes, + And happier themes bid bolder numbers rise; + Bring, bounteous Peace, in thy celestial throng. + Life to my soul, and rapture to my song; + Give me to trace, with pure unclouded ray, + The arts and virtues that attend thy sway, + To see thy blissful charms, that here descend, + Thro distant realms and endless years extend. + + Too long the groans of death and battle's bray + Have rung discordant thro my turgid lay: + The drum's rude clang, the war wolfs hideous howl + Convulsed my nerves and agonized my soul, + Untuned the harp for all but misery's pains, + And chased the Muse from corse-encumber'd plains. + Let memory's balm its pious fragrance shed + On heroes' wounds and patriot warriors dead; + Accept, departed Shades, these grateful sighs, + Your fond attendants thro your homeward skies. + + And thou, my earliest friend, my Brother dear, + Thy fall untimely still renews my tear. + In youthful sports, in toils, in taste allied, + My kind companion and my faithful guide, + When death's dread summons, from our infant eyes, + Had call'd our last loved parent to the skies. + Tho young in arms, and still obscure thy name, + Thy bosom panted for the deeds of fame; + Beneath Montgomery's eye, when by thy steel + In northern wilds the frequent savage fell. + Fired by his voice, and foremost at his call, + To mount the breach or scale the flamy wall, + Thy daring hand had many a laurel gain'd, + If years had ripen'd what thy fancy feign'd. + Lamented Youth! when thy great leader bled, + Thro the same wound thy parting spirit fled, + Join'd the long train, the self-devoted band, + The gods, the saviors of their native land. + + On fame's high pinnacle their names shall shine, + Unending ages greet the group divine, + Whose holy hands our banners first unfurl'd, + And conquer'd freedom for the grateful world. + + And you, their peers, whose steel avenged their blood, + Whose breasts with theirs our sacred rampart stood, + Illustrious relics of a thousand fields! + To you at last the foe reluctant yields. + But tho the Muse, too prodigal of praise, + Dares with the dead your living worth to raise, + Think not, my friends, the patriot's task is done, + Or Freedom safe, because the battle's won. + Unnumber'd foes, far different arms that wield, + Wait the weak moment when she quits her shield, + To plunge in her bold breast the insidious dart, + Or pour keen poison round her thoughtless heart. + Perhaps they'll strive her votaries to divide, + From their own veins to draw the vital tide; + Perhaps, by cooler calculation shown, + Create materials to construct a throne, + Dazzle her guardians with the glare of state, + Corrupt with power, with borrowed pomp inflate, + Bid thro the land the soft infection creep, + Whelm all her sons in one lethargic sleep, + Crush her vast empire in its brilliant birth, + And chase the goddess from the ravaged earth. + + The Dragon thus, that watch'd the Colchian fleece, + Foil'd the fierce warriors of wide-plundering Greece; + Warriors of matchless might and wondrous birth, + Jove's sceptred sons and demigods of earth. + High on the sacred tree, the glittering prize + Hangs o'er its guard, and tires the warriors' eyes; + First their hurl'd spears his spiral folds assail, + Their spears fall pointless from his flaky mail; + Onward with dauntless swords they plunge amain; + He shuns their blows, recoils his twisting train, + Darts forth his forky tongue, heaves high in air + His fiery crest, and sheds a hideous glare, + Champs, churns his poisonous juice, and hissing loud + Spouts thick the stifling tempest o'er the crowd; + Then, with one sweep of convoluted train, + Rolls back all Greece, and besoms wide the plain, + O'erturns the sons of gods, dispersing far + The pirate horde, and closes quick the war. + From his red jaws tremendous triumph roars, + Dark Euxine trembles to its distant shores, + Proud Jason starts, confounded in his might, + Leads back his peers, and dares no more the fight. + But the sly Priestess brings her opiate spell, + Soft charms that hush the triple hound of hell, + Bids Orpheus tune his all-enchanting lyre, + And join to calm the guardian's sleepless ire. + Soon from the tepid ground blue vapors rise, + And sounds melodious move along the skies; + A settling tremor thro his folds extends, + His crest contracts, his rainbow heck unbends, + O'er all his hundred hoops the languor crawls, + Each curve develops, every volute falls, + His broad back flattens as he spreads the plain, + And sleep consigns him to his lifeless reign. + Flusht at the sight the pirates seize the spoil, + And ravaged Colchis rues the insidious toil. + + Yes! fellow freemen, sons of high renown, + Chant your loud peans, weave your civic crown; + But know, the goddess you've so long adored, + Tho now she scabbards your avenging sword, + Calls you to vigil ance, to manlier cares, + To prove in peace the men she proved in wars: + Superior task! severer test of soul! + Tis here bold virtue plays her noblest role + And merits most of praise. The warrior's name, + Tho peal'd and chimed on all the tongues of fame, + Sounds less harmonious to the grateful mind + Than his who fashions and improves mankind. + + And what high meed your new vocation waits! + Freedom, parturient with a hundred states, + Confides them to your hand; the nascent prize + Claims all your care, your soundest wisdom tries. + Ah nurture, temper, train your infant charge, + Its force develop and its life enlarge, + Unfold each day some adolescent grace, + Some right recognise or some duty trace; + Mould a fair model for the realms of earth, + Call moral nature to a second birth, + Reach, renovate the world's great social plan, + And here commence the sober sense of man, + + For lo, in other climes and elder states, + What strange inversion all his works awaits! + From age to age, on every peopled shore, + Stalks the fell Demon of despotic power, + Sweeps in his march the mounds of art away. + Blots with his breath the trembling disk of day, + Treads down whole nations every stride he takes, + And wraps their labors in his fiery flakes. + + As Anarch erst around his regions hurl'd + The wrecks, long crush'd, of time's anterior world; + While nature mourn'd, in wild confusion tost, + Her suns extinguisht and her systems lost; + Light, life and instinct shared the dreary trance, + And gravitation fled the field of chance; + No laws remain'd of matter, motion, space; + Time lost his count, the universe his place; + Till Order came, in her cerulean robes, + And launch'd and rein'd the renovated globes, + Stock'd with harmonious worlds the vast Inane, + Archt her new heaven and fixt her boundless reign: + So kings convulse the moral frame, the base + Of all the codes that can accord the race; + And so from their broad grasp, their deadly ban, + Tis yours to snatch this earth, to raise regenerateman. + + My friends, I love your fame, I joy to raise + The high-toned anthem of my country's praise; + To sing her victories, virtues, wisdom, weal, + Boast with loud voice the patriot pride I feel; + Warm wild I sing; and, to her failings blind, + Mislead myself, perhaps mislead mankind. + Land that I love! is this the whole we owe? + Thy pride to pamper, thy fair face to show; + Dwells there no blemish where such glories shine? + And lurks no spot in that bright sun of thine? + Hark! a dread voice, with heaven-astounding strain, + Swells Wee a thousand thunders o'er the main, + Rolls and reverberates around thy hills, + And Hesper's heart with pangs paternal fills. + Thou hearst him not; tis Atlas, throned sublime. + Great brother guardian of old Afric's clime; + High o'er his coast he rears his frowning form, + Overlooks and calms his sky-borne fields of storm, + Flings off the clouds that round his shoulders hung, + And breaks from clogs of ice his trembling tongue; + While far thro space with rage and grief he glares, + Heaves his hoar head and shakes the heaven he bears: + --Son of my sire! O latest brightest birth + That sprang from his fair spouse, prolific earth! + Great Hesper, say what sordid ceaseless hate + Impels thee thus to mar my elder state. + Our sire assign'd thee thy more glorious reign, + Secured and bounded by our laboring main; + That main (tho still my birthright name it bear) + Thy sails o'ershadow, thy brave children share; + I grant it thus; while air surrounds the ball, + Let breezes blow, let oceans roll for all. + But thy proud sons, a strange ungenerous race, + Enslave my tribes, and each fair world disgrace, + Provoke wide vengeance on their lawless land, + The bolt ill placed in thy forbearing hand.-- + Enslave my tribes! then boast their cantons free, + Preach faith and justice, bend the sainted knee, + Invite all men their liberty to share, + Seek public peace, defy the assaults of war, + Plant, reap, consume, enjoy their fearless toil, + Tame their wild floods, to fatten still their soil, + Enrich all nations with their nurturing store, + And rake with venturous fluke each wondering shore.-- + + Enslave my tribes! what, half mankind imban, + Then read, expound, enforce the rights of man! + Prove plain and clear how nature's hand of old + Cast all men equal in her human mould! + Their fibres, feelings, reasoning powers the same, + Like wants await them, like desires inflame. + Thro former times with learned book they tread, + Revise past ages and rejudge the dead, + Write, speak, avenge, for ancient sufferings feel, + Impale each tyrant on their pens of steel, + Declare how freemen can a world create, + And slaves and masters ruin every state.-- + Enslave my tribes! and think, with dumb disdain, + To scape this arm and prove my vengeance vain! + But look! methinks beneath my foot I ken + A few chain'd things that seem no longer men; + Thy sons perchance! whom Barbary's coast can tell + The sweets of that loved scourge they wield so well. + Link'd in a line, beneath the driver's goad, + See how they stagger with their lifted load; + The shoulder'd rock, just wrencht from off my hill + And wet with drops their straining orbs distil, + Galls, grinds them sore, along the rarnpart led, + And the chain clanking counts the steps they tread. + + By night close bolted in the bagnio's gloom, + Think how they ponder on their dreadful doom, + Recal the tender sire, the weeping bride, + The home, far sunder'd by a waste of tide, + Brood all the ties that once endear'd them there, + But now, strung stronger, edge their keen despair. + Till here a fouler fiend arrests their pace: + Plague, with his burning breath and bloated face, + With saffron eyes that thro the dungeon shine, + And the black tumors bursting from the groin, + Stalks o'er the slave; who, cowering on the sod, + Shrinks from the Demon and invokes his God, + Sucks hot contagion with his quivering breath, + And, rack'd with rending torture, sinks in death. + + Nor shall these pangs atone the nation's crime; + Far heavier vengeance, in the march of time, + Attends them still; if still they dare debase + And hold inthrall'd the millions of my race; + A vengeance that shall shake the world's deep frame, + That heaven abhors, and hell might shrink to name. + Nature, long outraged, delves the crusted sphere, + And moulds the mining mischief dark and drear; + Europa too the penal shock shall find, + The rude soul-selling monsters of mankind: + + Where Alps and Andes at their bases meet, + In earth's mid caves to lock their granite feet, + Heave their broad spines, expand each breathing lobe, + And with their massy members rib the globe, + Her cauldron'd floods of fire their blast prepare; + Her wallowing womb of subterranean war + Waits but the fissure that my wave shall find, + To force the foldings of the rocky rind, + Crash your curst continent, and whirl on high + The vast avulsion vaulting thro the sky, + Fling far the bursting fragments, scattering wide + Rocks, mountains, nations o'er the swallowing tide. + Plunging and surging with alternate sweep, + They storm the day-vault and lay bare the deep, + Toss, tumble, plough their place, then slow subside, + And swell each ocean as their bulk they hide; + Two oceans dasht in one! that climbs and roars, + And seeks in vain the exterminated shores, + The deep drencht hemisphere. Far sunk from day, + It crumbles, rolls, it churns the settling sea, + Turns up each prominence, heaves every side, + To pierce once more the landless length of tide; + Till some poized Pambamarca looms at last + A dim lone island in the watery waste, + Mourns all his minor mountains wreck'd and hurl'd, + Stands the sad relic of a ruin'd world, + Attests the wrath our mother kept in store, + And rues her judgments on the race she bore. + No saving Ark around him rides the main, + Nor Dove weak-wing'd her footing finds again; + His own bald Eagle skims alone the sky, + Darts from all points of heaven her searching eye, + Kens, thro the gloom, her ancient rock of rest, + And finds her cavern'd crag, her solitary nest. + + Thus toned the Titan his tremendous knell, + And lash'd his ocean to a loftier swell; + Earth groans responsive, and with laboring woes + Leans o'er the surge and stills the storm he throws. + + Fathers and friends, I know the boding fears + Of angry genii and of rending spheres + Assail not souls like yours; whom Science bright + Thro shadowy nature leads with surer light; + For whom she strips the heavens of love and hate, + Strikes from Jove's hand the brandisht bolt of fate, + Gives each effect its own indubious cause, + Divides her moral from her physic laws, + Shows where the virtues find their nurturing food, + And men their motives to be just and good. + + You scorn the Titan's threat; nor shall I strain + The powers of pathos in a task so vain + As Afric's wrongs to sing; for what avails + To harp for you these known familiar tales? + To tongue mute misery, and re-rack the soul + With crimes oft copied from that bloody scroll + Where Slavery pens her woes; tho tis but there + We learn the weight that mortal life can be. + The tale might startle still the accustom'd ear, + Still shake the nerve that pumps the pearly tear, + Melt every heart, and thro the nation gain + Full many a voice to break the barbarous chain. + But why to sympathy for guidance fly, + (Her aids uncertain and of scant supply) + When your own self-excited sense affords + A guide more sure, and every sense accords? + Where strong self-interest, join'd with duty, lies, + Where doing right demands no sacrifice, + Where profit, pleasure, life-expanding fame + League their allurements to support the claim, + Tis safest there the impleaded cause to trust; + Men well instructed will be always just. + + From slavery then your rising realms to save, + Regard the master, notice not the slave; + Consult alone for freemen, and bestow + Your best, your only cares, to keep them so. + Tyrants are never free; and, small and great, + All masters must be tyrants soon or late; + So nature works; and oft the lordling knave + Turns out at once a tyrant and a slave, + Struts, cringes, bullies, begs, as courtiers must, + Makes one a god, another treads in dust, + Fears all alike, and filches whom he can, + But knows no equal, finds no friend in man. + + Ah! would you not be slaves, with lords and kings, + Then be not masters; there the danger springs. + The whole crude system that torments this earth, + Of rank, privation, privilege of birth, + False honor, fraud, corruption, civil jars, + The rage of conquest and the curse of wars, + Pandora's total shower, all ills combined + That erst o'erwhelm'd and still distress mankind, + Box'd up secure in your deliberate hand, + Wait your behest, to fix or fly this land. + + Equality of Right is nature's plan; + And following nature is the march of man. + Whene'er he deviates in the least degree, + When, free himself, he would be more than free, + The baseless column, rear'd to bear his bust, + Falls as he mounts, and whelms him in the dust. + + See Rome's rude sires, with autocratic gait, + Tread down their tyrant and erect their state; + Their state secured, they deem it wise and brave + That every freeman should command a slave, + And, flusht with franchise of his camp and town, + Rove thro the world and hunt the nations down; + Master and man the same vile spirit gains, + Rome chains the world, and wears herself the chains. + + Mark modern Europe with her feudal codes, + Serfs, villains, vassals, nobles, kings and gods, + All slaves of different grades, corrupt and curst + With high and low, for senseless rank athirst, + Wage endless wars; not fighting to be free, + But _cujum pecus_, whose base herd they'll be. + + Too much of Europe, here transplanted o'er, + Nursed feudal feelings on your tented shore, + Brought sable serfs from Afric, call'd it gain, + And urged your sires to forge the fatal chain. + But now, the tents o'erturn'd, the war dogs fled, + Now fearless Freedom rears at last her head + Matcht with celestial Peace,--my friends, beware + To shade the splendors of so bright a pair; + Complete their triumph, fix their firm abode, + Purge all privations from your liberal code, + Restore their souls to men, give earth repose, + And save your sons from slavery, wars and woes. + + Based on its rock of Right your empire lies, + On walls of wisdom let the fabric rise; + Preserve your principles, their force unfold, + Let nations prove them and let kings behold. + EQUALITY, your first firm-grounded stand; + Then FREE ELECTION; then your FEDERAL BAND; + This holy Triad should forever shine + The great compendium of all rights divine, + Creed of all schools, whence youths by millions draw + Their themes of right, their decalogues of law; + Till men shall wonder (in these codes inured) + How wars were made, how tyrants were endured. + + Then shall your works of art superior rise, + Your fruits perfume a larger length of skies, + Canals careering climb your sunbright hills, + Vein the green slopes and strow their nurturing rills, + Thro tunnel'd heights and sundering ridges glide, + Rob the rich west of half Kenhawa's tide, + Mix your wide climates, all their stores confound, + And plant new ports in every midland mound. + Your lawless Missisippi, now who slimes + And drowns and desolates his waste of climes, + Ribb'd with your dikes, his torrent shall restrain, + And ask your leave to travel to the main; + Won from his wave while rising cantons smile, + Rear their glad nations and reward their toil. + + Thus Nile's proud flood to human hands of yore + Raised and resign'd his tide-created shore, + Call'd from his Ethiop hills their hardy swains, + And waved their harvests o'er his newborn plains; + Earth's richest realm from his tamed current sprung; + There nascent science toned her infant tongue, + Taught the young arts their tender force to try, + To state the seasons and unfold the sky; + Till o'er the world extended and refined, + They rule the destinies of humankind. + + Now had Columbus well enjoy'd the sight + Of armies vanquisht and of fleets in flight, + From all Hesperia's heaven the darkness flown, + And colon crowds to sovereign sages grown. + To cast new glories o'er the changing clime, + The guardian Power reversed the flight of time, + Roll'd back the years that led their course before, + Stretch'd out immense the wild uncultured shore; + Then shifts the total scene, and rears to view + Arts and the men that useful arts pursue. + As o'er the canvass when the painter's mind + Glows with a future landscape well design'd, + While Panorama's wondrous aid he calls, + To crowd whole realms within his circling walls, + Lakes, fields and forests, ports and navies rise, + A new creation to his kindling eyes; + He smiles o'er all; sand in delightful strife + The pencil moves and Calls the whole to life. + So while Columbia's patriarch stood sublime, + And saw rude nature clothe the trackless clime; + The green banks heave, the winding currents pour, + The bays and harbors cleave the yielding shore, + The champaigns spread, the solemn groves arise, + And the rough mountains lengthen round the skies; + Thro all their bounds he traced, with skilful ken, + The unform'd seats and future walks of men; + Mark'd where the field should bloom, the pennon play, + Great cities grow and empires claim their sway; + When, sudden waked by Hesper's waving hand, + They rose obedient round the cultured land. + + In western tracts, where still the wildmen tread, + From sea to sea an inland commerce spread; + On the dim streams and thro the gloomy grove + The trading bauds their cumbrous burdens move; + Furs, peltry, drugs, and all the native store + Of midland realms descended to the shore. + + Where summer suns, along the northern coast, + With feeble force dissolve the chains of frost, + Prolific waves the scaly nations trace, + And tempt the toils of man's laborious race. + Tho rich Brazilian strands, beneath the tide, + Their shells of pearl and sparkling pebbles hide, + While for the gaudy prize a venturous train + Plunge the dark deep and brave the surging main, + Drag forth the shining gewgaws into air, + To stud a sceptre or emblaze a star; + Far wealthier stores these genial tides display, + And works less dangerous with their spoils repay. + The Hero saw the hardy crews advance, + Cast the long line and aim the barbed lance; + Load the deep floating barks, and bear abroad + To every land the life-sustaining food; + Renascent swarms by nature's care supplied, + Repeople still the shoals and fin the fruitful tide. + + Where southern streams thro broad savannas bend, + The rice-clad vales their verdant rounds extend; + Tobago's plant its leaf expanding yields, + The maize luxuriant clothes a thousand fields; + Steeds, herds and flocks o'er northern regions rove, + Embrown the hill and wanton thro the grove. + The woodlands wide their sturdy honors bend, + The pines, the liveoaks to the shores descend, + There couch the keels, the crooked ribs arise, + Hulls heave aloft and mastheads mount the skies; + Launcht on the deep o'er every wave they + Feed tropic isles and Europe's looms supply. + + To nurse the arts and fashion freedom's lore + Young schools of science rise along the shore; + Great without pomp their modest walls expand, + Harvard and Yale and Princeton grace the land, + Penn's student halls his youths with gladness greet, + On James's bank Virginian Muses meet, + Manhattan's mart collegiate domes command, + Bosom'd in groves, see growing Dartmouth stand; + Bright o'er its realm reflecting solar fires, + On yon tall hill Rhode Island's seat aspires. + + Thousands of humbler name around them rise, + Where homebred freemen seize the solid prize; + Fixt in small spheres, with safer beams to shine, + They reach the useful and refuse the fine, + Found, on its proper base, the social plan, + The broad plain truths, the common sense of man, + His obvious wants, his mutual aids discern, + His rights familiarize, his duties learn, + Feel moral fitness all its force dilate, + Embrace the village and comprise the state. + Each rustic here who turns the furrow'd soil, + The maid, the youth that ply mechanic toil, + In equal rights, in useful arts inured, + Know their just claims, and see their claims secured; + They watch their delegates, each law revise, + Its faults designate and its merits prize, + Obey, but scrutinize; and let the test + Of sage experience prove and fix the best. + + Here, fired by virtue's animating flame, + The preacher's task persuasive sages claim, + To mould religion to the moral mind, + In bands of peace to harmonize mankind, + To life, to light, to promised joys above + The soften'd soul with ardent hope to move. + No dark intolerance blinds the zealous throng, + No arm of power attendant on their tongue; + Vext Inquisition, with her flaming brand, + Shuns their mild march, nor dares approach the land. + Tho different creeds their priestly robes denote, + Their orders various and their rites remote, + Yet one their voice, their labors all combined, + Lights of the world and friends of humankind. + So the bright galaxy o'er heaven displays + Of various stars the same unbounded blaze; + Where great and small their mingling rays unite, + And earth and skies exchange the friendly light. + + And lo, my son that other sapient band, + The torch of science flamiflg in their hand! + Thro nature's range their searching souls aspire, + Or wake to life the canvass and the lyre. + Fixt in sublimest thought, behold them rise + World after world unfolding to their eyes, + Lead, light, allure them thro the total plan, + And give new guidance to the paths of man. + + Yon meteor-mantled hill see Franklin tread, + Heaven's awful thunders tolling o'er his head, + Convolving clouds the billowy skies deform, + And forky flames emblaze the blackening storm, + See the descending streams around him burn, + Glance on his rod and with his finger turn; + He bids conflicting fulminants expire + The guided blast, and holds the imprison'd fire. + No more, when doubling storms the vault o'erspread, + The livid glare shall strike thy race with dread, + Nor towers nor temples, shuddering with the sound, + Sink in the flames and shake the sheeted ground. + His well tried wires, that every tempest wait, + Shall teach mankind to ward the bolts of fate, + With pointed steel o'ertop the trembling spire, + And lead from untouch'd walls the harmless flre; + Fill'd with his fame while distant climes rejoice, + Wherever lightning shines or thunder rears its voice. + + And see sage Rittenhouse, with ardent eye, + Lift the long tube and pierce the starry sky; + Clear in his view the circling planets roll, + And suns and satellites their course control. + He marks what laws the widest wanderers bind, + Copies creation in his forming mind, + Sees in his hall the total semblance rise, + And mimics there the labors of the skies. + There student youths without their tubes behold + The spangled heavens their mystic maze unfold, + And crowded schools their cheerful chambers grace + With all the spheres that cleave the vast of space. + + To guide the sailor in his wandering way, + See Godfrey's glass reverse the beams of day. + His lifted quadrant to the eye displays + From adverse skies the counteracting rays; + And marks, as devious sails bewilder'd roll, + Each nice gradation from the steadfast pole. + + West with his own great soul the canvass warms, + Creates, inspires, impassions human forms, + Spurns critic rules, and seizing safe the heart, + Breaks down the former frightful bounds of Art; + Where ancient manners, with exclusive reign, + From half mankind withheld her fair domain. + He calls to life each patriot, chief or sage, + Garb'd in the dress and drapery of his age. + Again bold Regulus to death returns, + Again her falling Wolfe Britannia mourns; + Lahogue, Boyne, Cressy, Nevilcross demand + And gain fresh lustre from his copious hand; + His Lear stalks wild with woes, the gods defies, + Insults the tempest and outstorms the skies; + Edward in arms to frowning combat moves, + Or, won to pity by the queen he loves, + Spares the devoted Six, whose deathless deed + Preserves the town his vengeance doom'd to bleed. + + With rival force, see Copley's pencil trace + The air of action and the charms of face. + Fair in his tints unfold the scenes of state, + The senate listens and the peers debate; + Pale consternation every heart appals, + In act to speak, when death-struck Chatham fails. + He bids dread Calpe cease to shake the waves, + While Elliott's arm the host of Bourbon saves; + O'er sail-wing'd batteries sinking in the flood, + Mid flames and darkness, drench'd in hostile blood, + Britannia's sons extend their generous hand + To rescue foes from death, and bear them to the land. + + Fired with the martial deeds that bathed in gore + His brave companions on his native shore, + Trumbull with daring hand their fame recals; + He shades with night Quebec's beleagured walls, + Thro flashing flames, that midnight war supplies, + The assailants yield, their great Montgomery dies. + On Bunker height, thro floods of hostile fire, + His Putnam toils till all the troops retire, + His Warren, pierced with balls, at last lies low, + And leaves a victory to the wasted foe. + Britannia too his glowing tint shall claim, + To pour new splendor on her Calpean fame; + He leads her bold sortie, and from their towers + O'erturns the Gallic and Iberian powers. + + See rural seats of innocence and ease, + High tufted towers and walks of waving trees, + The white wates dashing on the Craggy shores, + Meandring streams and meads of mingled flowers, + Where nature's sons their wild excursions tread, + In just design from Taylor's pencil spread. + + Stuart and Brown the moving portrait raise, + Each rival stroke the force of life conveys; + Heroes and beauties round their tablets stand, + And rise unfading from their plastic hand; + Each breathing form preserves its wonted grace, + And all the Soul stands speaking in the face. + + Two kindred arts the swelling statue heave, + Wake the dead wax, and teach the stone to live. + While the bold chissel claims the rugged strife, + To rouse the sceptred marble into life, + + See Wright's fair hands the livelier fire control, + In waxen forms she breathes impassion'd soul; + The pencil'd tint o'er moulded substance glows, + And different powers the peerless art compose. + Grief, rage and fear beneath her fingers start, + Roll the wild eye and pour the bursting heart; + The world's dead fathers wait her wakening call; + And distant ages fill the storied hall. + + To equal fame ascends thy tuneful throng, + The boast of genius and the pride of song; + Caught from the cast of every age and clime, + Their lays shall triumph o'er the lapse of time. + + With lynx-eyed glance thro nature far to pierce, + With all the powers and every charm of verse, + Each science opening in his ample mind, + His fancy glowing and his taste refined, + See Trumbull lead the train. His skilful hand + Hurls the keen darts of satire round the land. + Pride, knavery, dullness feel his mortal stings, + And listening virtue triumphs while he sings; + Britain's foil'd sons, victorious now no more, + In guilt retiring from the wasted shore, + Strive their curst cruelties to hide in vain; + The world resounds them in his deathless strain. + + On wings of faith to elevate the soul + Beyond the bourn of earth's benighted pole, + For Dwight's high harp the epic Muse sublime + Hails her new empire in the western clime. + Tuned from the tones by seers seraphic sung, + Heaven in his eye and rapture on his tongue, + His voice revives old Canaan's promised land, + The long-fought fields of Jacob's chosen band. + In Hanniel's fate, proud faction finds its doom, + Ai's midnight flames light nations to their tomb, + In visions bright supernal joys are given, + And all the dark futurities of heaven. + + While freedom's cause his patriot bosom warms, + In counsel sage, nor inexpert in arms, + See Humphreys glorious from the field retire, + Sheathe the glad sword and string the soothing lyre; + That lyre which erst, in hours of dark despair, + Roused the sad realms to finish well the war. + O'er fallen friends, with all the strength of woe, + Fraternal sighs in his strong numbers flow; + His country's wrongs, her duties, dangers, praise, + Fire his full soul and animate his lays: + Wisdom and War with equal joy shall own + So fond a votary and so brave a son. + + + + + + +Book IX. + + + +Argument. + + + Vision suspended. Night scene, as contemplated from the mount of + vision. Columbus inquires the reason of the slow progress of science, + and its frequent interruptions. Hesper answers, that all things in the + physical as well as the moral and intellectual world are progressive in + like manner. He traces their progress from the birth of the universe to + the present state of the earth and its inhabitants; asserts the future + advancement of society, till perpetual peace shall be established. + Columbus proposes his doubts; alleges in support of them the successive + rise and downfal of ancient nations; and infers future and periodical + convulsions. Hesper, in answer, exhibits the great distinction between + the ancient and modern state of the arts and of society. Crusades. + Commerce. Hanseatic League. Copernicus. Kepler. Newton, Galileo. + Herschel. Descartes. Bacon. Printing Press. Magnetic Needle. + Geographical discoveries. Federal system in America. A similar system + to be extended over the whole earth. Columbus desires a view of this. + + +But now had Hesper from the Hero's sight + Veil'd the vast world with sudden shades of night. + Earth, sea and heaven, where'er he turns his eye, + Arch out immense, like one surrounding sky + Lamp'd with reverberant fires. The starry train + Paint their fresh forms beneath the placid main; + Fair Cynthia here her face reflected laves, + Bright Venus gilds again her natal waves, + The Bear redoubling foams with fiery joles, + And two dire dragons twine two arctic poles. + Lights o'er the land, from cities lost in shade, + New constellations, new galaxies spread, + And each high pharos double flames provides, + One from its fires, one fainter from the tides. + + Centred sublime in this bivaulted sphere, + On all sides void, unbounded, calm and clear, + Soft o'er the Pair a lambent lustre plays, + Their seat still cheering with concentred rays; + To converse grave the soothing shades invite. + And on his Guide Columbus fixt his sight: + Kind messenger of heaven, he thus began, + Why this progressive laboring search of man? + If men by slow degrees have power to reach + These opening truths that long dim ages teach, + If, school'd in woes and tortured on to thought, + Passion absorbing what experience taught, + Still thro the devious painful paths they wind, + And to sound wisdom lead at last the mind, + Why did not bounteous nature, at their birth, + Give all their science to these sons of earth, + Pour on their reasoning powers pellucid day, + Their arts, their interests clear as light display? + That error, madness and sectarian strife + Might find no place to havock human life. + + To whom the guardian Power: To thee is given + To hold high converse and inquire of heaven, + To mark untraversed ages, and to trace + Whate'er improves and what impedes thy race. + Know then, progressive are the paths we go + In worlds above thee, as in thine below + Nature herself (whose grasp of time and place + Deals out duration and impalms all space) + Moves in progressive march; but where to tend, + What course to compass, how the march must end, + Her sons decide not; yet her works we greet + Imperfect in their parts, but in their whole complete. + + When erst her hand the crust of Chaos thirl'd, + And forced from his black breast the bursting world, + High swell'd the huge existence crude and crass, + A formless dark impermeated mass; + No light nor heat nor cold nor moist nor dry, + But all concocting in their causes lie. + Millions of periods, such as these her spheres + Learn since to measure and to call their years, + She broods the mass; then into motion brings + And seeks and sorts the principles of things, + Pours in the attractive and repulsive force, + Whirls forth her globes in cosmogyral course, + By myriads and by millions, scaled sublime, + To scoop their skies, and curve the rounds of time. + + She groups their systems, lots to each his place, + Strow'd thro immensity, and drown'd in space, + All yet unseen; till light at last begun, + And every system found a centred sun, + Call'd to his neighbor and exchanged from far + His infant gleams with every social star; + Rays thwarting rays and skies o'erarching skies + Robed their dim planets with commingling dyes, + Hung o'er each heaven their living lamps serene, + And tinged with blue the frore expanse between: + Then joyous Nature hail'd the golden morn, + Drank the young beam, beheld her empire born. + + Lo the majestic movement! there they trace + Their blank infinitudes of time and space, + Vault with careering curves her central goal, + Pour forth her day and stud her evening stole, + Heedless of count; their numbers still unknown, + Unmeasured still their progress round her throne; + For none of all her firstborn sons, endow'd + With heavenly sapience and pretensions proud, + No seraph bright, whose keen considering eye + And sunbeam speed ascend from sky to sky, + Has yet explored or counted all their spheres, + Or fixt or found their past record of years. + Nor can a ray from her remotest sun, + Shot forth when first their splendid morn begun, + Borne straight, continuous thro the void of space, + Doubling each thousand years its rapid pace + And hither posting, yet have reach'd this earth, + To bring the tidings of its master's birth. + + And mark thy native orb! tho later born, + Tho still unstored with light her silver horn, + As seen from sister planets, who repay + Far more than she their borrow'd streams of day, + Yet what an age her shell-rock ribs attest! + Her sparry spines, her coal-encumber'd breast! + Millions of generations toil'd and died + To crust with coral and to salt her tide, + And millions more, ere yet her soil began, + Ere yet she form'd or could have nursed her man. + + Then rose the proud phenomenon, the birth + Most richly wrought, the favorite child of earth; + But frail at first his frame, with nerves ill strung, + Unform'd his footsteps, long untoned his tongue, + Unhappy, unassociate, unrefined, + Unfledged the pinions of his lofty mind, + He wander'd wild, to every beast a prey, + More prest with wrants, and feebler far than they; + For countless ages forced from place to place, + Just reproduced but scarce preserved his race. + At last, a soil more fixt and streams more sweet + Inform the wretched migrant where to seat; + Euphrates' flowery banks begin to smile, + Fruits fringe the Ganges, gardens grace the Nile; + Nile, ribb'd with dikes, a length of coast creates, + And giant Thebes begins her hundred gates, + Mammoth of human works! her grandeur known + These thousand lustres by its wrecks alone; + Wrecks that humiliate still all modern states, + Press the poized earth with their enormous weights, + Refuse to quit their place, dissolve their frame + And trust, like Ilion, to the bards their fame. + Memphis amass'd her piles, that still o'erclimb + The clouds of heaven, and task the tooth of time; + Belus and Brama tame their vagrant throngs, + And Homer, with his monumental songs, + Builds far more durable his splendid throne + Than all the Pharaohs with their hills of stone. + + High roll'd the round of years that hung sublime + These wondrous beacons in the night of time; + Studs of renown! that to thine eyes attest + The waste of ages that beyond them rest; + Ages how fill'd with toils! how gloom'd with woes! + Trod with all steps that man's long march compose, + Dim drear disastrous; ere his foot could gain + A height so brilliant o'er the bestial train. + + In those blank periods, where no man can trace + The gleams of thought that first illumed his race, + His errors, twined with science, took their birth, + And forged their fetters for this child of earth. + And when, as oft, he dared expand his view, + And work with nature on the line she drew, + Some monster, gender'd in his fears, unmann'd + His opening soul, and marr'd the works he plann'd. + Fear, the first passion of his helpless state, + Redoubles all the woes that round him wait, + Blocks nature's path and sends him wandering wide, + Without a guardian and without a guide. + + Beat by the storm, refresht by gentle rain, + By sunbeams cheer'd or founder'd in the main, + He bows to every force he can't control, + Indows them all with intellect and soul, + With passions various, turbulent and strong, + Rewarding virtue and avenging wrong, + Gives heaven and earth to their supernal doom, + And swells their sway beyond the closing tomb. + Hence rose his gods, that mystic monstrous lore + Of blood-stain'd altars and of priestly power, + Hence blind credulity on all dark things, + False morals hence, and hence the yoke of kings. + + Yon starry vault that round him rolls the spheres, + And gives to earth her seasons, days and years, + The source designates and the clue imparts + Of all his errors and of all his arts. + There spreads the system that his ardent thought + First into emblems, then to spirits wrought; + Spirits that ruled all matter and all mind, + Nourish'd or famish'd, kill'd or cured mankind, + Bade him neglect the soil whereon he fed, + Work with hard hand for that which was not bread, + Erect the temple, darken deep the shrine, + Yield the full hecatomb with awe divine, + Despise this earth, and claim with lifted eyes + His health and harvest from the meteor'd skies. + + Accustom'd thus to bow the suppliant head, + And reverence powers that shake his heart with dread, + His pliant faith extends with easy ken + From heavenly hosts to heaven-anointed men; + The sword, the tripod join their mutual aids, + To film his eyes with more impervious shades, + Create a sceptred idol, and enshrine + The Robber Chief in attributes divine, + Arm the new phantom with the nation's rod, + And hail the dreadful delegate of God. + Two settled slaveries thus the race control, + Engross their labors and debase their soul; + Till creeds and crimes and feuds and fears compose + The seeds of war and all its kindred woes. + + Unfold, thou Memphian dungeon! there began + The lore of Mystery, the mask of man; + There Fraud with Science leagued, in early times, + Plann'd a resplendent course of holy crimes, + Stalk'd o'er the nations with gigantic pace, + With sacred symbols charm'd the cheated race, + Taught them new grades of ignorance to gain, + And punish truth with more than mortal pain,-- + Unfold at last thy cope! that man may see + The mines of mischief he has drawn from thee. + --Wide gapes the porch with hieroglyphics hung, + And mimic zodiacs o'er its arches flung; + Close labyrinth'd here the feign'd Omniscient dwells, + Dupes from all nations seek the sacred cells; + Inquiring strangers, with astonish'd eyes, + Dive deep to read these subterranean skies, + To taste that holiness which faith bestows, + And fear promulgates thro its world of woes. + The bold Initiate takes his awful stand, + A thin pale taper trembling in his hand; + Thro hells of howling monsters lies the road, + To season souls and teach the ways of God. + + Down the crampt corridor, far sunk from day, + On hands and bended knees he gropes his way, + Swims roaring streams, thro dens of serpents crawls, + Descends deep wells and clambers flaming walls; + Now thwart his lane a lake of sulphur gleams, + With fiery waves and suffocating steams; + He dares not shun the ford; for full in view + Fierce lions rush behind and force him thro. + Long ladders heaved on end, with banded eyes + He mounts, and mounts, and seems to gain the skies; + Then backward falling, tranced with deadly fright, + Finds his own feet and stands restored to light. + Here all dread sights of torture round him rise; + Lash'd on a wheel, a whirling felon flies; + A wretch, with members chain'd and liver bare, + Writhes and disturbs the vulture feasting there: + One strains to roll his rock, recoiling still; + One, stretch'd recumbent o'er a limpid rill, + Burns with devouring thirst; his starting eyes, + Swell'd veins and frothy lips and piercing cries + Accuse the faithless eddies, as they shrink + And keep him panting still, still bending o'er the brink. + + At last Elysium to his ravisht eyes + Spreads flowery fields and opens golden skies; + Breathes Orphean music thro the dancing groves, + Trains the gay troops of Beauties, Graces, Loves, + Lures his delirious sense with sweet decoys, + Fine fancied foretaste of eternal joys, + Fastidious pomp or proud imperial state,-- + Illusions all, that pass the Ivory Gate! + + Various and vast the fraudful drama grows, + Feign'd are the pleasures, as unfelt the woes; + Where sainted hierophants, with well taught mimes, + Play'd first the role for all succeeding times; + Which, vamp'd and varied as the clime required, + More trist or splendid, open or retired, + Forms local creeds, with multifarious lore, + Creates the God and bids the world adore. + + Lo at the Lama's feet, as lord of all, + Age following age in dumb devotion fall; + The youthful god, mid suppliant kings enshrined, + Dispensing fate and ruling half mankind, + Sits with contorted limbs, a silent slave, + An early victim of a secret grave; + His priests by myriads famish every clime + And sell salvation in the tones they chime. + + See India's Triad frame their blood-penn'd codes, + Old Ganges change his gardens for his gods, + Ask his own waves from their celestial hands, + And choke his channel with their sainted sands. + Mad with the mandates of their scriptured word, + And prompt to snatch from hell her dear dead lord, + The wife, still blooming, decks her sacred urns, + Mounts the gay pyre, and with his body burns. + + Shrined in his golden fane the Delphian stands, + Shakes distant thrones and taxes unknown lands. + Kings, consuls, khans from earth's whole regions come, + Pour in their wealth, and then inquire their doom; + Furious and wild the priestess rends her veil, + Sucks, thro the sacred stool, the maddening gale, + Starts reddens foams and screams and mutters loud, + Like a fell fiend, her oracles of God. + The dark enigma, by the pontiff scroll'd + In broken phrase, and close in parchment roll'd, + From his proud pulpit to the suppliant hurl'd, + Shall rive an empire and distract the world. + + And where the mosque's dim arches bend on high, + Mecca's dead prophet mounts the mimic sky; + Pilgrims, imbanded strong for mutual aid, + Thro dangerous deserts that their faith has made, + Train their long caravans, and famish'd come + To kiss the shrine and trembling touch the tomb, + By fire and sword the same fell faith extend, + And howl their homilies to earth's far end. + + Phenician altars reek with human gore, + Gods hiss from caverns or in cages roar, + Nile pours from heaven a tutelary flood, + And gardens grow the vegetable god. + Two rival powers the magian faith inspire, + Primeval Darkness and immortal Fire; + Evil and good in these contending rise, + And each by turns the sovereign of the skies. + Sun, stars and planets round the earth behold + Their fanes of marble and their shrines of gold; + The sea, the grove, the harvest and the vine + Spring from their gods and claim a birth divine; + While heroes, kings and sages of their times, + Those gods on earth, are gods in happier climes; + Minos in judgment sits, and Jove in power, + And Odin's friends are feasted there with gore. + + Man is an infant still; and slow and late + Must form and fix his adolescent state, + Mature his manhood, and at last behold + His reason ripen and his force unfold. + From that bright eminence he then shall cast + A look of wonder on his wanderings past, + Congratulate himself, and o'er the earth + Firm the full reign of peace predestined at his birth. + + So Hesper taught; and farther had pursued + A theme so grateful as a world renew'd; + But dubious thoughts disturb'd the Hero's breast, + Who thus with modest mien the Seer addrest: + Say, friend of man, in this unbounded range, + Where error vagrates and illusions change, + What hopes to see his baleful blunders cease, + And earth commence that promised age of peace? + Like a loose pendulum his mind is hung, + From wrong to wrong by ponderous passion swung, + It vibrates wide, and with unceasing flight + Sweeps all extremes and scorns the mean of right. + Tho in the times you trace he seems to gain + A steadier movement and a path more plain, + And tho experience will have taught him then + To mark some dangers, some delusions ken, + Yet who can tell what future shocks may spread + New shades of darkness round his lofty head, + Plunge him again in some broad gulph of woes, + Where long and oft he struggled, wreck'd and rose? + + What strides he took in those gigantic times + That sow'd with cities all his orient climes! + When earth's proud floods he tamed, made many a shore, + And talk'd with heaven from Babel's glittering tower! + Did not his Babylon exulting say, + I sit a queen, for ever stands my sway? + Thebes, Memphis, Nineveh, a countless throng, + Caught the same splendor and return'd the song; + Each boasted, promised o'er the world to rise, + Spouse of the sun, eternal as the skies. + Where shall we find them now? the very shore + Where Ninus rear'd his empire is no more: + The dikes decay'd, a putrid marsh regains + The sunken walls, the tomb-encumber'd plains, + Pursues the dwindling nations where they shrink, + And skirts with slime its deleterious brink. + The fox himself has fled his gilded den, + Nor holds the heritage he won from men; + Lapwing and reptile shun the curst abode, + And the foul dragon, now no more a god, + Trails off his train; the sickly raven flies; + A wide strong-stencht Avernus chokes the skies. + So pride and ignorance fall a certain prey + To the stanch bloodhound of despotic sway. + + Then past a long drear night, with here and there + A doubtful glimmering from a single star; + Tyre, Carthage, Syracuse the gleam increase, + Till dawns at last the effulgent morn of Greece, + Here all his Muses meet, all arts combine + To nerve his genius and his works refine; + Morals and laws and arms, and every grace + That e'er adorn'd or could exalt the race, + Wrought into science and arranged in rules, + Swell the proud splendor of her cluster'd schools, + Build and sustain the state with loud acclaim, + And work those deathless miracles of fame + That stand unrivall'd still; for who shall dare + Another field with Marathon compare? + Who speaks of eloquence or sacred song, + But calls on Greece to modulate his tongue? + And where has man's fine form so perfect shone + In tint or mould, in canvass or in stone? + + Yet from that splendid height o'erturn'd once more, + He dasht in dust the living lamp he bore. + Dazzled with her own glare, decoy'd and sold + For homebred faction and barbaric gold, + Greece treads on Greece, subduing and subdued, + New crimes inventing, all the old renew'd, + Canton o'er canton climbs; till, crush'd and broke, + All yield the sceptre and resume the yoke. + + Where shall we trace him next, the migrant man, + To try once more his meliorating plan? + Shall not the Macedonian, where he strides + O'er Asian worlds and Nile's neglected tides, + Prepare new seats of glory, to repay + The transient shadows with perpetual day? + His heirs erect their empires, and expand + The beams of Greece thro each benighted land; + Seleucia spreads o'er ten broad realms her sway, + And turns on eastern climes the western ray; + Palmyra brightens earth's commercial zone, + And sits an emblem of her god the sun; + While fond returning to that favorite shore + Where Ammon ruled and Hermes taught of yore, + All arts concentrate, force and grace combine + To rear and blend the useful with the fine, + Restore the Egyptian glories, and retain, + Where science dawn'd, her great resurgent reign. + + From Egypt chased again, he seeks his home, + More firmly fixt in sage considerate Rome. + Here all the virtues long resplendent shone + All that was Greek, barbarian and her own; + She school'd him sound, and boasted to extend + Thro time's long course and earth's remotest end + His glorious reign of reason; soon to cease + The clang of arms, and rule the world in peace. + Great was the sense he gain'd, and well defined + The various functions of his tutor'd mind; + Could but his sober sense have proved his guide, + And kind experience pruned the shoots of pride. + + A field magnificent before him lay; + Land after land received the spreading ray; + Franchise and friendship travell'd in his train, + Bandits of earth and pirates of the main + Rose into citizens, their rage resign'd. + And hail'd the great republic of mankind. + If ever then state slaughter was to pause, + And man from nature learn to frame his laws. + This was the moment; here the sunbeam rose + To hush the human storm and let the world repose. + + But drunk with pomp and sickening at the light, + He stagger d wild on this delirious height; + Forgot the plainest truths he learnt before, + And barter'd moral for material power. + From Calpe's rock to India's ardent skies, + O'er shuddering earth his talon'd Eagle flies, + To justice blind, and heedless where she drove, + As when she bore the brandisht bolt of Jove. + + Rome loads herself with chains, seals fast her eyes, + And tells the insulted nations when to rise; + And rise they do, like sweeping tempests driven, + Swarm following swarm, o'ershading earth and heaven, + Roll back her outrage, and indignant shed + The world's wide vengeance on her sevenfold head. + Then dwindling back to littleness and shade + Man soon forgets the gorgeous glare he made, + Sinks to a savage serf or monkish drone, + Roves in rude hordes or counts his beads alone, + Wars with his arts, obliterates his lore, + And burns the books that rear'd his race before. + + Shrouded in deeper darkness now he veers + The vast gyration of a thousand years, + Strikes out each lamp that would illume his way, + Disputes his food with every beast of prey; + Imbands his force to fence his trist abodes, + A wretched robber with his feudal codes. + + At length, it seems, some parsimonious rays + Collect from each far heaven a feeble blaze, + Dance o'er his Europe, and again excite + His numerous nations to receive the light. + But faint and slow the niggard dawn expands, + Diffused o'er various far dissunder'd lands, + Dreading, as well it may, to prove once more + The same sad chance so often proved before. + + And why not lapse again? Celestial Seer, + Forgive my doubts, and ah remove my fear! + Man is my brother; strong I feel the ties, + From strong solicitude my doubts arise; + My heart, while opening with the boundless scope + That swells before him and expands his hope, + Forebodes another fall; and tho at last + Thy world is planted and with light o'ercast, + Tho two broad continents their beams combine + Round his whole globe to stream his day divine, + Perchance some folly, yet uncured, may spread + A storm proportion'd to the lights they shed, + Veil both his continents, and leave again + Between them stretch'd the impermeable main; + All science buried, sails and cities lost, + Their lands uncultured, as their seas uncrost. + Till on thy coast, some thousand ages hence, + New pilots rise, bold enterprise commence, + Some new Columbus (happier let him be, + More wise and great and virtuous far than me) + Launch on the wave, and tow'rd the rising day + Like a strong eaglet steer his untaught way, + Gird half the globe, and to his age unfold + A strange new world, the world we call the old. + From Finland's glade to Calpe's storm-beat head + He'll find some tribes of scattering wildmen spread; + But one vast wilderness will shade the soil, + No wreck of art, no sign of ancient toil + Tell where a city stood; nor leave one trace + Of all that honors now, and all that shames the race. + + If such the round we run, what hope, my friend, + To see our madness and our miseries end?-- + Here paused the Patriarch: mild the Saint return'd, + And as he spoke, fresh glories round him burn'd: + My son, I blame not but applaud thy grief; + Inquiries deep should lead to slow belief. + So small the portion of the range of man + His written stories reach or views can span, + That wild confusion seems to clog his march, + And the dull progress made illudes thy search. + But broad beyond compare, with steadier hand + Traced o'er his earth, his present paths expand. + In sober majesty and matron grace + Sage Science now conducts her filial race; + And if, while all their arts around them shine, + They culture more the solid than the fine, + Tis to correct their fatal faults of old, + When, caught by tinsel, they forgot the gold; + When their strong brilliant imitative lines + Traced nature only in her gay designs, + Rear'd the proud column, toned her chanting lyre, + Warm'd the full senate with her words of fire, + Pour'd on the canvass every pulse of life, + And bade the marble rage with human strife. + + These were the arts that nursed unequal sway, + That priests would pamper and that kings would pay, + That spoke to vulgar sense, and often stole + The sense of right and freedom from the soul. + While, circumscribed in some concentred clime, + They reach'd but one small nation at a time, + Dazzled that nation, pufft her local pride, + Proclaim'd her hatred to the world beside, + Drew back returning hatred from afar, + And sunk themselves beneath the storms of war. + + As, when the sun moves o'er the flaming zone, + Collecting clouds attend his fervid throne, + Superior splendors, in his morn display'd, + Prepare for noontide but a heavier shade; + Thus where the brilliant arts alone prevail'd, + Their shining course succeeding storms assail'd; + Pride, wrong and insult hemm'd their scanty reign, + A Nile their stream, a Hellespont their main, + Content with Tiber's narrow shores to wind, + They fledged their Eagle but to fang mankind; + Ere great inventions found a tardy birth, + And with their new creations blest the earth. + + Now sober'd man a steadier gait assumes, + Broad is the beam that breaks the Gothic glooms. + At once consenting nations lift their eyes, + And hail the holy dawn that streaks the skies; + Arabian caliphs rear the spires of Spain, + The Lombards keel their Adriatic main, + Great Charles, invading and reviving all, + Plants o'er with schools his numerous states of Gaul; + And Alfred opes the mines whence Albion draws + The ore of all her wealth,--her liberty and laws. + + Ausonian cities interchange and spread + The lights of learning on the wings of trade; + Bologna's student walls arise to fame, + Germania, thine their rival honors claim; + Halle, Gottinge, Upsal, Kiel and Leyden smile, + Oxonia, Cambridge cheer Britannia's isle; + Where, like her lark, gay Chaucer leads the lay, + The matin carol of his country's day. + + Blind War himself, that erst opposed all good, + And whelm'd meek Science in her votaries' blood, + Now smooths, by means unseen, her modest way, + Extends her limits and secures her sway. + From Europe's world his mad crusaders pour + Their banded myriads on the Asian shore; + The mystic Cross, thro famine toil and blood, + Leads their long marches to the tomb of God. + Thro realms of industry their passage lies, + And labor'd affluence feasts their curious eyes; + Till fields of slaughter whelm the broken host, + Their pride appall'd, their warmest zealots lost, + The wise remains to their own shores return, + Transplant all arts that Hagar's race adorn, + Learn from long intercourse their mutual ties, + And find in commerce where their interest lies. + + From Drave's long course to Biscay's bending shores, + Where Adria sleeps, to where the Bothnian roars, + In one great Hanse, for earth's whole trafic known, + Free cities rise, and in their golden zone + Bind all the interior states; nor princes dare + Infringe their franchise with voracious war. + All shield them safe, and joy to share the gain + That spreads o'er land from each surrounding main, + Makes Indian stuffs, Arabian gums their own, + Plants Persian gems on every Celtic crown, + Pours thro their opening woodlands milder day, + And gives to genius his expansive play. + + This blessed moment, from the towers of Thorn + New splendor rises; there the sage is born! + The sage who starts these planetary spheres, + Deals out their task to wind their own bright years, + Restores his station to the parent Sun, + And leads his duteous daughters round his throne. + Each mounts obedient on her wheels of fire, + Whirls round her sisters, and salutes the sire, + Guides her new car, her youthful coursers tries, + Curves careful paths along her alter'd skies, + Learns all her mazes thro the host of even, + And hails and joins the harmony of heaven. + --Fear not, Copernicus! let loose the rein, + Launch from their goals, and mark the moving train; + Fix at their sun thy calculating eye, + Compare and count their courses round their sky. + Fear no disaster from the slanting force + That warps them staggering in elliptic course; + Thy sons with steadier ken shall aid the search, + And firm and fashion their majestic march, + Kepler prescribe the laws no stars can shun, + And Newton tie them to the eternal sun. + + By thee inspired, his tube the Tuscan plies, + And sends new colonies to stock the skies, + Gives Jove his satellites, and first adorns + Effulgent Phosphor with his silver horns. + Herschel ascends himself with venturous wain, + And joins and flanks thy planetary train, + Perceives his distance from their elder spheres, + And guards with numerous moons the lonely round he steers. + + Yes, bright Copernicus, thy beams, far hurl'd, + Shall startle well this intellectual world, + Break the delusive dreams of ancient lore, + New floods of light on every subject pour, + Thro Physic Nature many a winding trace, + And seat the Moral on her sister's base. + Descartes with force gigantic toils alone, + Unshrines old errors and propounds his own; + Like a blind Samson, gropes their strong abodes, + Whelms deep in dust their temples and their gods, + Buries himself with those false codes they drew, + And makes his followers frame and fix the true. + + Bacon, with every power of genius fraught, + Spreads over worlds his mantling wings of thought, + Draws in firm lines, and tells in nervous tone + All that is yet and all that shall be known, + Withes Proteus Matter in his arms of might, + And drags her tortuous secrets forth to light, + Bids men their unproved systems all forgo, + Informs them what to learn, and how to know, + Waves the first flambeau thro the night that veils + Egyptian fables and Phenician tales, + Strips from all-plundering Greece the cloak she wore, + And shows the blunders of her borrow'd lore. + + One vast creation, lately borne abroad, + Cheers the young nations like a nurturing God, + Breathes thro them all the same wide-searching soul. + Forms, feeds, refines and animates the whole, + Guards every ground they gain, and forward brings + Glad Science soaring on cerulean wings, + Trims her gay plumes, directs her upward course, + Props her light pinions and sustains her force, + Instructs all men her golden gifts to prize, + And catch new glories from her beamful eyes,-- + Tis the prolific Press; whose tablet, fraught + By graphic Genius with his painted thought, + Flings forth by millions the prodigious birth, + And in a moment stocks the astonish'd earth. + + Genius, enamor'd of his fruitful bride, + Assumes new force and elevates his pride. + No more, recumbent o'er his finger'd style, + He plods whole years each copy to compile, + Leaves to ludibrious winds the priceless page, + Or to chance fires the treasure of an age; + But bold and buoyant, with his sister Fame, + He strides o'er earth, holds high his ardent flame, + Calls up Discovery with her tube and scroll, + And points the trembling magnet to the pole. + Hence the brave Lusitanians stretch the sail, + Scorn guiding stars, and tame the midsea gale; + And hence thy prow deprest the boreal wain, + Rear'd adverse heavens, a second earth to gain, + Ran down old Night, her western curtain thirl'd, + And snatch'd from swaddling shades an infant world. + + Rome, Athens, Memphis, Tyre! had you butknown + This glorious triad, now familiar grown, + The Press, the Magnet faithful to its pole, + And earth's own Movement round her steadfast goal, + Ne'er had your science, from that splendid height, + Sunk in her strength, nor seen succeeding night. + Her own utility had forced her sway, + All nations caught the fast-extending ray, + Nature thro all her kingdoms oped the road, + Resign'd her secrets and her wealth bestow'd; + Her moral codes a like dominion rear'd, + Freedom been born and folly disappear'd, + War and his monsters sunk beneath her ban, + And left the world to reason and to man. + + But now behold him bend his broader way, + Lift keener eyes and drink diviner day, + All systems scrutinize, their truths unfold, + Prove well the recent, well revise the old, + Reject all mystery, and define with force + The point he aims at in his laboring course,-- + To know these elements, learn how they wind + Their wondrous webs of matter and of mind, + What springs, what guides organic life requires, + To move, rule, rein its ever-changing gyres, + Improve and utilise each opening birth, + And aid the labors of this nurturing earth. + + But chief their moral soul he learns to trace, + That stronger chain which links and leads the race; + Which forms and sanctions every social tie, + And blinds or clears their intellectual eye. + He strips that soul from every filmy shade + That schools had caught, that oracles had made, + Relumes her visual nerve, develops strong + The rules of right, the subtle shifts of wrong; + Of civil power draws clear the sacred line, + Gives to just government its right divine, + Forms, varies, fashions, as his lights increase, + Till earth is fill'd with happiness and peace. + + Already taught, thou know'st the fame that waits + His rising seat in thy confederate states. + There stands the model, thence he long shall draw + His forms of policy, his traits of law; + Each land shall imitate, each nation join + The well-based brotherhood, the league divine, + Extend its empire with the circling sun, + And band the peopled globe beneath its federal zone. + + As thus he spoke, returning tears of joy + Suffused the Hero's cheek and pearl'd his eye: + Unveil, said he, my friend, and stretch once more + Beneath my view that heaven-illumined shore; + Let me behold her silver beams expand, + To lead all nations, lighten every land, + Instruct the total race, and teach at last + Their toils to lessen and their chains to cast, + Trace and attain the purpose of their birth, + And hold in peace this heritage of earth. + The Seraph smiled consent, the Hero's eye + Watch'd for the daybeam round the changing sky. + + + + + + +Book X. + + + +Argument + + + The vision resumed, and extended over the whole earth. Present + character of different nations. Future progress of society with respect + to commerce; discoveries; inland navigation; philosophical, med + and political knowledge. Science of government. Assimilation and final + union of all languages. Its effect on education, and on the advancement + of physical and moral science. The physical precedes the moral, as + Phosphor precedes the Sun. View of a general Congress from all nations, + assembled to establish the political harmony of mankind. Conclusion. + + +Hesper again his heavenly power display'd, + And shook the yielding canopy of shade. + Sudden the stars their trembling fires withdrew. + Returning splendors burst upon the view, + Floods of unfolding light the skies adorn, + And more than midday glories grace the morn. + So shone the earth, as if the sideral train, + Broad as full suns, had sail'd the ethereal plain; + When no distinguisht orb could strike the sight, + But one clear blaze of all-surrounding light + O'erflow'd the vault of heaven. For now in view + Remoter climes and future ages drew; + Whose deeds of happier fame, in long array, + Call'd into vision, fill the newborn day. + + Far as seraphic power could lift the eye, + Or earth or ocean bend the yielding sky, + Or circling sutis awake the breathing gale, + Drake lead the way, or Cook extend the sail; + Where Behren sever'd, with adventurous prow, + Hesperia's headland from Tartaria's brow; + Where sage Vancouvre's patient leads were hurl'd, + Where Deimen stretch'd his solitary world; + All lands, all seas that boast a present name, + And all that unborn time shall give to fame, + Around the Pair in bright expansion rise, + And earth, in one vast level, bounds the skies. + + They saw the nations tread their different shores, + Ply their own toils and wield their local powers, + Their present state in all its views disclose, + Their gleams of happiness, their shades of woes, + Plodding in various stages thro the range + Of man's unheeded but unceasing change. + Columbus traced them with experienced eye, + And class'd and counted all the flags that fly; + He mark'd what tribes still rove the savage waste, + What cultured realms the sweets of plenty taste; + Where arts and virtues fix their golden reign, + Or peace adorns, or slaughter dyes the plain. + + He saw the restless Tartar, proud to roam, + Move with his herds and pitch a transient home; + Tibet's long tracts and China's fixt domain, + Dull as their despots, yield their cultured grain; + Cambodia, Siam, Asia's myriad isles + And old Indostan, with their wealthy spoils + Attract adventures masters, and o'ershade + Their sunbright ocean with the wings of trade. + Arabian robbers, Syrian Kurds combined, + Create their deserts and infest mankind; + The Turk's dim Crescent, like a day-struck star, + As Russia's Eagle shades their haunts of war, + Shrinks from insulted Europe, who divide + The shatter'd empire to the Pontic tide. + He mark'd impervious Afric, where alone + She lies encircled with the verdant zone + That lines her endless coast, and still sustains + Her northern pirates and her eastern swains, + Mourns her interior tribes purloined away, + And chain'd and sold beyond Atlantic day. + Brazilla's wilds, Mackensie's savage lands + With bickering strife inflame their furious bands; + Atlantic isles and Europe's cultured shores + Heap their vast wealth, exchange their growing stores, + All arts inculcate, new discoveries plan, + Tease and torment but school the race of man. + While his own federal states, extending far, + Calm their brave sons now breathing from the war, + Unfold their harbors, spread their genial soil, + And welcome freemen to the cheerful toil. + + A sight so solemn, as it varied sound, + Fill'd his fond heart with reveries profound; + He felt the infinitude of thoughts that pass + And guide and govern that enormous mass. + The cares that agitate, the creeds that blind, + The woes that waste the many-master'd kind, + The distance great that still remains to trace, + Ere sober sense can harmonize the race, + Held him suspense, imprest with reverence meek, + And choked his utterance as he wish'd to speak: + When Hesper thus: The paths they here pursue, + Wide as they seem unfolding to thy view, + Show but a point in that long circling course + Which cures their weakness and confirms their force, + Lends that experience which alone can close + The scenes of strife, and give the world repose. + Yet here thou seest the same progressive plan + That draws for mutual succour man to man, + From twain to tribe, from tribe to realm dilates, + In federal union groups a hundred states, + Thro all their turns with gradual scale ascends, + Their powers; their passions and their interest blends; + While growing arts their social virtues spread, + Enlarge their compacts and unlock their trade; + Till each remotest clan, by commerce join'd, + Links in the chain that binds all humankind, + Their bloody banners sink in darkness furl'd, + And one white flag of peace triumphant walks the world. + + As infant streams, from oozing earth at first + With feeble force and lonely murmurs burst, + From myriad unseen fountains draw the rills + And curl contentious round their hundred hills, + Meet, froth and foam, their dashing currents swell, + O'er crags and rocks their furious course impel, + Impetuous plunging plough the mounds of earth, + And tear the fostering flanks that gave them birth; + Mad with the strength they gain, they thicken deep + Their muddy waves and slow and sullen creep, + O'erspread whole regions in their lawless pride, + Then stagnate long, then shrink and curb their tide; + Anon more tranquil grown, with steadier sway, + Thro broader banks they shape their seaward way, + From different climes converging, join and spread + Their mingled waters in one widening bed, + Profound, transparent; till the liquid zone + Bands half the globe and drinks the golden sun, + Sweeps onward still the still expanding plain, + And moves majestic to the boundless main. + Tis thus Society's small sources rise; + Thro passions wild her infant progress lies; + Fear, with its host of follies, errors, woes, + Creates her obstacles and forms her foes; + Misguided interest, local pride withstand, + Till long-tried ills her growing views expand, + Till tribes and states and empires find their place, + Whose mutual wants her widest walks embrace; + Enlightened interest, moral sense at length + Combine their aids to elevate her strength, + Lead o'er the world her peace-commanding sway. + And light her steps with everlasting day. + + From that mark'd stage of man we now behold, + More rapid strides his coming paths unfold; + His continents are traced, his islands found, + His well-taught sails on all his billows bound, + His varying wants their new discoveries ply, + And seek in earth's whole range their sure supply. + + First of his future stages, thou shalt see + His trade unfetter'd and his ocean free. + From thy young states the code consoling springs, + To strip from vulture War his naval wings; + In views so just all Europe's powers combine, + And earth's full voice approves the vast design. + Tho still her inland realms the combat wage + And hold in lingering broils the unsettled age, + Yet no rude shocks that shake the crimson plain + Shall more disturb the labors of the main; + The main that spread so wide his travell'd way, + Liberal as air, impartial as the day, + That all thy race the common wealth might share, + Exchange their fruits and fill their treasures there, + Their speech assimilate, their counsels blend, + Till mutual interest fix the mutual friend. + Now see, my son, the destined hour advance; + Safe in their leagues commercial navies dance, + Leave their curst cannon on the quay-built strand, + And like the stars of heaven a fearless course command. + + The Hero look'd; beneath his wondering eyes + Gay streamers lengthen round the seas and skies; + The countless nations open all their stores, + Load every wave and crowd the lively shores; + Bright sails in mingling mazes streak the air, + And commerce triumphs o'er the rage of war. + + From Baltic streams, from Elba's opening side, + From Rhine's long course and Texel's laboring tide, + From Gaul, from Albion, tired of fruitless fight, + From green Hibernia, clothed in recent light, + Hispania's strand that two broad oceans lave, + From Senegal and Gambia's golden wave, + Tago the rich, and Douro's viny shores, + The sweet Canaries and the soft Azores, + Commingling barks their mutual banners hail, + And drink by turns the same distending gale. + Thro Calpe's strait that leads the Midland main, + From Adria, Pontus, Nile's resurgent reign, + The sails look forth and wave their bandrols high + And ask their breezes from a broader sky. + Where Asia's isles and utmost shorelands bend, + Like rising suns the sheeted masts ascend; + Coast after coast their flowing flags unrol, + From Deimen's rocks to Zembla's ice-propt pole, + Where Behren's pass collapsing worlds divides, + Where California breaks the billowy tides, + Peruvian streams their golden margins boast, + Or Chili bluffs or Plata flats the coast. + Where, clothed in splendor, his Atlantic way + Spreads the blue borders of Hesperian day, + From all his havens, with majestic sweep, + The swiftest boldest daughters of the deep + Swarm forth before him; till the cloudlike train + From pole to pole o'ersheet the whitening main. + + So some primeval seraph, placed on high, + From heaven's sublimest point o'erlooke'd the sky, + When space unfolding heard the voice of God, + And suns and stars and systems roll'd abroad, + Caught their first splendors from his beamful eye, + Began their years and vaulted round their sky; + Their social spheres in bright confusion play, + Exchange their beams and fill the newborn day. + + Nor seas alone the countless barks behold; + Earth's inland realms their naval paths unfold. + Her plains, long portless, now no more complain + Of useless rills and fountains nursed in vain; + Canals curve thro them many a liquid line, + Prune their wild streams, their lakes and oceans join. + Where Darien hills o'erlook the gulphy tide, + Cleft in his view the enormous banks divide; + Ascending sails their opening pass pursue, + And waft the sparkling treasures of Peru. + Moxoe resigns his stagnant world of fen, + Allures, rewards the cheerful toils of men, + Leads their long new-made rivers round his reign, + Drives off the stench and waves his golden grain, + Feeds a whole nation from his cultured shore, + Where not a bird could skim the skies before. + + From Mohawk's mouth, far westing with the sun, + Thro all the midlands recent channels run, + Tap the redundant lakes, the broad hills brave, + And Hudson marry with Missouri's wave. + From dim Superior, whose uncounted sails + Shade his full seas and bosom all his gales, + New paths unfolding seek Mackensie's tide, + And towns and empires rise along their side; + Slave's crystal highways all his north adorn, + Like coruscations from the boreal morn. + Proud Missisippi, tamed and taught his road, + Flings forth irriguous from his generous flood + Ten thousand watery glades; that, round him curl'd, + Vein the broad bosom of the western world. + + From the red banks of Arab's odorous tide + Their Isthmus opens, and strange waters glide; + Europe from all her shores, with crowded sails, + Looks thro the pass and calls the Asian gales. + Volga and Obi distant oceans join. + Delighted Danube weds the wasting Rhine; + Elbe, Oder, Neister channel many a plain, + Exchange their barks and try each other's main. + All infant streams and every mountain rill + Choose their new paths, some useful task to fill, + Each acre irrigate, re-road the earth, + And serve at last the purpose of their birth. + + Earth, garden'd all, a tenfold burden brings; + Her fruits, her odors, her salubrious springs + Swell, breathe and bubble from the soil they grace, + String with strong nerves the renovating race, + Their numbers multiply in every land, + Their toils diminish and their powers expand; + And while she rears them with a statelier frame + Their soul she kindles with diviner flame, + Leads their bright intellect with fervid glow + Thro all the mass of things that still remains to know. + + He saw the aspiring genius of the age + Soar in the Bard and strengthen in the Sage: + The Bard with bolder hand assumes the lyre, + Warms the glad nations with unwonted fire, + Attunes to virtue all the tones that roll + Their tides of transport thro the expanding soul. + For him no more, beneath their furious gods, + Old ocean crimsons and Olympus nods, + Uprooted mountains sweep the dark profound, + Or Titans groan beneath the rending ground, + No more his clangor maddens up the mind + To crush, to conquer and enslave mankind, + To build on ruin'd realms the shrines of fame, + And load his numbers with a tyrant's name. + Far nobler objects animate his tongue, + And give new energies to epic song; + To moral charms he bids the world attend, + Fraternal states their mutual ties extend, + O'er cultured earth the rage of conquest cease, + War sink in night and nature smile in peace. + Soaring with science then he learns to string + Her highest harp, and brace her broadest wing, + With her own force to fray the paths untrod, + With her own glance to ken the total God, + Thro heavens o'ercanopied by heavens behold + New suns ascend and other skies unfold, + Social and system'd worlds around him shine, + And lift his living strains to harmony divine. + + The Sage with steadier lights directs his ken, + Thro twofold nature leads the walks of men, + Remoulds her moral and material frames, + Their mutual aids, their sister laws proclaims, + Disease before him with its causes flies, + And boasts no more of sickly soils and skies; + His well-proved codes the healing science aid, + Its base establish and its blessing spread, + With long-wrought life to teach the race to glow, + And vigorous nerves to grace the locks of snow. + + From every shape that varying matter gives, + That rests or ripens, vegetates or lives, + His chymic powers new combinations plan, + Yield new creations, finer forms to man, + High springs of health for mind and body trace, + Add force and beauty to the joyous race, + Arm with new engines his adventurous hand, + Stretch o'er these elements his wide command, + Lay the proud storm submissive at his feet, + Change, temper, tame all subterranean heat, + Probe laboring earth and drag from her dark side + The mute volcano, ere its force be tried; + Walk under ocean, ride the buoyant air, + Brew the soft shower, the labor'd land repair, + A fruitful soil o'er sandy deserts spread, + And clothe with culture every mountain's head. + + Where system'd realms their mutual glories lend, + And well-taught sires the cares of state attend, + Thro every maze of man they learn to wind, + Note each device that prompts the Proteus mind, + What soft restraints the tempered breast requires, + To taste new joys and cherish new desires, + Expand the selfish to the social flame, + And rear the soul to deeds of nobler fame. + + They mark, in all the past records of praise, + What partial views heroic zeal could raise; + What mighty states on others' ruins stood, + And built unsafe their haughty seats in blood; + How public virtue's ever borrow'd name + With proud applauses graced the deeds of shame, + Bade each imperial standard wave sublime, + And wild ambition havoc every clime; + From chief to chief the kindling spirit ran, + Heirs of false fame and enemies of man. + + Where Grecian states in even balance hung, + And warm'd with jealous fires the patriot's tongue, + The exclusive ardor cherish'd in the breast + Love to one land and hatred to the rest. + And where the flames of civil discord rage, + And Roman arms with Roman arms engage, + The mime of virtue rises still the same, + To build a Cesar's as a Pompey's name. + + But now no more the patriotic mind, + To narrow views and local laws confined, + Gainst neighboring lands directs the public rage. + Plods for a clan or counsels for an age; + But soars to loftier thoughts, and reaches far + Beyond the power, beyond the wish of war; + For realms and ages forms the general aim, + Makes patriot views and moral views the same, + Works with enlighten'd zeal, to see combined + The strength and happiness of humankind. + + Long had Columbus with delighted eyes + Mark'd all the changes that around him rise, + Lived thro descending ages as they roll, + And feasted still the still expanding soul; + When now the peopled regions swell more near, + And a mixt noise tumultuous stuns his ear. + At first, like heavy thunders roll'd in air, + Or the rude shock of cannonading war, + Or waves resounding on the craggy shore, + Hoarse roll'd the loud-toned undulating roar. + But soon the sounds like human voices rise, + All nations pouring undistinguisht cries; + Till more distinct the wide concussion grown + Rolls forth at times an accent like his own. + By turns the tongues assimilating blend, + And smoother idioms over earth ascend; + Mingling and softening still in every gale, + O'er discord's din harmonious tones prevail. + At last a simple universal sound + Winds thro the welkin, sooths the world around, + From echoing shores in swelling strain replies, + And moves melodious o'er the warbling skies. + + Such wild commotions as he heard and view'd, + In fixt astonishment the Hero stood, + And thus besought the Guide: Celestial friend, + What good to man can these dread scenes intend? + Some sore distress attends that boding sound + That breathed hoarse thunder and convulsed the ground. + War sure hath ceased; or have my erring eyes + Misread the glorious visions of the skies? + Tell then, my Seer, if future earthquakes sleep, + Closed in the conscious caverns of the deep, + Waiting the day of vengeance, when to roll + And rock the rending pillars of the pole. + Or tell if aught more dreadful to my race + In these dark signs thy heavenly wisdom trace; + And why the loud discordance melts again + In the smooth glidings of a tuneful strain. + + The guardian god replied: Thy fears give o'er; + War's hosted hounds shall havoc earth no more; + No sore distress these signal sounds foredoom, + But give the pledge of peaceful years to come; + The tongues of nations here their accents blend. + Till one pure language thro the world extend. + + Thou know'st the tale of Babel; how the skies + Fear'd for their safety as they felt him rise, + Sent unknown jargons mid the laboring bands, + Confused their converse and unnerved their hands, + Dispersed the bickering tribes and drove them far, + From peaceful toil to violence and war; + Bade kings arise with bloody flags unfurl'd, + Bade pride and conquest wander o'er the world, + Taught adverse creeds, commutual hatreds bred, + Till holy homicide the climes o'erspread. + --For that fine apologue, writh mystic strain, + Gave like the rest a golden age to man, + Ascribed perfection to his infant state, + Science unsought and all his arts innate; + Supposed the experience of the growing race + Must lead him retrograde and cramp his pace, + Obscure his vision as his lights increast, + And sink him from an angel to a beast. + + Tis thus the teachers of despotic sway + Strive in all times to blot the beams of day, + To keep him curb'd, nor let him lift his eyes + To see where happiness, where misery lies. + They lead him blind, and thro the world's broad waste + Perpetual feuds, unceasing shadows cast, + Crush every art that might the mind expand, + And plant with demons every desert land; + That, fixt in straiten'd bounds, the lust of power + May ravage still and still the race devour, + An easy prey the hoodwink'd hordes remain, + And oceans roll and shores extend in vain. + + Long have they reign'd; till now the race at last + Shake off their manacles, their blinders cast, + Overrule the crimes their fraudful foes produce, + By ways unseen to serve the happiest use, + Tempt the wide wave, probe every yielding soil, + Fill with their fruits the hardy hand of toil, + Unite their forces, wheel the conquering car, + Deal mutual death, but civilize by war. + + Dear-bought the experiment and hard the strife + Of social man, that rear'd his arts to life. + His Passions wild that agitate the mind, + His Reason calm, their watchful guide designed, + While yet unreconciled, his march restrain, + Mislead the judgment and betray the man. + Fear, his first passion, long maintain'd the sway, + Long shrouded in its glooms the mental ray, + Shook, curb'd, controll'd his intellectual force, + And bore him wild thro many a devious course. + Long had his Reason, with experienced eye, + Perused the book of earth and scaled the sky, + Led fancy, memory, foresight in her train, + And o'er creation stretch'd her vast domain; + Yet would that rival Fear her strength appal; + In that one conflict always sure to fall, + Mild Reason shunn'd the foe she could not brave, + Renounced her empire and remained a slave. + + But deathless, tho debased, she still could find + Some beams of truth to pour upon the mind; + And tho she dared no moral code to scan, + Thro physic forms she learnt to lead the man; + To strengthen thus his opening orbs of sight, + And nerve and clear them for a stronger light. + That stronger light, from nature's double codes, + Now springs expanding and his doubts explodes; + All nations catch it, all their tongues combine + To hail the human morn and speak the day divine. + + At this blest period, when the total race + Shall speak one language and all truths embrace, + Instruction clear a speedier course shall find, + And open earlier on the infant mind. + No foreign terms shall crowd with barbarous rules + The dull unmeaning pageantry of schools; + Nor dark authorities nor names unknown + Fill the learnt head with ignorance not its own; + But wisdom's eye with beams unclouded shine, + And simplest rules her native charms define; + One living language, one unborrow'd dress + Her boldest flights with fullest force express; + Triumphant virtue, in the garb of truth, + Win a pure passage to the heart of youth, + Pervade all climes where suns or oceans roll, + And warm the world with one great moral soul, + To see, facilitate, attain the scope + Of all their labor and of all their hope. + + As early Phosphor, on his silver throne, + Fair type of truth and promise of the sun, + Smiles up the orient in his dew-dipt ray, + Illumes the front of heaven and leads the day; + Thus Physic Science, with exploring eyes, + First o'er the nations bids her beauties rise, + Prepares the glorious way to pour abroad + Her Sister's brighter beams, the purest light of God. + Then Moral Science leads the lively mind + Thro broader fields and pleasures more refined; + Teaches the temper'd soul, at one vast view, + To glance o'er time and look existence thro, + See worlds and worlds, to being's formless end, + With all their hosts on her prime power depend, + Seraphs and suns and systems, as they rise, + Live in her life and kindle from her eyes, + Her cloudless ken, her all-pervading soul + Illume, sublime and harmonize the whole; + Teaches the pride of man its breadth to bound + In one small point of this amazing round, + To shrink and rest where nature fixt its fate, + A line its space, a moment for its date; + Instructs the heart an ampler joy to taste, + And share its feelings with each human breast, + Expand its wish to grasp the total kind + Of sentient soul, of cogitative mind; + Till mutual love commands all strife to cease, + And earth join joyous in the songs of peace. + + Thus heard Columbus, eager to behold + The famed Apocalypse its years unfold; + The soul stood speaking thro his gazing eyes, + And thus his voice: Oh let the visions rise! + Command, celestial Guide, from each far pole, + John's vision'd morn to open on my soul, + And raise the scenes, by his reflected light, + Living and glorious to my longing sight. + Let heaven unfolding show the eternal throne, + And all the concave flame in one clear sun; + On clouds of fire, with angels at his side, + The Prince of Peace, the King of Salem ride, + With smiles of love to greet the bridal earth, + Call slumbering ages to a second birth, + With all his white-robed millions fill the train, + And here commence the interminable reign! + Such views, the Saint replies, for sense too bright, + Would seal thy vision in eternal night; + Man cannot face nor seraph power display + The mystic beams of such an awful day. + Enough for thee, that thy delighted mind + Should trace the temporal actions of thy kind; + That time's descending veil should ope so far + Beyond the reach of wretchedness and war, + Till all the paths in nature's sapient plan + Fair in thy presence lead the steps of man, + And form at last, on earth's extended ball, + Union of parts and happiness of all. + To thy glad ken these rolling years have shown + The boundless blessings thy vast labors crown, + That, with the joys of unborn ages blest, + Thy soul exulting may retire to rest, + But see once more! beneath a change of skies, + The last glad visions wait thy raptured eyes. + + Eager he look'd. Another train of years + Had roll'd unseen, and brighten'd still their spheres; + Earth more resplendent in the floods of day + Assumed new smiles, and flush'd around him lay. + Green swell the mountains, calm the oceans roll, + Fresh beams of beauty kindle round the pole; + Thro all the range where shores and seas extend, + In tenfold pomp the works of peace ascend. + Robed in the bloom of spring's eternal year, + And ripe with fruits the same glad fields appear; + O'er hills and vales perennial gardens run, + Cities unwall'd stand sparkling to the sun; + The streams all freighted from the bounteous plain + Swell with the load and labor to the main, + Whose stormless waves command a steadier gale + And prop the pinions of a bolder sail: + Sway'd with the floating weight each ocean toils, + And joyous nature's full perfection smiles. + + Fill'd with unfolding fate, the vision'd age + Now leads its actors on a broader stage; + When clothed majestic in the robes of state, + Moved by one voice, in general congress meet + The legates of all empires. Twas the place + Where wretched men first firm'd their wandering pace; + Ere yet beguiled, the dark delirious hordes + Began to fight for altars and for lords; + Nile washes still the soil, and feels once more + The works of wisdom press his peopled shore. + + In this mid site, this monumental clime, + Rear'd by all realms to brave the wrecks of time + A spacious dome swells up, commodious great, + The last resort, the unchanging scene of state. + On rocks of adamant the walls ascend, + Tall columns heave and sky-like arches bend; + Bright o'er the golden roofs the glittering spires + Far in the concave meet the solar fires; + Four blazing fronts, with gates unfolding high, + Look with immortal splendor round the sky: + Hither the delegated sires ascend, + And all the cares of every clime attend. + + As that blest band, the guardian guides of heaven, + To whom the care of stars and suns is given, + (When one great circuit shall have proved their spheres, + And time well taught them how to wind their years) + Shall meet in general council; call'd to state + The laws and labors that their charge await; + To learn, to teach, to settle how to hold + Their course more glorious, as their lights unfold: + From all the bounds of space (the mandate known) + They wing their passage to the eternal throne; + Each thro his far dim sky illumes the road, + And sails and centres tow'rd the mount of God; + There, in mid universe, their seats to rear, + Exchange their counsels and their works compare: + So, from all tracts of earth, this gathering throng + In ships and chariots shape their course along, + Reach with unwonted speed the place assign'd + To hear and give the counsels of mankind. + + South of the sacred mansion, first resort + The assembled sires, and pass the spacious court. + Here in his porch earth's figured Genius stands, + Truth's mighty mirror poizing in his hands; + Graved on the pedestal and chased in gold, + Man's noblest arts their symbol forms unfold, + His tillage and his trade; with all the store + Of wondrous fabrics and of useful lore: + Labors that fashion to his sovereign sway + Earth's total powers, her soil and air and sea; + Force them to yield their fruits at his known call, + And bear his mandates round the rolling ball. + Beneath the footstool all destructive things, + The mask of priesthood and the mace of kings, + Lie trampled in the dust; for here at last + Fraud, folly, error all their emblems cast. + Each envoy here unloads his wearied hand + Of some old idol from his native land; + One flings a pagod on the mingled heap, + One lays a crescent, one a cross to sleep; + Swords, sceptres, mitres, crowns and globes and stars, + Codes of false fame and stimulants to wars + Sink in the settling mass; since guile began, + These are the agents of the woes of man. + + Now the full concourse, where the arches bend, + Pour thro by thousands and their seats ascend. + Far as the centred eye can range around, + Or the deep trumpet's solemn voice resound, + Long rows of reverend sires sublime extend, + And cares of worlds on every brow suspend. + High in the front, for soundest wisdom known, + A sire elect in peerless grandeur shone; + He open'd calm the universal cause, + To give each realm its limit and its laws, + Bid the last breath of tired contention cease, + And bind all regions in the leagues of peace; + Till one confederate, condependent sway + Spread with the sun and bound the walks of day, + One centred system, one all-ruling soul + Live thro the parts and regulate the whole. + + Here then, said Hesper, with a blissful smile, + Behold the fruits of thy long years of toil. + To yon bright borders of Atlantic day + Thy swelling pinions led the trackless way, + And taught mankind such useful deeds to dare, + To trace new seas and happy nations rear; + Till by fraternal hands their sails unfurl'd + Have waved at last in union o'er the world. + + Then let thy steadfast soul no more complain + Of dangers braved and griefs endured in vain, + Of courts insidious, envy's poison'd stings, + The loss of empire and the frown of kings; + While these broad views thy better thoughts compose + To spurn the malice of insulting foes; + And all the joys descending ages gain, + Repay thy labors and remove thy pain. + + + + + + +Notes. + + + +Tho it would be more convenient to the reader to find some of these notes, +especially the shorter ones, at the bottom of the pages to which they +refer, yet most of them are of such a length as would render that mode of +placing them disadvantageous to the symmetry of the pages and the general +appearance of the work. It seemed necessary that these should be collected +at the end of the Poem; and it was thought proper that the others should +not be separated from them. + +The notes will probably be found too voluminous for the taste of some +readers; but others would doubtless be better pleased to see them still +augmented, as several of the philosophical subjects and historical +references are left unexplained. Were I to offer apologies in this case, I +should hardly know on which side to begin. I will therefore only say that +in this appendage, as in the body of the work, I have aimed, as well as I +was able, at blending in due proportions the useful with the agreeable. + + + +No. 1. + + + _One gentle guardian once could shield the brave; + But now that guardian slumbers in the grave._ + + Book I. Line 105. + +The death of queen Isabella, which happened before the last return of +Columbus from America, was a subject of great sorrow to him. In her he lost +his only powerful friend in Spain, on whose influence he was accustomed to +rely in counteracting the perpetual intrigues of a host of enemies, whose +rank and fortune gave them a high standing at the court of Valladolid. +Their situation and connexions must havee commanded a weight of authority +not easily resisted by an individual foreigner, however illustrious from +his merit. + +It was a grievous reflection for Columbus that his services, tho great in +themselves and unequalled in their consequences to the world, had been +performed in an age and for a nation which knew not their value, as well as +for an ungrateful monarch who chose to disregard them. + + + +No. 2. + + + _As, awed to silence, savage lands gave place, + And hail'd with joy the sun-descended race._ + + Book I. Line 243. + +The original inhabitants of Hispaniola were worshippers of the sun. The +Europeans, when they first landed there, were supposed by them to be gods, +and consequently descended from the sun. See the subject of solar worship +treated more at large in a subsequent note. + + + +No. 3. + + + _High lanterned in his heaven the cloudless White + Heaves the glad sailor an eternal light;_ + + Book I. Line 333. + +The White Mountain of Newhampshire, tho eighty miles from the sea, is the +first land to be discovered in approaching that part of the coast of North +America. It serves as a landmark for a considerable length of coast, of +difficult navigation. + + + +No. 4. + + + _Whirl'd from the monstrous Andes' bursting sides, + Maragnon leads his congregating tides;_ + + Book I. Line 365. + +This river, from different circumstances, has obtained several different +names. It has been called Amazon, from an idea that some part of the +neighboring country was inhabited by a race of warlike women, resembling +what Herodotus relates of the Amazons of Scythia. It has been called +Orellana, from its having been discovered by a Spanish officer of that +name, who, on a certain expedition, deserted from the younger Pizarro on +one of the sources of this river, and navigated it from thence to the +ocean. Maragnon is the original name given it by the natives; which name I +choose to follow. + +If we estimate its magnitude by the length of its course and the quantity +of water it throws into the sea, it is much the greatest river that has +hitherto come to our knowledge. Its navigation is said by Condamine and +others to be uninterrupted for four thousand miles from the sea. Its +breadth, within the banks, is sixty geographical miles; it receives in its +course a variety of great rivers, besides those described in the text. Many +of these descend from elevated countries and mountains covered with snow, +the melting of which annually swells the Maragnon above its banks; when it +overflows and fertilizes a vast extent of territory. + + + +No. 5. + + + _He saw Xaraycts diamond lanks unfold, + And Paraguay's deep channel paved with gold._ + + Book I. Line 435. + +Some of the richest diamond mines are found on the banks of the lake +Xaraya. The river Paraguay is remarkable for the quantities of gold dust +found in its channel. The Rio de la Plata, properly so called, has +its source in the mountains of Potosi; and it was probably from this +circumstance that it received its name, which signifies River of Silver. +This river, after having joined the Paraguay, which is larger than itself, +retains its own name till it reaches the sea. Near the mouth, it is one +hundred and fifty miles wide; but in other respects it is far inferior to +the Maragnon. + + + +No. 6. + + + _Soon as the distant swell was seen to roll, + His ancient wishes reabsorb'd his soul;_ + + Book I. Line 449. + +The great object of Columbus, in most of his voyages, was to discover a +western passage to India. He navigated the Gulph of Mexico with particular +attention to this object, and was much disappointed in not finding a pass +into the South Sea. The view he is here supposed to have of that ocean +would therefore naturally recal his former desire of sailing to India. + + + +No. 7. + + + _This idle frith must open soon to fame, + Here a lost Lusitanian fix his name,_ + + Book I. Line 491. + +The straits of Magellan, so called from having been discovered by a +Portuguese navigator of that name, who first attempted to sail round the +world, and lost his life in the attempt. + + + +No. 8. + + + _Say, Palfrey, brave good man, was this thy doom? + Dwells here the secret of thy midsea tomb?_ + + Book I. Line 627. + +Colonel Palfrey of Boston was an officer of distinction in the American +army during the war of independence. Soon after the war he proposed to +visit Europe, and embarked for England; but never more was heard of. The +ship probably perished in the ice. His daughter, here alluded to, is now +the wife of William Lee, American consul at Bordeaux. + + + +No. 9. + + + _The beasts all whitening roam the lifeless plain, + And caves unfrequent scoop the couch for man._ + + Book I. Line 753. + +The color of animals is acquired partly from the food they eat, thro +successive generations, and partly from the objects with which they are +usually surrounded. Dr. Darwin has a curious note on this subject, in which +he remarks on the advantages that insects and other small animals derive +from their color, as a means of rendering them invisible to their more +powerful enemies; who thus find it difficult to distinguish them from other +objects where they reside. Some animals which inhabit cold countries turn +white in winter, when the earth is covered with snow; such as the snowbird +of the Alps. Others in snowy regions are habitually white; such as the +white bear of Russia. + + + +No. 10. + + + _A different cast the glowing zone demands, + In Paria's blooms, from Tombut's burning sands._ + + Book II. Line 97. + +Paria is a fertile country near the river Orinoco; the only part of the +continent of America that Columbus had seen. Tombut, in the same latitude, +is the most sterile part of Africa. America embraces a greater compass of +latitude by many degrees than the other continent; and yet its inhabitants +present a much less variety in their physical and moral character. When +shall we be able to account for this fact? + + + +No. 11. + + + _Yet when the hordes to happy nations rise, + And earth by culture warms the genial skies_, + + Book II. Line 119. + +Without entering into any discussion on the theory of heat and cold +(a point not yet settled in our academies) I would just observe, in +vindication of the expression in the text, that some solid matter, such for +instance as the surface of the earth, seems absolutely necessary to the +production of heat. At least it must be a matter more compact than that of +the sun's rays; and perhaps its power of producing heat is in proportion to +its solidity. + +The warmth communicated to the atmosphere is doubtless produced by the +combined causes of the earth and the sun; but the agency of the former is +probably more powerful in this operation than that of the latter, and its +presence more indispensable. For masses of matter will produce heat by +friction, without the aid of the sun; but no experiment has yet proved that +the rays of the sun are capable of producing heat without the aid of other +and more solid matter. The air is temperate in those cavities of the earth +where the sun is the most effectually excluded; whereas the coldest regions +yet known to us are the tops of the Andes, where the sun's rays have the +most direct operation, being the most vertical and the least obstructed by +vapors. Those regions are deprived of heat by being so far removed from +the broad surface of the earth; a body that appears requisite to warm the +surrounding atmosphere by its cooperation with the action of the sun. + +From these principles we may conclude that cultivation, in a woody country, +tends to warm the atmosphere and ameliorate a cold climate; as, by removing +the forests and marshes, it opens the earth to the sun, and allows them to +act in conjunction upon the air. + +According to the descriptions given of the middle parts of Europe by Cesar +and Tacitus, it appears that those countries were much colder in their days +than they are at present; cultivation seems to have softened that climate +to a great degree. The same effect begins to be perceived in North America. +Possibly it may in time become as apparent as the present difference in the +temperature of the two continents. + + + +No. 12. + + + _A ruddier hue and deeper shade shall gain, + And stalk, in statelier figures, on the plain._ + + Book II. Line 127. + +The complexion of the inhabitants of North America, who are descended from +the English and Dutch, is evidently darker, and their stature taller, than +those of the English and Dutch in Europe. + + + +No. 13. + + + _Like Memphian hieroglyphs, to stretch the span + Of memory frail in momentary man._ + + Book II. Line 287. + +We may reckon three stages of improvement in the graphic art, or the art of +communicating our thoughts to absent persons and to posterity by visible +signs. First, The invention of _painting ideas,_ or representing +actions, dates and other circumstances of historical fact, by the images of +material things, drawn usually on a flat surface, or sometimes carved or +moulded in a more solid form. This was the state at which the art had +arrived in Egypt before the introduction of letters, and in Mexico before +the arrival of the Spaniards. The Greeks in Egypt called it hieroglyphic. + +Second, The invention of _painting sounds,_ which we do by the use +of letters, or the alphabet, and which we call writing. This was a vast +improvement; as it simplified in a wonderful degree the communication of +thought. For ideas are infinite in number and variety; while the simple +sounds we use to convey them to the ear are few, distinct and easy to be +understood. It would indeed be impossible to express all our ideas by +distinct and visible images. And even if the writer were able to do this, +not many readers could be made to understand him; since it would be +necessary that every new idea should have a new image invented and agreed +upon between the writer and the reader, before it could be used. Which +preliminary could not be settled without the writer should see and converse +with the reader. And he might as well, in this case, convey his ideas by +oral speech; so that his writing could be of little use beyond a certain +routine of established signs. + +The number of simple sounds in human language, used in discourse, is not +above eighteen or twenty; and these are so varied in the succession in +which they are uttered, as to express an inconceivable and endless variety +of thought and sentiment. Then, by the help of an alphabet of about +twenty-six letters or visible signs, these sounds are translated from the +ear to the eye; and we are able, by thus painting the sound, to arrest its +fleeting nature, render it permanent, and talk with distant nations and +future ages, without any previous convention whatever, even supposing them +to be ignorant of the language in which we write. This is the present state +of the art, as commonly practised in all the countries where an alphabet +is used. It is called the art of writing; and to understand it is called +reading. + +Third, Another invention, which is still in its infancy, is the art of +_painting phrases,_ or sentences; commonly called shorthand writing. +This is yet but little used, and only by a few dexterous persons, who make +it a particular study. Probably the true principles on which it ought to be +founded are yet to be discovered. But it may be presumed, that in this part +of the graphic art there remains to the ingenuity of future generations a +course of improvements totally inconceivable to the present; by which the +whole train of impressions now made upon the mind by reading a long and +well written treatise may be conveyed by a few strokes of the pen, and be +received at a glance of the eye. This desideratum would be an abridgment +of labor in our mental acquisitions, of which we cannot determine the +consequences. It might make, in the progress of human knowledge, an epoch +as remarkable as that which was made by the invention of alphabetical +writing, and produce as great a change in the mode of transmitting the +history of events. + +One consequence of the invention of alphabetical writing seems to have been +to throw into oblivion all previous historical facts; and it has thus +left an immense void, which the imagination knows not how to fill, in +contemplating the progress of our race. How many important discoveries, +which still remain to our use, must have taken their origin in that space +of time which is thus left a void to us! A vast succession of ages, and +ages of improvement, must have preceded (for example) the invention of the +wheel. The wheel must have been in common use, we know not how long, before +alphabetical writing; because we find its image employed in painting ideas, +during the first stage of the graphic art above described. The wheel +was likewise in use before the mysteries of Ceres or those of Isis were +established; as is evident from its being imagined as an instrument +of punishment in hell, in the case of Ixion, as represented in those +mysteries. The taming of the ox and the horse, the use of the sickle +and the bow and arrow, a considerable knowledge of astronomy, and its +application to the purposes of agriculture and navigation, with many other +circumstances, which show a prodigious improvement, must evidently have +preceded the date of the zodiac; a date fixed by Dupuis, with a great +degree of probability, at about seventeen thousand years from our time. +This epoch would doubtless carry us back many thousand years beyond that of +the alphabet; the invention of which was sufficient of itself to obliterate +the details of previous history, as the event has proved. + +How far the loss of these historical details is to be regretted, as an +impediment to our progress in useful knowledge, I will not decide; but +in one view, which I am going to state, it may be justly considered as a +misfortune. + +The art of painting ideas, being arrested in the state in which the use of +the alphabet found it, went into general disuse for common purposes; and +the works then extant, as well as the knowledge of writing in that mode, +being no longer intelligible to the people, became objects of deep and +laborious study, and known only to the learned; that is, to the men of +leisure and contemplation. These men consequently ran it into mystery; +making it a holy object, above the reach of vulgar inquiry. On this +ground they established, in the course of ages, a profitable function +or profession, in the practice of which a certain portion of men of the +brightest talents could make a reputable living; taking care not to +initiate more than a limited number of professors; no more than the people +could maintain as priests. This mode of writing then assumed the name of +hieroglyphic, or sacred painting, to distinguish it from that which had +now become the vulgar mode of writing, by the use of the alphabet. This is +perhaps the source of that ancient, vast and variegated system of false +religion, with all its host of errors and miseries, which has so long and +so grievously weighed upon the character of human nature. + +In noticing the distinction of the three stages in the graphic art above +described, I have not mentioned the wonderful powers we derive from it +in the language of the mathematics and the language of music. In each of +these, though its effects are already astonishing, there is no doubt but +great improvements are still to be made. Our present mode of writing +in these, as in literature, belongs to the _second_ or _alphabetical_ +stage of the graphic art. The ten ciphers, and the other signs used in +the mathematical sciences, form the alphabet in which the language of +those sciences is written. The few musical notes, and the other signs +which accompany them, furnish an alphabet for writing the language of +music. + +The mode of writing in China is still different from any of those I have +mentioned. The Chinese neither paint ideas nor sounds: but they make a +character for every word; which character must vary according to the +different inflections and uses of that word. The characters must therefore +be insupportably numerous, and be still increasing as the language is +enriched with new words by the augmentation and correction of ideas. + +The English language is supposed to contain about twelve thousand distinct +words, and the Italian about seventeen thousand, in the present state of +our sciences. I know not how many the Chinese may contain; but if we were +to write our languages in the Chinese method, it would be the business of a +whole life for a man to learn his mother tongue, so as to read and write it +for his ordinary purposes. + +As the Chinese have not adopted an alphabet, but have adhered to an +invariable state of the graphic art, which is probably more ancient by +several thousand years than our present method, may we not venture to +conjecture that the traces of their very ancient history have been, for +that reason, better preserved? and that their pretensions to a very high +antiquity, which we have been used to think extravagant and ridiculous, are +really not without foundation? If so, we might then allow a little more +latitude to ourselves, and conclude that we are in fact as old as they, and +might have been as sensible of it, if we had adhered to our ancient +method of writing; and not changed it for a new one which, while it +has facilitated the progress of our science, has humbled our pride of +antiquity, by obliterating the dates of those labors and improvements of +our early progenitors, to which we are indebted for more of the rudiments +of our sciences and our arts than we usually imagine. + +It is much to be regretted, that the Spanish devastation in Mexico and Peru +was so universal as to leave us but few monuments of the history of the +human mind in those countries, which presented a state of manners so +remarkably different from what can be found in any other part of the world. +The pictorial writing of the Mexicans, tho sometimes called hieroglyphic, +does not appear to merit that name, as it was not exclusively appropriated +by the priests to sacred purposes. Indeed it could not be so appropriated +till a more convenient method could be discovered and adopted for common +purposes. For a thing cannot become sacred, in this sense of the word, +until it ceases to be common. + + + + +No. 14. + + + _No Bovadilla seize the tempting spoil, + No dark Ovando, no religious Boyle,_ + + Book II. Line 303. + +Bovadilla and Ovando are mentioned in the Introduction as the enemies and +successors of Columbus in the government of Hispaniola. They began +that system of cruelty towards the natives which in a few years almost +depopulated that island, and was afterwards pursued by Cortez, Pizarro and +others, in all the first settlements in Spanish America. + +Boyle was a fanatical priest who accompanied Ovando, and, under pretence of +christianizing the natives by the sword, gave the sanction of the church to +the most shocking and extensive scenes of slaughter. + + + +No. 15. + + + _He gains the shore. Behold his fortress rise, + His fleet high flaming suffocates the skies._ + + Book II. Line 329. + +The conduct of Cortez, when he first landed on the coast of Mexico, was as +remarkable for that hardy spirit of adventure, to which success gives the +name of policy, as his subsequent operations were for cruelty and perfidy. +As soon as his army was on shore, he dismantled his fleet of such articles +as would be useful in building a new one; he then set fire to his ships, +and burnt them in presence of his men; that they might fight their battles +with more desperate courage, knowing that it would be impossible to save +themselves from a victorious enemy by flight. He constructed a fort, in +which the iron and the rigging were preserved. + + + +No. 16. + + + _With cheerful rites their pure devotions pay + To the bright orb that gives the changing day._ + + Book II. Line 421. + +It is worthy of remark, that the countries where the worship of the sun has +made the greatest figure are Egypt and Peru; the two regions of the earth +the most habitually deprived of rain, and probably of clouds, which in +other countries so frequently obstruct his rays and seem to dispute his +influence. Tho in the rude ages of society it is certainly natural in all +countries to pay adoration to the sun, as one of the visible agents of +those changes in the atmosphere which most affect the people's happiness, +yet it is reasonable to suppose that this adoration would be more unmixed, +and consequently more durable, in climates where the agency of the sun +appears unrivalled and supreme. + +On the supposition that Greece and Western Asia, regions whose early +traditions are best known to us, derived their first theological ideas +from Egypt, it is curious to observe how the pure heliosebia of Egypt +degenerated in those climates in proportion as other visible agents seemed +to exert their influence in human affairs. Greece is a mountainous country, +subject to a great deal of lightning and other meteors, whose effects are +tremendous and make stronger impressions on rude savages than the gentle +energies of the sun. + +The Greeks therefore, having forgotten the source of their religious +system, ceased to consider the sun as their supreme god; his agency being, +in their opinion, subject to a more potent divinity, the Power of the air +or Jupiter, whom they styled the Thunderer. So that Apollo, the god of +light, became, in their mythology, the subject and offspring of the +supreme god of the atmosphere. This religion became extremely confused +and complicated with new fables, according to the temperature and other +accidents of the different climates thro which it passed. The god of +thunder obtained the supreme veneration generally in Europe: known in the +south by the name of Jupiter or Zeus and in the north by that of Thor. + +Europe in general has an uneven surface and a vapory sky, liable to great +concussions in the lower regions of the atmosphere which border the +habitation of man. There is no wonder that in such a region the god of the +air should appear more powerful than the god of light. This disposition of +the elements has given a gloomy cast to the mind, and in the north more +than in the south. The Thor of the Celtic nations was more tremendous, more +feared and less beloved, than the Jupiter of the Greeks and Romans; he was +worshipped accordingly with more bloody sacrifices. But in all Europe, +Western Asia and the northwestern coast of Africa, where the earth is +uneven and the climate variable, their religion was more gloomy and their +gods more ferocious than among the ancient Egyptians. + +A like difference is observed in the religions of the two countries in +America where civilization was most advanced before the arrival of the +Spaniards. Peru enjoyed a climate of great serenity and regularity. Of +all the sensible agents that operated on the earth and air, the sun was +apparently the most uniform and energetic. The worship of the sun was +therefore the most predominant and durable; and it inspired a mildness of +manners analogous to his mild and beneficent influence. In Mexico and other +uneven countries, where storms and earthquakes were frequent, the sun, +altho he was reckoned among their deities, was not considered so powerful +as those of a more boisterous and maleficent nature. The Mexican worship +was therefore addressed chiefly to ferocious beings, enemies to human +happiness, who delighted in the tears and blood of their votaries. The +difference in the moral cast of religion in Peru and Mexico, as well as in +Egypt and Greece, must have been greatly owing to climate. Indeed in what +else should it be found? since the origin of religious ideas must have +been in the energies of those visible agents which form the distinctive +character of climates. + + + +No. 17. + + + _Long is the tale; but tho their labors rest + By years obscured, in flowery fiction drest,_ + + Book II. Line 455. + +The traditions respecting these founders of the Peruvian empire are indeed +obscure; but they excite in us the same sort of veneration that we feel +for the most amiable and distinguished characters of remote antiquity. The +honest zeal of Garcilasso de la Vega in collecting these traditions into +one body of history, as a probable series of facts, is to be applauded; +since he has there presented us with one of the most striking examples of +the _beau ideal_ in political character, that can be found in the +whole range of literature. He treats his subject with more natural +simplicity, tho with less talent, than Plutarch or Xenophon, when they +undertake a similar task, that of drawing traditional characters to fill up +the middle space between fable and history. + +With regard to the true position that the portrait of Manco Capac ought to +hold in this middle space, how near it should stand to history and how +near to fable, we should find it difficult to say, and perhaps useless to +inquire. Plutarch has gravely given us the lives and actions of several +heroes who are evidently more fabulous than Capac, and of others who should +be placed on the same line with him. The existence of Theseus, Romulus +and Numa is more doubtful and their actions less probable than his. The +character of Capac, in regard to its reality, stands on a parallel with +that of the Lycurgus of Plutarch and the Cyrus of Xenophon; not purely +historical nor purely fabulous, but presented to us as a compendium of +those talents and labors which might possibly be crowded into the capacity +of one mind, and be achieved in one life, but which more probably belong +to several generations; the talents and labors that could reduce a great +number of ferocious tribes into one peaceable and industrious state. + +Garcilasso was himself an Inca by maternal descent, born and educated +at Cusco after the Spanish conquest. He writes apparently with the most +scrupulous regard to truth, with little judgment and no ornament. He +discovers a credulous zeal to throw a lustre on his remote ancestor Manco +Capac, not by inventing new incidents, but by collecting with great +industry all that had been recorded in the annals of the family. And their +manner of recording events, tho not so perfect as that of writing, was not +so liable to error as traditions merely oral, like those of the Caledonian +and other Celtic bards, with respect to the ancient heroes of their +countries. + +His account states, that about four centuries previous to the discovery of +that country by the Spaniards, the natives of Peru were as rude savages +as any in America. They had no fixed habitations, no ideas of permanent +property; they wandered naked like the beasts, and like them depended on +the events of each day for a subsistence. At this period Manco Capac and +his wife Mauna Oella appeared on a small island in the lake Titiaca, near +which the city of Cusco was afterwards built. These persons, to establish a +belief of their divinity in the minds of the people, were clothed in white +garments of cotton, and declared themselves descended from the sun, who +was their father and the god of that country. They affirmed that he was +offended at their cruel and perpetual wars, their barbarous modes of +worship, and their neglecting to make the best use of the blessings he was +constantly bestowing, in fertilizing the earth and producing vegetation; +that he pitied their wretched state, and had sent his own children to +instruct them and to establish a number of wise regulations, by which they +might be rendered happy. + +By some uncommon method of persuasion, these persons drew together a few +of the savage tribes, laid the foundation of the city of Cusco, and +established what is called the kingdom of the Sun, or the Peruvian empire. +In the reign of Manco Capac, the dominion was extended about eight leagues +from the city; and at the end of four centuries it was established fifteen +hundred miles on the coast of the Pacific ocean, and from that ocean to +the Andes. During this period, thro a succession of twelve monarchs, the +original constitution, established by the first Inca, remained unaltered; +and this constitution, with the empire itself, was at last overturned by an +accident which no human wisdom could foresee or prevent. + +For a more particular detail of the character and institutions of this +extraordinary personage the reader is referred to a subsequent note, in +which he will find a dissertation on that subject. + +In the passage preceding this reference, I have alluded to the fabulous +traditions relating to these children of the sun. In the remainder of the +second and thro the whole of the third book, I have given what may be +supposed a probable narrative of their real origin and actions. The space +allowed to this episode may appear too considerable in a poem whose +principal object is so different. But it may be useful to exhibit in action +the manners and sentiments of savage tribes, whose aliment is war; that the +contrast may show more forcibly the advantages of civilized life, whose +aliment is peace. + + + +No. 18. + + + _Long robes of white my shoulders must embrace, + To speak my lineage of ethereal race;_ + + Book II. Line 553. + +As the art of spinning is said to have been invented by Oella, it is no +improbable fiction to imagine that they first assumed these white garments +of cotton as an emblem of the sun, in order to inspire that reverence +for their persons which was necessary to their success. Such a dress may +likewise be supposed to have continued in the family as a badge of royalty. + + + +No. 19. + + + DISSERTATION ON THE INSTITUTIONS OF MANCO CAPAC. + + For the end of Book II. + +Altho the original inhabitants of America in general deserve to be classed +among the most unimproved savages that had been, discovered before those of +New Holland, yet the Mexican and Peruvian governments exhibited remarkable +exceptions, and seemed to be fast approaching to a state of civilization. +In the difference of national character between the people of these two +empires we may discern the influence of political systems on the human +mind, and infer the importance of the task which a legislator undertakes, +in attempting to reduce a barbarous people under the control of government +and laws. + +The Mexican constitution was formed to render its subjects brave and +powerful; but, while it succeeded in this object, it kept them far removed +from the real blessings of society. According to the Spanish accounts +(which for an obvious reason may however be suspected of exaggeration) +the manners of the Mexicans were uncommonly ferocious, and their religion +gloomy, sanguinary, and unrelenting. But the establishments of Manco Capac, +if we may follow Garcilasso in attributing the whole of the Peruvian +constitution to that wonderful personage, present the aspect of a most +benevolent and pacific system; they tended to humanize the world and render +his people happy; while his ideas of deity were so elevated as to bear a +comparison with the sublime doctrines of Socrates or Plato. + +The characters, whether real or fabulous, who are the most distinguished +as lawgivers among barbarous nations, are Moses, Lycurgus, Solon, Numa, +Mahomet, and Peter of Russia. Of these, only the two former and the two +latter appear really to deserve the character of lawgivers. Solon and Numa +possessed not the opportunity of showing their talents in the work of +original legislation. Athens and Rome were considerably civilized before +these persons arose. The most they could do was to correct and amend +constitutions already formed. Solon may be considered as a wise politician, +but by no means as the founder of a nation. The Athenians were too +far advanced in society to admit any radical change in their form of +government; unless recourse could have been had to the representative +system, by establishing an equality of rank, and instructing all the people +in their duties and their rights; a system which was never understood by +any ancient legislator. + +The institutions of Numa (if such a person as Numa really existed) were +more effective and durable. His religious ceremonies were, for many ages, +the most powerful check on the licentious and turbulent Romans, the greater +part of whom were ignorant slaves. By inculcating a remarkable reverence +for the gods, and making it necessary to consult the auspices when any +thing important was to be transacted, his object was to render the popular +superstition subservient to the views of policy, and thus to give the +senate a steady check upon the plebeians. But the constitutions of Rome and +Athens, notwithstanding the abundant applause that has been bestowed upon +them, were never fixed on any permanent principles; tho the wisdom of some +of their rulers, and the spirit of liberty that inspired the citizens, may +justly demand our admiration. + +Each of the other legislators above mentioned deserves a particular +consideration, as having acted in stations somewhat similar to that of the +Peruvian patriarch. Three objects are to be attended to by the legislator +of a barbarous people: First, That his system be such as is capable of +reducing the greatest number of men under one jurisdiction: Second, That it +apply to such principles in human nature for its support as are universal +and permanent, in order to insure the duration of the government: Third, +That it admit of improvements correspondent to any advancement in knowledge +or variation of circumstances that may happen to its subjects, without +endangering the principle of government by such innovations. So far as the +systems of such legislators agree with these fundamental principles; they +are worthy of respect; and so far as they deviate, they may be considered +as defective. + +To begin with Moses and Lycurgus: It is proper to observe that, in order to +judge of the merit of any institutions, we must take into view the peculiar +character of the people for whom they were framed. For want of this +attention, many of the laws of Moses and some of those of Lycurgus have +been ridiculed and censured. The Jews, when led by Moses out of Egypt, were +not only uncivilized, but having just risen to independence from a state +of servitude they united the manners of servants and savages; and their +national character was a compound of servility, ignorance, filthiness and +cruelty. Of their cruelty as a people we need no other proof than the +account of their avengers of blood, and the readiness with which the +whole congregation turned executioners, and stoned to death the devoted +offenders. The leprosy, a disease now scarcely known, was undoubtedly +produced by a want of cleanliness continued for successive generations. +In this view, their frequent ablutions, their peculiar modes of trial and +several other institutions, may be vindicated from ridicule and proved to +be wise regulations. + +The Spartan lawgiver has been censured for the toleration of theft and +adultery. Among that race of barbarians these habits were too general to +admit of total prevention or universal punishment. By vesting all property +in the commonwealth, instead of encouraging theft, he removed the +possibility of the crime; and, in a nation where licentiousness was +generally indulged, it was a great step towards introducing a purity of +manners, to punish adultery in all cases wherein it was committed without +the consent of all parties interested in its consequences. + +Until the institution of representative republics, which are of recent +date, it was found that those constitutions of government were best +calculated for immediate energy and duration, which were interwoven with +some religious system. The legislator who appears in the character of an +inspired person renders his political institutions sacred, and interests +the conscience as well as the judgment in their support. The Jewish +lawgiver had this advantage over the Spartan: he appeared not in the +character of a mere earthly governor, but as an interpreter of the divine +will. By enjoining a religious observance of certain rites he formed his +people to habitual obedience; by directing their cruelty against the +breakers of the laws he at least mitigated the rancor of private hatred; by +directing that real property should return to the original families in +the year of Jubilee he prevented too great an equality of wealth; and by +selecting a single tribe to be the interpreters of religion he prevented +its mysteries from being the subject of profane and vulgar investigation. +With a view of securing the permanence of his institutions, he prohibited +intercourse with foreigners by severe restrictions, and formed his people +to habits and a character disagreeable to other nations; so that any +foreign intercourse was prevented by the mutual hatred of both parties. + +To these institutions the laws of Lycurgus bear a striking resemblance. The +features of his constitution were severe and forbidding; it was however +calculated to inspire the most enthusiastic love of liberty and martial +honor. In no country was the patriotic passion more energetic than in +Sparta; no laws ever excluded the idea of separate property in an equal +degree, or inspired a greater contempt for the manners of other nations. +The prohibition of money, commerce and almost every thing desirable to +effeminate nations, excluded foreigners from Sparta; and while it inspired +the people with contempt for strangers it made them agreeable to each +other. By these means Lycurgus rendered the nation warlike; and to insure +the duration of the government he endeavored to interest the consciences +of his people by the aid of oracles, and by the oath he is said to have +exacted from them to obey his laws till his return, when he went into +perpetual exile. + +From this view of the Jewish and Spartan institutions, applied to +the principles before stated, they appear in the two first articles +considerably imperfect, and in the last totally defective. Neither of them +was calculated to bring any considerable territory or number of men under +one jurisdiction: from this circumstance alone they could not be rendered +permanent, as nations so restricted in their means of extension must be +constantly exposed to their more powerful neighbors. But the third object +of legislation, that of providing for the future progress of society, which +as it regards the happiness of mankind is the most important of the three, +was in both instances entirely neglected. These symptoms appear to have +been formed with an express design to prevent future improvement in +knowledge or enlargement of the human mind, and to fix those nations in +a state of ignorance and barbarism. To vindicate their authors from an +imputation of weakness or inattention in this particular, it may be urged +that they were each of them surrounded by nations more powerful than +their own; it was therefore perhaps impossible for them to commence an +establishment upon any other plan. + +The institutions of Mahomet are next to be considered. The first object of +legislation appears to have been better understood by him than by either of +the preceding sages; his jurisdiction was capable of being enlarged to any +extent of territory, and governing any number of nations that might be +subjugated by his enthusiastic armies; and his system of religion was +admirably calculated to attain this object. Like Moses, he convinced his +people that he acted as the vicegerent of God; but with this advantage, +adapting his religion to the natural feelings and propensities of mankind, +he multiplied his followers by the allurements of pleasure and the promise +of a sensual paradise. These circumstances were likewise sure to render his +constitution durable. His religious system was so easy to be understood, so +splendid and so inviting, there could be no danger that the people would +lose sight of its principles, and no necessity of future prophets to +explain its doctrines or reform the nation. To these advantages if we add +the exact and rigid military discipline, the splendor and sacredness of the +monarch, and that total ignorance among the people which such a system +will produce and perpetuate, the establishment must have been evidently +calculated for a considerable extent and duration. But the last and +most important end of government, that of mental improvement and social +happiness, was deplorably lost in the institution. There was probably more +learning and cultivated genius in Arabia, in the days of this extraordinary +man, than can now be found in all the Mahometan dominions. + +On the contrary, the enterprising mind of the Russian monarch appears to +have been wholly bent on the arts of civilization and the improvement of +society among his subjects. Established in a legal title to a throne which +already commanded a prodigious extent of country, he found the first object +of government already secured; and by applying himself with great sagacity +to the third object, that of improving his people, it was reasonable to +suppose that the second, the durability of his system, would become a +necessary consequence. He effected his purposes, important as they were, +merely by the introduction of the arts and the encouragement of politer +manners. The greatness of his character appears not so much in his +institutions, which he copied from other nations, as in the extraordinary +measures he followed to introduce them, the judgment he showed in selecting +and adapting them to the genius of his subjects, and the surprising +assiduity by which he raised a savage people to an elevated rank among +European nations. + +To the nature and operation of the several forms of government above +mentioned I will compare that of the Peruvian lawgiver. I have observed in +a preceding note that the knowledge we have of Manco Capac is necessarily +imperfect and obscure, derived thro traditions and family registers +(without the aid of writing) for four hundred years; from the time he is +supposed to have lived, till that of his historian and descendant, Inca +Garcilasso de la Vega. About an equal interval elapsed from the supposed +epoch of the first kings of Rome to that of their first historians; a +longer space from Lycurgus to Herodotus; probably not a shorter one from +the time of the great Cyrus to that of Xenophon, author of the elegant +romance on the actions of that hero. + +I recal the reader's attention to these comparisons, not with a view of +contending that our accounts of the actions ascribed to Capac are derived +from authentic records, and that he is a subject of real history, like +Mahomet or Peter; but to show that, our channels of information with regard +to him being equally respectable with those that have brought us acquainted +with the classical and venerable names of Lycurgus, Romulus, Numa and +Cyrus, we may be as correct in our reasonings from the modern as from the +ancient source of reference, and fancy ourselves treading a ground as +sacred on the tomb of the western patriarch, as on those more frequented +and less scrutinized in the east, consecrated to the demigods of Sparta, +Rome and Persia. + +It is probable that the savages of Peru before the time of Capac, among +other objects of adoration, paid homage to the sun. By availing himself +of this popular sentiment he appeared, like Moses and Mahomet, in the +character of a divine legislator endowed with supernatural powers. After +impressing these ideas on the minds of the people, drawing together a +number of the tribes and rendering them subservient to his benevolent +purposes, he applied himself to forming the outlines of a plan of policy +capable of founding and regulating an extensive empire, wisely calculated +for long duration, and well adapted to improve the knowledge, peace and +happiness of a considerable portion of mankind. In the allotment of the +lands as private property he invented a mode somewhat resembling the feudal +system of Europe: yet this system was checked in its operation by a law +similar to that of Moses which regulated landed possessions in the year of +Jubilee. He divided the lands into three parts; the first was consecrated +to the uses of religion, as it was from the sacerdotal part of his system +that he doubtless expected its most powerful support. The second portion +was set apart for the Inca and his family, to enable him to defray the +expenses of government and appear in the style of a monarch. The third and +largest portion was allotted to the people; which allotment was repeated +every year, and varied according to the number and exigences of each +family. + +As the Incan race appeared in the character of divinities, it seemed +necessary that a subordination of rank should be established, to render the +distinction between the monarch and his people more perceptible. With this +view he created a band of nobles, who were distinguished by personal and +hereditary honors. These were united to the monarch by the strongest ties +of interest; in peace they acted as judges and superintended the police of +the empire; in war they commanded in the armies. The next order of men were +the respectable landholders and cultivators, who composed the principal +strength of the nation. Below these was a class of men who were the +servants of the public and cultivated the public lands. They possessed +no property, and their security depended on their regular industry and +peaceable demeanor. Above all these orders were the Inca and his family. He +possessed absolute and uncontrolable power; his mandates were regarded as +the word of heaven, and the double guilt of impiety and rebellion attended +on disobedience. + +To impress the utmost veneration for the Incan family, it was a fundamental +principle that the royal blood should never be contaminated by any foreign +alliance. The mysteries of religion were preserved sacred by the high +priest of the royal family under the control of the king, and celebrated +with rites capable of making the deepest impression on the multitude. +The annual distribution of the lands, while it provided for the varying +circumstances of each family, was designed to strengthen the bands of +society by perpetuating that distinction of rank among the orders which is +supposed necessary to a monarchical government; the peasants could not vie +with their superiors, and the nobles could not be subjected by misfortune +to a subordinate station. A constant habit of industry was inculcated upon +all ranks by the force of example. The cultivation of the soil, which in +most other countries is considered as one of the lowest employments, was +here regarded as a divine art. Having had no knowledge of it before, and +being taught it by the children of their god, the people viewed it as a +sacred privilege, a national honor, to assist the sun in opening the bosom +of the earth to produce vegetation. That the government might be able to +exercise the endearing acts of beneficence, the produce of the public lands +was reserved in magazines, to supply the wants of the unfortunate and as a +resource in case of scarcity or invasion. + +These are the outlines of a government the most simple and energetic, and +at least as capable as any monarchy within our knowledge of reducing +great and populous countries under one jurisdiction; at the same time, +accommodating its principle of action to every stage of improvement, by +a singular and happy application to the passions of the human mind, it +encouraged the advancement of knowledge without being endangered by +success. + +In the traits of character which distinguish this institution we may +discern all the great principles of each of the legislators above +mentioned. The pretensions of Capac to divine authority were as artfully +contrived and as effectual in their consequences as those of Mahomet; his +exploding the worship of evil beings and objects of terror, forbidding +human sacrifices and accommodating the rites of worship to a god of justice +and benevolence, produced a greater change in the national character of his +people than the laws of Moses did in his; like Peter he provided for the +future improvement of society, while his actions were never measured on the +contracted scale which limited the genius of Lycurgus. + +Thus far we find that altho the political system of Capac did not embrace +that extensive scope of human nature which is necessary in forming +republican institutions, and which can be drawn only from long and well +recorded experience of the passions and tendencies of social man, yet +it must be pronounced at least equal to those of the most celebrated +monarchical law-givers, whether ancient or modern. But in some things his +mind seems to have attained an elevation with which few of theirs will bear +a comparison; I mean in his religious institutions, and the exalted ideas +he had formed of the agency and attributes of supernatural beings. + +From what source he could have drawn these ideas it is difficult to form a +satisfactory conjecture. The worship of the sun is so natural to an early +state of society, in a mild climate with a clear atmosphere, that it may be +as reasonable to suppose it would originate in Peru as in Egypt or Persia; +where we find that a similar worship did originate and was wrought into +a splendid system; whence it was probably extended, with various +modifications, over most of the ancient world. + +Or if we reject this theory, and suppose that only one nation, from some +circumstance peculiar to itself, could create the materials of such a +system, and has consequently had the privilege of giving its religion +to the human race; we may in this case imagine that the Phenicians (who +colonized Cadiz and other places in the west of Europe, at the time when +they possessed the solar worship in all its glory) must have had a vessel +driven across the Atlantic; and thus conveyed a stock of inhabitants, with +their own religious ideas, to the western continent. + +The first theory is doubtless the most plausible. And the mild regions of +Peru, for the reasons mentioned in a former note, became, like Egypt, the +seat of an institution so congenial to its climate. But in more boisterous +climates, where storms and other violent agents prevail, many different +fables have wrought themselves into the system, as remarked in the same +note; and the solar religion in such countries has generally lost its name +and the more beneficent parts of its influence. Being thus corrupted, +religion in almost every part of the earth assumed a gloomy and sanguinary +character. + +Savage nations create their gods from such materials as they have at hand, +the most striking to their senses. And these are in general an assemblage +of destructive attributes. They usually form no idea of a general +superintending providence; they consider not their god as the author of +their beings, the creator of the world and the dispenser of the happiness +they enjoy; they discern him not in the usual course of nature, in the +sunshine and in the shower, the productions of the earth and the blessing +of society; they find a deity only in the storm, the earthquake and the +whirlwind, or ascribe to him the evils of pestilence and famine; they +consider him as interposing in wrath to change the course of nature and +exercise the attributes of rage and revenge. They adore him with rites +suited to these attributes, with horror, with penance and with sacrifice; +they imagine him pleased with the severity of their mortifications, with +the oblations of blood and the cries of human victims; and they hope +to compound for greater judgments by voluntary sufferings and horrid +sacrifices, suited to the relish of his taste. + +Perhaps no single criterion can be given which will determine more +accurately the state of society in any age or nation than their general +ideas concerning the nature and attributes of deity. In the most +enlightened periods of antiquity, only a few of their philosophers, a +Socrates, Tully or Confucius, ever formed a rational idea on the subject, +or described a god of purity, justice and benevolence. But Capac, erecting +his institutions in a country where the visible agents of nature inspired +more satisfactory feelings, adopted a milder system. As the sun, with its +undisturbed influence, seemed to point itself out as the supreme controller +and vital principle of nature, he formed the idea, as the Egyptians had +done before, of constituting that luminary the chief object of adoration. +He taught the nation to consider the sun as the parent of the universe, the +god of order and regularity; ascribing to his influence the rotation of +the seasons, the productions of the earth and the blessings of health; +especially attributing to his inspiration the wisdom of their laws, and +that happy constitution which was the delight and veneration of the people. + +A system so just and benevolent, as might be expected, was attended with +success. In about four centuries the dominion of the Incas had extended +fifteen hundred miles in length, and had introduced peace and prosperity +thro the whole region. The arts of society had been carried to a +considerable degree of improvement, and the authority of the Incan race +universally acknowledged, when an event happened which disturbed the +tranquillity of the empire. Huana Capac, the twelfth monarch, had reduced +the powerful kingdom of Quito and annexed it to his dominions. To +conciliate the affections of his new subjects, he married a daughter of the +ancient king of Quito, who was not of the race of Incas. Thus, by violating +a fundamental law of the empire, he left at his death a disputed succession +to the throne. Atabalipa, the son of Huana by the heiress of Quito, being +in possession of the principal force of the Peruvian armies, left at that +place on the death of his father, gave battle to his brother Huascar, who +was the elder son of Huana by a lawful wife, and legal heir to the crown. + +After a long and destructive civil war the former was victorious; and thus +was that flourishing kingdom left a prey to regal dissensions and to the +few soldiers of Pizarro, who happened at that juncture to make a descent +upon the coast. In this manner he effected an easy conquest and an utter +destruction of a numerous, brave, unfortunate people. + +It is however obvious that this deplorable event is not to be charged +on Capac, as the consequence of any defect in his institution. It is +impossible that an original legislator should effectually guard against the +folly of all future sovereigns. Capac had not only removed every temptation +that could induce a wise prince to wish for a change in the constitution, +but had connected the ruin of his authority with the change; for he who +disregards any part of institutions deemed sacred teaches his people to +consider the whole as an imposture. Had he made a law ordaining that the +Peruvians should be absolved from their allegiance to a prince who should +violate the laws, it would have implied possible error and imperfection in +those persons whom the people were ordered to regard as divinities; the +reverence due to characters who made such high pretensions would have been +weakened; and instead of rendering the constitution perfect, such a law +would have been its greatest defect. Besides, it is probable the rupture +might have been healed and the suecession settled, with as little +difficulty as frequently happens with partial revolutions in other +kingdoms, had not the descent of the Spaniards prevented it. And this +event, for that age and country, must have been beyond the possibility of +human foresight. But viewing the concurrence of these fatal accidents, +which reduced this flourishing empire to a level with many other ruined and +departed kingdoms, it only furnishes an additional proof that no political +system has yet had the privilege to be perfect. + +On the whole it is evident that the system of Capac (if the Peruvian +constitution may be so called) is one of the greatest exertions of genius +to be found in the history of mankind. When, we consider him as an +individual emerging from the midst of a barbarous people, having seen no +example of the operation of laws in any country, originating a plan of +religion and policy never equalled by the sages of antiquity, civilizing an +extensive empire and rendering religion and government subservient to the +general happiness of a great people, there is no danger that we grow too +warm in his praise, or pronounce too high an eulogiurn on his character. + + + +No. 20. + + + _Bade yon tall temple grace their favorite isle, + The mines unfold, the cultured valleys smile._ + + Book III. Line 5. + +One of the great temples of the sun was built on an island in the lake +Titiaca near Cusco, to consecrate the spot of ground where Capac and Oella +first made their appearance and claimed divine honors as children of the +sun. + + + +No. 21. + + + _His eldest hope, young Rocha, at his call, + Resigns his charge within the temple, wall;_ + + Book III. Line 29. + +The high priest of the sun was always one of the royal family; and in every +generation after the first, was brother to the king. This office probably +began with Rocha; as he was the first who was capable of receiving it, and +as it was necessary, in the education of the prince, that he should be +initiated in the sacred mysteries. + + + +No. 22. + + _A pearl-dropt girdle bound his waist below, + And the white lautu graced his lofty brow._ + + Book III. Line 135. + +The lautu was a cotton band, twisted and worn on the head of the Incas as a +badge of royalty. It made several turns round the head; and, according to +the description of Garcilasso, it must have resembled the Turkish turban. + +It is possible that both the lautu and the turban had their remote origin +in the ancient astronomical religion, whose principal god was the sun and +usually represented under the figure of a man with the horns of the ram; +that is, the sun in the sign of aries. The form of the lautu and of the +turban (which I suppose to be the same) seems to indicate that they were +originally designed as emblems or badges; and when properly twisted and +wound round the head, as Turks of distinction usually wear the turban, they +resemble the horns of the ram as represented in those figures of Jupiter +Ammon where the horns curl close to the head. + +There is an engraving in Garcilasso representing the first Inca and his +wife, Capac and Oella; and the heads of both are ornamented with rams' +horns projecting out from the lautu. Whether the figures of these +personages were usually so represented in Peru previous to the Spanish +devastation, would be difficult at this day to ascertain. If it could be +ascertained that they were usually so represented there, we might esteem +it a remarkable circumstance in proof of the unity of the origin of their +religion with that of the ancient Egyptians; from which all the early +theological systems of Asia and Europe, as far as they have come to our +knowledge, were evidently derived. + + + +No. 23. + + + _Receive, O dreadful Power, from feeble age. + This last pure offering to thy sateless rage;_ + + Book III. Line 181. + +Garcilasso declares that the different tribes of those mountain savages +worshipped the various objects of terror that annoyed the particular parts +of the country where they dwelt; such as storms, volcanos, rivers, lakes, +and several beasts and birds of prey. All of them believed that their +forefathers were descended from the gods which they worshipped. + + + +No. 24. + + _Held to the sun the image from his breast + Whose glowing concave all the god exprest;_ + + Book III. Line 273. + +The historian of the Incas relates that, by the laws of the empire, none +but sacred fire could be used in sacrifices; and that there were three +modes in which it might be procured. First, the most sacred fire was that +which was drawn immediately from the sun himself by means of a concave +mirror, which was usually made of gold or silver highly polished. Second, +in case of cloudy weather or other accident, the fire might be taken from +the temple, where it was preserved by the holy virgins; whose functions +and discipline resembled those of the vestals of Rome. Third, when the +sacrifice was to be made in the provinces at an inconvenient distance from +the temple, and when the weather was such as to prevent drawing the fire +immediately from the sun, it was permitted to procure it by the friction of +two pieces of dry wood. + +The two latter modes were resorted to only in cases of necessity. Not to +be able to obtain fire by means of the mirror was a bad omen, a sign of +displeasure in the god; it cast a gloom over the whole ceremony and threw +the people into lamentations, fearing their offering would not be well +received. + +This method of procuring fire directly from the sun, to burn a sacrifice, +must have appeared so miraculous to the savages who could not understand +it, that it doubtless had a powerful effect in converting them to the solar +religion and to the Incan government. + + + +No. 25. + + + _Dim Paraguay extends the aching sight, + Xaraya glimmers like the moon of night,_ + + Book III. Line 321. + +Xaraya is a lake in the country of Paraguay, and is the principal source of +the river Paraguay. This river is the largest branch of the Plata. + + + +No. 26. + + + _The Condor frowning from a southern plain. + Borne on a standard, leads a numerous train:_ + + Book III. Line 421. + +The Condor is supposed to be the largest bird of prey hitherto known. His +wings, from one extreme to the other, are said to measure fifteen feet; he +is able to carry a sheep in his talons, and he sometimes attacks men. He +inhabits the high mountains of Peru, and is supposed by some authors to be +peculiar to the American continent. Buffon believes him to be of the same +species with the laemmer-geyer (lamb-vulture) of the Alps. The similarity +of their habitations favors this conjecture; but the truth is, the Condor +of Peru has not been well examined, and his history is imperfectly known. + + + +No. 27. + + + _So shall the Power in vengeance view the place, + In crimson clothe his terror-beaming face,_ + + Book III. Line 493. + +It is natural for the worshippers of the sun to consider any change in the +atmosphere as indicative of the different passions of their deity. With the +Peruvians a sanguine appearance in the sun denoted his anger. + + + +No. 28. + + + _Thro all the shrines, where erst on new-moon days + Swell'd the full quires of consecrated praise,_ + + Book III. Line 687. + +New-moon days were days of high festival with the Incas, according to +Garcilasso. Eclipses of the sun must therefore have happened on solemn +days, and have interrupted the service of the temple. + + + +No. 29. + + + _Las Casas. Valverde. Gasca._ + + Book IV. Line 17-27. + +_Bartholomew de las Casas_ was a Dominican priest of a most amiable +and heroic character. He first went to Hispaniola with Columbus in his +second voyage, where he manifested an ardent but honest zeal, first in +attempting to instruct the natives in the principles of the catholic +faith, and afterwards in defending them against the insufferable cruelties +exercised by the Spanish tyrants who succeeded Columbus in the discoveries +and settlements in South America. He early declared himself _Protector +of the Indians;_ a title which seems to have been acknowledged by the +Spanish government. He devoted himself ever after to the most indefatigable +labors in the service of that unhappy people. He made several voyages to +Spain, to solicit, first from Ferdinand, then from cardinal Ximenes, and +finalty from Charles V, some effectual restrictions against the horrid +career of depopulation which every where attended the Spanish arms. He +followed these monsters of cruelty into all the conquered countries; where, +by the power of his eloquence and that purity of morals which commands +respect even from the worst of men, he doubtless saved the lives of many +thousands of innocent people. His life was a continued struggle agaiust +that deplorable system of tyranny, of which he gives a description in +a treatise addressed to Philip prince of Spain, entitled _Brevissima +Relacion de la Destruycion de las Yndias_. + +It is said by the Spanish writers that the inhabitants of Hispaniola, when +first discovered by the Spaniards, amounted to more than one million. This +incredible population was reduced, in fifteen years, to sixty thousand +souls. + +_Vincent Valverde_ was a fanatical priest who accompanied Pizarro in +his destructive expedition to Peru. If we were to search the history of +mankind, we should not find another such example of the united efforts of +ecclesiastical hypocrisy and military ferocity, of unresisted murder and +insatiable plunder, as we meet with in the account of this expedition. + +Father Valverde, in a formal manner, gave the sanction of the church to the +treacherous murder of Atabalipa and his relations; which was immediately +followed by the destruction and almost entire depopulation of a flourishing +empire. + +_Pedro de la Gasca_ was one of the few men whose virtues form a +singular contrast with the vices which disgraced the age in which he lived +and the country in which he acquired his glory. He was sent over to Peru by +Charles V without any military force, to quell the rebellion of the younger +Pizarro and to prevent a second depopulation, by a civil war, of that +country which had just been drenched in the blood of its original +inhabitants. He effected this great purpose by the weight only of his +personal authority and the veneration inspired by his virtues. As soon +as he had suppressed the rebellion and established the government of the +colony he hastened to resign his authority into the hands of his master. +And tho his victories had been obtained in the richest country on earth he +returned to Spain as poor as Cincinnatus; having resisted every temptation +to plunder, and refused to receive any emolument for his services. + + + +No. 30. + + + _First of his friends, see Frederic's princely form + Ward from the sage divine the gathering storm;_ + + Book IV. Line 157. + +Frederic of Saxony, surnamed the Wise, was the first sovereign prince +who favored the doctrines of Luther. He became at once his pupil and his +patron, defended him from the persecutions of the pope, and gave him an +establishment as professor in the university of Wittemburgh. + + + +No. 31. + + + _By monarchs courted and by men beloved._ + + Book IV. Line 165. + +Francis I, out of respect to the great learning and moderation of +Melancthon, and disregarding the pretended danger of discussing the dogmas +of the church, invited him to come to France and establish himself at +Paris; but the intrigues of the cardinal de Tournon frustrated the king's +intention. + +If every leader of religious sects had possessed the amiable qualities of +Melancthon, and every monarch who wished to oppose the introduction of new +opinions had partaken of the wisdom of Francis, the blood of many hundreds +of millions of the human species, which has flowed at the shrine of +fanaticism, would have been spared. This circumstance alone would have +made of human society by this time a state totally different from what we +actually experience; and its influence on the progress of improvement in +national happiness and general civilization must have been beyond our +ordinary calculation. + + + +No. 32. + + + _While kings and ministers obstruct the plan, + Unfaithful guardians of the weal of man._ + + Book IV. Line 529. + +The British colonies in all their early struggles for existence complained, +and with reason, of the uniform indifference and discouragement which they +experienced from the government of the mother country. But it was probably +to that very indifference that they owed the remarkable spirit of liberty +and self-dependence which created their prosperity, by inducing them +uniformly to adopt republican institutions. These circumstances prepared +the way for that mutual confidence and federal union which have finally +formed them into a flourishing nation. + +Ministers who feel their power over a distant colony to be uncontrolled +are so naturally inclined to govern too much, that it may be a fortunate +circumstance for the colony to be neglected altogether. This neglect was +indeed fatal to the first Virginia settlers sent out by Sir Walter Raleigh; +and the companies who afterwards succeeded in their establishments at +Jamestown in Virginia and at Plymouth in Massachusetts were very near +sharing the fate of their predecessors. But after these settlements had +acquired so much consistence as to assure their own continuance, it may +be assumed as an historical fact, that the want of encouragement from +government was rather beneficial than detrimental to the British colonies +in general. + +These establishments were in the nature of private adventures, undertaken +by a few individuals at their own expense, rather than organised colonies +sent abroad for a public purpose. They were companies incorporated for +plantation and trade. All they asked of the mother country (after obtaining +acts of incorporation enabling them to acquire property and exercise other +civil functions, such as incorporated companies at home could exercise) was +to give them charters of political franchise, ascertaining the extent and +limits of their rights and duties as subjects of the British crown forming +nations in parts of the earth that had been found in an uncultivated state, +and far removed from the mother country. + +As they could not in this situation be represented in the parliament of +England, these charters stipulated their right of having parliaments +or legislative assemblies of their own, with executive and judiciary +institutions established within their territories. + +The acknowledgment of these rights placed them on a different footing from +any other modern colonies; and the restricting clause, by which their trade +was confined to the mother country, rendered their situation unlike that of +the colonies of ancient Greece. Indeed the British system of colonization +in America differed essentially from every other, whether ancient or +modern; if that may properly be called a system, which was rather the +result of early indifference to the cries of needy adventurers, and +subsequent attempts to seize upon their earnings when they became objects +of rapacity. This singular train of difficulties must be considered as one +of the causes of our ancient prosperity and present freedom. + + + + +No. 33. + + + _Where Freedom's sons their high-born lineage trace, + And homebred bravery still exalts the race:_ + + Book V. Line 345. + +The author of this poem will not be suspected of laying any stress on the +mere circumstance of lineage or birth, as relating either to families or +nations. The phrase however in the text is not without its meaning. Among +the colonies derived from the several nations of Europe in modern times, +those from the English have flourished far better than the others, under a +parity of circumstances, such as climate, soil and productions. The reason +of this undeniable fact deserves to be explained. + +Colonies naturally carry with them the civil, political and religious +institutions of their mother countries. These institutions in England are +much more favorable to liberty and the development of industry than in any +other part of Europe which has sent colonies abroad. But this is not all: +when men for several generations have been bred up in the habit of feeling +and exercising such a portion of liberty as the English nation has enjoyed, +their minds are prepared to open and expand themselves as occasion may +offer. They are able to embrace new circumstances, to perceive the +improvements that may be drawn from them, and not only make a temperate use +of that portion of self-control to which they are accustomed, but devise +the means of extending it to other objects of their political relations, +till they become familiar with all the interests of men in society. + +The habitual use of the liberty of the press, of trial by jury in open +court, of the accountability of public agents and of some voice in the +election of legislators, must create, in a man or a nation, a character +quite different from what it could be under the habitual disuse of these +advantages. And when these habits are transplanted with a young colony to +a distant region of the earth, enjoying a good soil and climate, with an +unlimited and unoccupied country, the difference will necessarily be more +remarkable. + +A most striking illustration of this principle is exhibited in the colonies +of North America. This coast, from the St. Laurence to the Missisippi, +was colonized by the French and English, (I make no account of the Dutch +establishment on the Hudson nor of the Swedish on the Delaware; they being +of little importance, and early absorbed in the English settlements.) If we +look back only one hundred years from the present time, we find the French +and English dominions here about equally important in point of extent and +population. The French Canada, Acadia, Cape Breton, Newfoundland, Florida +and Louisiana were then as far advanced in improvement as the English +settlements which they flanked on each side. And the French had greatly +the advantage in point of soil, interior navigation and capability of +extension. They commanded and possessed the two great rivers which almost +met together on the English frontier. And the space between the waters of +those rivers on the west was planted with French military posts, so as to +complete the investment. + +New Orleans was begun before Philadelphia, and was much better situated to +become a great commercial capital. Quebec and Montreal were older, and had +the advantage of most of our other cities. Add to this that the French +nation at home was about twice as populous as the English nation at home; +and as that part of the increase of colonial population which comes +from emigration must naturally be derived from their respective mother +countries, it might have been expected that the comparative rapidity of +increase would have been in favor of the French at least two to one. + +But the French colonists had not been habituated to the use of liberty +before their emigration; and they were not prepared nor permitted to enjoy +it in any degree afterwards. Their laws were made for them in their mother +country, by men who could not know their wants and who fell no interest in +their prosperity; and then they were administered by a set of agents as +ignorant as their masters; men who, from the nature of their employment and +accountability, must in general be oppressive and rapacious. + +The result has solved a great problem in political combination. One of +these clusters of colonies has grown to a powerful empire, giving examples +to the universe in most of the great objects which constitute the dignity +of nations. The other, after having been a constant expense to the mother +country, and serving for barter and exchange in the capricious vicissitudes +of European despotism, presents altogether at this day a mass of population +and wealth scarcely equal to one of our provinces. + +This note is written at the moment when Louisiana, one of the most +extensive but least peopled of the French colonies, is ceded to the United +States. The world will see how far the above theory will now be confirmed +by the rapid increase of population and improvement in that interesting +portion of our continent. + + + +No. 34. + + + _Beneath him lay the sceptre kings had borne, + And the tame thunder from the tempest torn._ + + Book V. Line 429. + + Eripuit coelo fulmen, sceptrumque tyrannis. + +This epigraph, written by Turgot on the bust of Franklin, seems to have +been imitated from a line in Manilius; where noticing the progress of +science in ascribing things to their natural and proper causes instead of +supernatural ones, he says, + + Eriput Jovi fulmen, viresque tonandi, + Et sonitum ventis concessit, nubibus ignem. + + + +No. 35. + + + _And Knox from his full park to battle brings + His brazen tubes, the last resort of kings._ + + Book V. Line 665. + +Ultima ratio regum; a device of Louis XIV engraved on his ordnance, and +afterwards adopted by other powers. When we consider men as reasonable +beings and endowed with the qualities requisite for living together in +society, this device looks like a satire upon the species; but in reality +it only proves the imperfect state to which their own principles of society +have yet advanced them in the long and perhaps interminable progress of +which they are susceptible. This _ultima ratio_ being already taken +out of the hands of individuals and confided only to the chiefs of nations +is as clear a proof of a great progress already made, as its remaining in +the hands of those chiefs is a proof that we still remain far short of that +degree of wisdom and experience which will enable all the nations to live +at peace one with another. + +There certainly was a time when the same device might have been written +on the hatchet or club or fist of every man; and the best weapon of +destruction that he could wield against his neighbour might have been +called _ultima ratio virarum_, meaning that human reason could go no +farther. But the wisdom we have drawn from experience has taught us to +restrain the use of mortal weapons, making it unlawful and showing it to +be unreasonable to use them in private disputes. The principles of social +intercourse and the advantages of peace are so far understood as to enable +men to form great societies, and to submit their personal misunderstandings +to common judges; thus removing the ultima ratio from their own private +hands to the hands of their government. + +Hitherto there has usually been a government to every nation; but the +nations are increasing in size and diminishing in number; so that the hands +which now hold the _ultima ratio_ by delegation are few, compared +with what they have been. I mean this observation to apply only to those +extensions of nationality which have been formed on the true principles +of society and acquiesced in from a sense of their utility. I mean not +to apply it to those unnatural and unwieldy stretches of power, whose +overthrow is often and erroneously cited as an argument against the +progress of civilization; such as the conquests of Alexander, the Roman +generals, Omar, Gengis Khan and others of that brilliant description. These +are but meteors of compulsive force, which pass away and discourage, rather +than promote, the spirit of national extension of which I speak. + +This spirit operates constantly and kindly; nor is its progress so slow +but that it is easily perceived. Even within the short memorials of modern +history we find a heptarchy in England. Ossian informs us that in his time +there was a great number of warlike states in Ireland and as many more in +Scotland. Without going back to the writings of Julius Cesar to discover +the comparative condition of France, we may almost remember when she +counted within her limits six or seven different governments, generally at +war among themselves and inviting foreign enemies to come and help them +destroy each other. Every province in Spain is still called a kingdom; +and it is not long since they were really so in fact, with the _ultima +ratio_ in the hands of every king. + +The publicist who in any of those modern heroic ages could have imagined +that all the hundred nations who inhabited the western borders of Europe, +from the Orknies to Gibraltar, might one day become so far united in +manners and interests as to form but three great nations, would certainly +have passed for a madman. Had he been a minister of Phararnond or of Fingal +he could no more have kept his place than Turgot could keep his after +pointing out the means of promoting industry and preventing wars. He would +have been told that the inhabitants of each side of the Humber were natural +enemies one to the other; that if their chiefs were even disposed to live +in peace they could not do it; their subjects would demand war and could +not live without it. The same would have been said of the Seine, the Loire +and every other dividing line between their petty communities. It would +have been insisted on that such rivers were the natural boundaries of +states and never could be otherwise. + +But now since the people of those districts find themselves no longer +on the frontiers of little warlike states, but in the centre of great +industrious nations, they have lost their relish for war, and consider it +as a terrible calamity; they cherish the minister who gives them peace, and +abhor the one who drives them into unnecessary wars. Their local disputes, +which used to be settled by the sword, are now referred to the tribunals of +the country. They have substituted a moral to a physical force. They +have changed the habits of plunder for those of industry; and they find +themselves richer and happier for the change. + +Who will say that the progress of society will stop short in the present +stage of its career? that great communities will not discover a mode of +arbitrating their disputes, as little ones have done? that nations will +not lay aside their present ideas of independence and rivalship, and find +themselves more happy and more secure in one great universal society, +which shall contain within itself its own principles of defence, its own +permanent security? It is evident that national security, in order to be +permanent, must be founded on the moral force of society at large, and not +on the physical force of each nation independently exerted. The _ultima +ratio_ must not be a cannon, but a reference to some rational mode of +decision worthy of rational beings. + + + +No. 36. + + + _Else what high tones of rapture must have told + The first great action of a chief so bold!_ + + Book V. Line 767. + +General Arnold, the leader of this detachment, had acquired by this +and many other brilliant achievements a degree of military fame almost +unequalled among the American generals. His shameful defection afterwards, +by the foulest of treason, should be lamented as a national dishonor; it +has not only obliterated his own glory, but it seems in some sort to have +cast a shade on that of others whose brave actions had been associated with +his in the acquisition of their common and unadulterated fame. + +The action here alluded to, the march thro the wilderness from Casco to +Quebec, was compared in the gazettes of that day to the passage of the Alps +by Hannibal. And really, considered as a scene of true military valor, +patient suffering and heroic exertion (detached from the idea of subsequent +success in the ulterior expedition) the comparison did not disgrace the +Carthaginian. Yet since the defection of Arnold, which happened five +years afterwards, this audacious and once celebrated exploit is +scarcely mentioned in our annals. And Meigs, Dearborn, Morgan and other +distinguished officers in the expedition, whom that alone might have +immortalized, have been indebted to their subsequent exertions of patriotic +valor for the share of celebrity their names now enjoy. + +See the character of Arnold treated more at large in the sixth book. + + + +No. 37. + + + _See the black Prison Ship's expanding womb + Impested thousands, quick and dead, entomb._ + + Book VI. Line 35. + +The systematic and inflexible course of cruelties exercised by the British +armies on American prisoners during the three first years of the war were +doubtless unexampled among civilized nations. Considering it as a war +against rebels, neither their officers nor soldiers conceived themselves +bound by the ordinary laws of war. + +The detail of facts on this subject, especially in what concerned the +prison ships, has not been sufficiently noticed in our annals; at least not +so much noticed as the interest of public morals would seem to require. Mr. +Boudinot, who was the American commissary of prisoners at the time, has +since informed the author of this poem that in one prison ship alone, +called the Jersey, which was anchored near Newyork, _eleven thousand_ +American prisoners died in eighteen months; almost the whole of them from +the barbarous treatment of being stifled in a crowded hold with infected +air, and poisoned with unwholesome food. + +There were several other prison ships, as well as the sugar-house prison +in the city, whose histories ought to be better known than they are. I say +this not from any sort of enmity to the British nation, for I have none. I +respect the British nation; as will be evident from the views I have given +of her genius and institutions in the course of this work. I would at all +times render that nation every service consistent with my duty to my own; +and surely it is worthy of her magnanimity to consider as a real service +every true information given her relative to the crimes of her agents in +distant countries. These crimes are as contrary to the spirit of the nation +at home as they are to the temper of her laws. + + + +No. 38. + + + _Myrtles and laurels equal honors join'd, + Which arms had purchased and the Muses twined;_ + + Book VI, Line 273. + +General Burgoyne had gained some celebrity by his pen, as well as by his +sword, previous to the American war. He was author of the comedy called +_The Heiress_, and of some other theatrical pieces which had been well +received on the London theatres. + + + +No. 39. + + + _Deep George's loaded lake reluctant guides + Their bounding larges o'er his sacred tides._ + + Book VI. Line 285. + +The water of Lake George was held in particular veneration by the French +catholics of Canada. Of this they formerly made their holy water; which was +carried and distributed to the churches thro the province, and probably +produced part of the revenues of the clergy. This water is said to have +been chosen for the purpose on account of its extreme clearness. The lake +was called _Lac du Saint Sacrement_. + + + +No. 40. + + + _His savage hordes the murderous Johnson leads, + Files thro the woods and treads the tangled weeds,_ + + Book VI. Line 389. + +This was general sir John Johnson, an American royalist in the British +service. He was the son of sir William Johnson, who had been a rich +proprietor and inhabitant in the Mohawk country, in the colony of New York, +and had been employed by the king as superintendant of Indian affairs. Sir +William had married a Mohawk savage wife; and it was supposed that the +great influence which he had long exercised over that and the neighboring +tribes must have descended to his son. It was on this account that he +was employed on the expedition of Burgoyne; in which he had the rank of +brigadier general, and the special direction of the savages. + + + +No. 41. + + + _Are these thy trophies, Carleton! these the swords + Thy hand unsheath'd and gave the savage hordes,_ + + Book VI. Line 685. + +General sir Guy Carleton, afterwards lord Dorchester, was the British +governor of Canada and superintendant of Indian affairs at the time of +Burgoyne's campaign. Having great influence with the warlike tribes who +inhabited the west of Canada and the borders of the Lakes, he was ordered +by the minister to adopt the barbarous and unjustifiable measure of arming +and bringing them into the king's service in aid of this expedition. + +This was doubtless done with the consent of Burgoyne, tho he seems to have +been apprehensive of the difficulty of managing a race of men whose manners +were so ferocious, and whose motives to action must have been so different +from those of the principal parties in the war. Burgoyne, in his narrative +of this campaign, informs us that he took precautions to discourage that +inhuman mode of warfare which had been customary among those savages. He +ordered them to kill none but such persons as they should find in arms +fighting against the king's troops; to spare old men, women, children and +prisoners; and not to scalp any but such as they should kill in open war. +He intimated to them that he should not pay for any scalps but those thus +taken from enemies killed in arms. + +It is unfortunate for the reputation of the general and of his government, +that they did not reflect on the futility of such an order and the +improbability of its being executed. A certain price was offered for +scalps; the savages must know that in a bag of scalps, packed and dried and +brought into camp and counted out before the commissary to receive payment, +it would be impossible to distinguish the political opinions or the +occupation, age or sex of the heads to which they had belonged; it could +not be ascertained whether they had been taken from Americans or British, +whigs or tories, soldiers killed in arms or killed after they had resigned +their arms, militia men or peasants, old or young, male or female. + +The event proved the deplorable policy of employing such auxiliaries, +especially in such multitudes as were brought together on this occasion. No +sooner did hostilities begin between the two armies than these people, who +could have no knowledge of the cause nor affection for either party, and +whose only object was plunder and pay, began their indiscriminate and +ungovernable ravages on both sides. They robbed and murdered peasants, +whether royalists or others; men, women, children, straggling and wounded +soldiers of both armies. The tragical catastrophe of a young lady of the +name of Macrea, whose story is almost literally detailed in the foregoing +paragraphs of the text, is well known. It made a great impression on the +public mind at the time, both in England and America. + +General Carleton, in the preceding campaigns, when the war was carried into +Canada, had been applauded for his humanity in the treatment of prisoners. +But the part he took in this measure of associating the savages in the +operations of the British army was a stain upon his character; and the +measure was highly detrimental to the royal cause, on account of the +general indignation it excited thro the country. + + + +No. 42. + + + _That no proud privilege from birth can spring, + No right divine, nor compact form a king;_ + + Book VII. Line 39. + +The assumed right of kings, or that supreme authority which one man +exercises over a nation, and for which he is not held accountable, has been +contended for on various grounds. It has been sometimes called the _right +of conquest;_ in which is involved the absolute disposal of the lives +and labors of the conquered nation, in favor of the victorious chief +and his descendants to perpetuity. Sometimes it is called the _divine +right;_ in which case kings are considered as the vicegerents of God. + +This notion is very ancient, and it is almost universal among modern +nations. Homer is full of it; and from his unaffected recurrence to the +same idea every where in his poems, it is evident that in his day it was +not called in question. The manner in which the Jews were set at work to +constitute their first king proves that they were convinced that, if they +must have a king, he must be given them from God, and receive that solemn +consecration which should establish his authority on the same divine right +which was common to other nations, from whom they borrowed the principle. + +There are some few instances in history wherein this divine right has +been set aside; but it has generally been owing rather to the violence +of circumstances, which sometimes drive men to act contrary to their +prejudices, tho they still retain them, than to any effort of reasoning +by which they convinced themselves that this was a prejudice, and that no +divine right existed in reality. For it does not violate this supposed +right, to change one king for another, or one race of kings for another, +tho done in a manner the most unjust and inhuman. In this case the same +divine right remains, and only changes, with the diadem, from one head to +another. And tho this change should happen six times in one day (as in one +instance it has done in Algiers by the murder of six successive kings) they +would still say it was God who did it all; and the action would only tend +to prove to the credulous people, that God was made after their own image, +as changeable as themselves. + +It is only in the case of Tarquin and a few others (whose overthrow has +been followed by a more popular form of government) that it can be said +that the principle of the divine right has been disregarded, laid aside and +forgotten for any length of time. + +The English are perhaps the first and only people that ever overturned +this doctrine of the divinity of kings, without changing their form of +government. This was brought on by circumstances, and took effect in the +expulsion of James II. Books were then written to prove that the divine +right of kings did not exist; at least, not in the sense in which it had +been understood. And these writings completely silenced the old doctrine in +England. This indeed was gaining an immense advantage in favor of liberty; +tho the effort of reason, to arrive at it, seems to be so small. + +But while the English were discarding the old principle they set up a +new one; which indeed is not so pernicious because it cannot become so +extensive, but which is scarcely more reasonable: it is the right of kings +by _compact;_ that is, a compact, whether written or understood, +by which the representatives of a nation are supposed to bind their +constituents and their descendants to be the subjects of a certain prince +and of his descendants to perpetuity. This singular doctrine is developed +with perspicuity, but ill supported by argument, in Burke's _Reflections +on the French Revolution._ + +The principle of the American government denies the right of any +representatives to make such a compact, and the right of any prince to +carry it into execution if it were made. Whatever varieties or mixtures +there may be in the _forms_ of government, there are but two distinct +principles on which government is founded. One supposes the source of power +to be _out_ of the people, and that the governor is not accountable to +them for the manner of using it; the other supposes the source of power to +be _in_ the people, and that the governor is accountable to them for +the manner of using it. The latter is our principle. In this sense no +_right divine_ nor _compact_ can form a king; that is, a person, +exercising underived and unreverting power. + + + +No. 43. + + + _But while dread Elliott shakes the Midland wave, + They strive in vain the Calpian rock to brave._ + + Book VII. Line 89. + +The English general Elliott commanded the post of Gibraltar, against which +the combined forces of France and Spain made a vigorous but fruitless +attack in the year 1781. This attack furnished the subjects for two +celebrated pictures alluded to in the eighth book: _The burning of the +Floating Batteries_ painted by Copley; and _The Sortie_, painted by +Trumbull. + + + +No. 44. + + + _To guide the sailor in his wandering way, + See Godfrey's glass reverse the beams of day._ + + Book VIII. Line 681. + +It is less from national vanity than from a regard to truth and a desire of +rendering personal justice, that the author wishes to rectify the history +of science in the circumstance here alluded to. The instrument known by the +name of Hartley's Quadrant, now universally in use and generally attributed +to Dr. Hartley, was invented by Thomas Godfrey of Philadelphia. See +Jefferson's Notes on Virginia; likewise Miller's Retrospect of the +Eighteenth Century, in which the original documents relative to Godfrey's +invention are fully detailed. + + + +No. 45. + + + _West with his own great soul the canvass warms, + Creates, inspires, impassions human forms._ + + Book VIII. Line 587. + +Benjamin West, president of the Royal Academy in London, was born and +educated in Pennsylvania. At the age of twenty-three he went to Italy to +perfect his taste in the art to which his genius irresistibly impelled him; +in which he was destined to cast a splendor upon the age in which he lives, +and probably to excel all his cotemporaries, so far at least as we can +judge from the present state of their works. After passing two years in +that country of models, where canvass and marble seem to contribute their +full proportion of the population, he went to London. + +Here he soon rendered himself conspicuous for the boldness of his designs, +in daring to shake off the trammels of the art so far as to paint modern +history in modern dress. He had already staggered the connoisseurs in Italy +while he was there, by his picture of _The Savage Chief taking leave of +his family on going to war_. This extraordinary effort of the American +pencil on an American subject excited great admiration at Venice. The +picture was engraved in that city by Bartolozzi, before either he or West +went to England. The artists were surprised to find that the expression of +the passions of men did not depend on the robes they wore. And his +early works in London, _The Death of Wolfe_, _The Battles of the +Boyne_, _Lahogue_, &c., engraved by Woollett and others, not only +established his reputation, but produced a revolution in the Art. So that +modern dress has now become as familiar in fictitious as in real life; it +being justly considered essential in painting modern history. + +The engraving from his Wolfe has been often copied in France, Italy and +Germany; and it may be said that in this picture the revolution in painting +really originated. It would now be reckoned as preposterous in an artist +to dress modern personages in Grecian or Roman habits, as it was before to +give them the garb of the age and country to which they belonged. + +The merit of Mr. West was early noticed and encouraged by the king; who +took him into pay with a convenient salary, and the title of historical +painter to his majesty. In this situation he has decorated the king's +palaces, chapels and churches with most of those great pictures from the +English history and from the Old and New Testament, which compose so +considerable a portion of his works. + +The following catalogue of his pictures was furnished me by Mr. West +himself in the year 1802. It comprises only his principal productions in +_historical_ painting, and only his _finished_ pictures; without +mentioning his numerous portraits, or his more numerous sketches and +drawings. + +The pictures marked thus * have been engraved. The ciphers express the size +of the pictures. When the same subject is mentioned more than once, there +is more than one picture on that subject. + + +IN THE QUEEN'S HOUSE. + + * Regulus departing from Rome. + * Hannibal sworn when a child. + * Death of Wolfe. + Damsel accusing Peter. + * Death of Epaminondas. + Apotheosis of the two young princes. + * Death of chevalier Bayard. + Germanicus, with Segestus and his daughter prisoners. + * Cyrus, with a king and family captives. + + +IN THE KING'S APARTMENTS AT WINDSOR. + + Edward III crossing the Somme. + Battle of Cressy, Edward embracing his son. + Edward III crowning Ribemond at Calais. + St. George destroying the Dragon. + The Six Burgesses of Calais before Edward. + Battle of Poietiers, king of France prisoner to the Black Prince. + Institution of the Order of the Garter. + Battle of Nevilcross. + Christ's Crucifixion. + The same on glass for the west window of the church at Windsor, 36 feet + by 28. + Peter, John and women at the Sepulchre. + The same on glass for the east window of the same church, 36 feet by 28. + The Angels appearing to the Shepherds. + Nativity of Christ. + Kings presenting gifts to Christ. + + +IN THE MARBLE GALLERY, WINDSOR CASTLE. + + Hymen dancing with the Hours before Peace and Plenty. + Boys with the insignia of the Fine Arts. + Boys with the insignia of Riches. + + +IN THE KING'S CHAPEL AT WINDSOR. + + +A complete history of Revealed Religion, divided into four dispensations, +and comprised in thirty-eight pictures. + + +PATRIARCHAL DISPENSATION. + + Adam and Eve created. 9 feet by 6. + Adam and Eve driven from Paradise. do. + The Deluge. do. + Noah sacrificing. do. + Abraham going to sacrifice Isaac. do. + Birth of Jacob and Esau. do. + Death of Jacob, surrounded by his sons. do. + Bondage of the Israelites in Egypt. do. + +MOSAICAL DISPENSATION. + + Moses called. do. + Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh, their rods turned to serpents. 15 feet + by 10. + Pharaoh's Army lost in the sea. + Moses receiving the Law. 18 feet by 12. + Hoses consecrating Aaron and his sons to the Priesthood. 15 feet by 10. + Moses shows the Brazen Serpent. 15 feet by 10. + Moses on Mount Pisgah sees the Promised Land and dies. 9 feet by 6. + Joshua passing the Jordan, do. + The twelve Tribes drawing their lots. do. + David called and anointed, do. + +GOSPEL DISPENSATION. + + John Baptist called and named. do. + Christ born. do. + Christ offered gifts by the Wise Men. do. + Christ among the Doctors, do. + Christ baptized, and the Holy Spirit descending on him. 15 feet by 10. + Christ healing the Sick. do. + Christ's last Supper. do. + Christ's Crucifixion. 36 feet by 28. + Christ's Resurrection, Peter, John and the women at the Sepulchre. do. + * Christ's Ascension. 18 feet by 12. + Peter's first Sermon, Descent of the Holy Spirit. 15 feet by 10. + The Apostles preaching and working miracles. do. + Paul and Barnabas turning from the Jews to the Gentiles. do. + +APOCALYPTIC DISPENSATION. + + John seeing the Son of Man, and called to write. 9 feet by 6. + The Throne surrounded by the Four Beasts, and Saints laying down their + crowns. 9 feet by 6. + Death on the Pale Horse, and the Opening of the Seals. do. + The White Horse and his legions, and the Man destroying the Old Beast. + do. + General Resurrection, the end of Death. do. + Christ's Second Coming. do. + The New Jerusalem. do. + + +IN THE COLLECTION OF MR. BECKFORD. + + Michael and his angels casting out the Red Dragon and his angels. + The Woman clothed with the Sun. + John called to write the Apocalypse. + The Beast rising out of the sea. + The mighty Angel, one foot on sea the other on land. + St. Anthony of Padua. + The Madre Dolorosa. + Simeon with the Child in his arms. + Landscape, with a Hunt in the back ground. + Abraham and Isaac going to sacrifice. + Thomas a Becket. + Angel in the Sun. + Order of the Garter, differing in composition from that at Windsor. + + +IN THE COLLECTION OF EARL GROSVENOR. + + The Shunamite's son raised to life by Elisha. + Jacob blessing the sons of Joseph. + * Death of Wolfe. + * Battle of Lahogue. + * Battle of the Boyne. + * Restoration of Charles II. + * Cromwell dissolving the Parliament. + The Golden Age. + General Wolfe when a boy. + + +IN THE COLLECTION OF MR. HOPE. + + * Telemachus and Calypso. + * Angelica and Madora. + The Damsel and Orlando. + Cicero at the tomb of Archimedes. + St. Paul's Conversion. + St. Paul persecuting the Christians. + His restoration to sight by Ananias. + Mr. Hope's family; nine figures, size of life. + + +IN THE HISTORICAL GALLERY, PALLMALL. + + The Queen soliciting king Henry to pardon her son John. + + +IN GREENWICH HOSPITAL. + + Paul shaking the Viper from his finger. + Paul preaching at Athens. + Elymas the Sorcerer struck blind. + Cornelius and the Angel. + Peter delivered from prison. + Conversion of St. Paul. + Paul before Felix. + Return of the Prodigal Son. + + +LARGE FIGURES OF + + Faith, + Hope, + Charity, + Innocence, + Matthew, + Mark, + Luke, + Matthias, + Thomas, + Simon, + James major, + James minor, + Philip, + Peter, + Malachi, + Micah, + Zachariah, + Daniel, + Jude, + John, + Andrew, + Bartholomew. + + +IN DIFFERENT CHURCHES. + + Michael chaining the Dragon. + Angels announcing the birth of Christ. + St. Stephen stoned to death. + Raising of Lazarus. + Paul shaking off the Viper. + The last Supper. + Resurrection of Christ. + Peter denying Christ. + Moses showing the Brazen Serpent. + John seeing the Lamb of God. + A Mother leading her children to the Temple of Virtue. + + +IN VARIOUS COLLECTIONS. + + Lord Clive taking the dunny from the Mogul. + The same. + Christ receiving the Sick. _Pensyl. hospital._ + * Leonidas exiling Cleombrotus and family. + The two Marys at the Sepulchre. + Alexander and his Physician. + Cesar reading the Life of Alexander. + Death of Adonis. + Continence of Scipio. + * Savage Warrior taking leave of his family. + Venus and Cupid. + Alfred dividing his loaf with the Beggar. + Helen presented to Paris. + Cupid stung by a bee. + Simeon and the Child. + * William Penn treating with the Savages. + Destruction of the Spanish Armada. + Philippa soliciting of Edward the pardon of the citizens of Calais. + Europa on the Bull. + Death of Hyacinthus. + Death of Cesar. + Venus presenting her cestus to Juno. + Rinaldo and Armida. + Pharaoh's Daughter with the child Moses. + The stolen Kiss. + Angelica and Madora. + Woman of Samaria at the well with Christ. + Agrippina leaning on the urn of Germanicus. + Death of Wolfe. + The same; smaller size. + Romeo and Juliet. + King Lear and his Daughters. + Belisarius and the Boy. + Sir Francis Baring and family. + * Mr. West and family. + A Mother and Child. + Jupiter and Semele. + Petus and Arria. + Venus and Cupid smiling at Europa when Jupiter had left her. + Rebecca coming to Jacob. + Rebecca receiving the bracelets at the well. + Agrippina landing at Brundusium with the ashes of Germanieus, + The same. + The same. + Endymion and Diana. + + +IN THE COLLECTION OF ROBERT FULTON. + + Ophelia distracted, before the king and queen + *King Lear in the storm, + + +IN MR. WEST'S OWN COLLECTION. + + Hector taking leave of his Wife and Child. + Elisha raising the Shunamite's Son. + The raising of Lazarus. + Macbeth and the Witches. + The return of Tobias. + Return of the Prodigal Son. + Ariadne on the sea shore. + Death of Adonis. + King of France brought to the Black Prince. + * Death of Wolfe. + Venus and Adonis. + Battle of Lahogue. + Edward III crossing the Somme. + Philippa at the Battle of Nevilcross. + Angels announcing the birth of Christ. + Kings bringing presents to Christ. + View on the river Thames. + View on the Susquehanna. + Picture of Tankers Mill at Eton. + Chryseis restored to her Father. + Antiochus and Stratoftice. + King Lear and his Daughters. + Chryseus on the sea shore. + Nathan and David. _Thou art the man_. + Elijah raising the widow's Son. + Choice of Hercules. + Venus and Europa. + Daniel interpreting the Writing on the Wall. + Marius on the ruins of Carthage. + * Cymon and Iphigenia. + Cicero at the tomb of Archimedes. + * Alexander, king of Scotland, rescued from the Stag. + Battle of Cressy. + * Mr. West and his family. + * Anthony shows Cesar's Robe and Will. + Egysthus viewing the body of Clytemnestra. + Recovery of king George in 1789. + A large landscape in Windsor Forest. + Ophelia before the King and Queen. + Leonidas taking leave of his family. + Phaeton receiving from Apollo the chariot of the Sun. + The Eagle giving the cup of water to Psyche. + Moonlight and the Beckoning Ghost. _Pope._ + Angel sitting on the stone at the Sepulchre. + The same subject differently composed. + * Angelica and Madora. + The Damsel and Orlando. + The Good Samaritan. + Old Beast and False Prophet destroyed. + Christ healing the sick in the temple. + Death on the Pale Horse. + Jason and the Dragon. + Venus and Adonis seeing the Cupids bathe. + Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh. + Passage boat on the Canal. + Paul and Barnabas rejecting the Jews and turning to the Gentiles. + Diomed, his horses struck with lightning. + Milk-woman in St. James's Park. + Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise. + Order of the Garter. + Orion on the Dolphin's back. + The Deluge. + Queen Elizabeth's Procession to St. Paul's. + Christ showing a child, emblem of heaven. + Harvest Home. + Washing Sheep. + St. Paul shaking off the Viper. + Sun setting at Twickenham on Thames. + Driving sheep and cows to water. + Cattle drinking, and Mr. West drawing, in Windsor Park. + Pharaoh and his boat in the Red Sea. + Telemachus and Calypso. + Moses consecrating Aaron and his sons. + A Mother inviting her little boy to come to her thro a brook. + Brewer's porter and hod carrier. + Venus attended by the Graces. + Naming of Samuel. + Birth of Jacob and Esau. + Ascension of Christ. + Samuel presented to Eli. + Moses shown the Promised Land. + Christ among the Doctors. + Reaping scene. + Adonis and his dog. + Mothers with their children in water. + Joshua crossing the Jordan with the Ark. + Christ's Nativity. + * Pyrrhus when a child before king Glaucus. + The Man laying his bread on the bridle of the dead Ass. _Sterne._ + The Captive. _Ditto._ + Cupid letting loose two Doves. + Cupid asleep. + Children eating cherries. + St. Anthony of Padua and the Child. + Jacob and Laban with his two daughters. + The Women looking into the Sepulchre and seeing two Angels where the + Lord lay. + The Angel unchaining Peter in prison. + Death of sir Philip Sidney. + Death of Epaminondas. + Death of chevalier Bayard. + Death of Cephalus. + * Kosciusko on a couch. + Abraham and Isaac. _Here is the wood and fire, but where is the lamb + to sacrifice?_ + Eponina with her children giving bread to her husband when in + concealment. + King Henry pardoning his brother. + John at the prayer of his mother. + Death of lord Chatham. Presentation of the Crown to William the + Conqueror. + Europa crowning the Bull with flowers. + West's garden, gallery and painting room. + Cave of Despair. _Spencer_. + Arethusa bathing. + Cupid shows Venus his finger stung by a bee. + Ubald brings his three daughters to Alfred for him to choose one for + his wife. + * Pylades and Orestes. + +Besides the two hundred and ninety-nine large finished pictures here +mentioned, Mr. West has done about one hundred portraits, and upwards of +two hundred drawings with the pen; which last, for sublimity of conception, +are among the finest of his works. So that the whole of his pieces amount +to above six hundred. Some of them are larger in size than any in the +national gallery of France; and he has not been assisted by any other +painter. + +Mr. West is now about sixty-eight years of age. He discovers no abatement +in the activity of his genius, nor in the laborious exercise of his +talents. He has painted several fine pictures since the above catalogue +was made. Three of which I have particularly noticed in his painting room: +Tobet and Tobias with the fish; Abraham sending away Hagar with her child; +Achilles receiving from Thetis the new armor; and we hear that he has +lately painted the Death of Nelson. He may yet produce many more original +works; tho it is presumed he has already exceeded all other historical +painters, except Rubens, in the number and variety of his productions. With +regard to the merit of his pictures, I cannot pretend to form a judgment +that would be of any use in directing that of others. He is doubtless the +most classical painter, except Raphael, whose works are known to us. + +The critics find fault with the coloring of Mr. West. But in his works, +as in those of Raphael, we do not look for coloring. It is dignity of +character, fine expression, delicate design, correct drawing and beautiful +disposition of drapery which fix the suffrage of the real judge. All which +qualities can only spring from an elevated mind. + + + +No. 46. + + + _Nile pours from heaven a tutelary flood, + And gardens grow the vegetable god._ + + Book IX. Line 287. + + O sanctas gentes, quibus haec nascuntur in hortis Numina. + + Juv. Sat. 15. + + + +No. 47. + + + _Tis to correct their fatal faults of old, + When, caught by tinsel, they forgot the gold._ + + Book IX. Line 499. + +The state of the arts and sciences among the ancients, viewed with +reference to the event of universal civilization, was faulty in two +respects. First, In their comparative estimation: Second, In their +flourishing only in one nation at a time. These circumstances might be +favorable to the exertions of individual genius; and they may be assigned +both as causes of the universal destruction of the arts and sciences by +the Gothic conquest, and as reasons why we should not greatly lament that +destruction. + +From the political state of mankind in the days of their ancient splendor +it was natural that those arts which depend on the imagination, such as +Architecture, Statuary, Painting, Eloquence and Poetry, should claim the +highest rank in the estimation of a people. In several, perhaps all of +these, the ancients remain unrivalled. But these are not the arts which +tend the most to the general improvement of society. A man in those days +would have rendered more service to the world by ascertaining the true +figure and movements of the earth, than by originating a heaven and filling +it with all the gods of Homer; and had the expenses of the Egyptian +pyramids been employed in furnishing ships of discovery and sending them +out of the Mediterranean, the nations called civilized would not have been +afterwards overrun by Barbarians. + +But the sciences of Geography, Navigation and Commerce, with their +consequent improvements in Natural Philosophy and Humanity, could not, from +the nature of things at that time, become objects of great encouragement or +enterprise. Talent was therefore confined to the cultivation of arts more +striking to the senses. As these arts were adapted to gratify the vanity +of princes, to help carry on the sacred frauds of priests, to fire the +ambition of heroes, or to gain causes in popular assemblies, they were +brought to a degree of perfection which prevented their being relished or +understood by barbarous neighbors. + +The improvements of the world therefore, whether in literature, sciences or +arts, descended with the line of conquest from one nation to another, till +the whole were concentred in the Roman empire. Their tendency there was to +inspire a contempt for nations less civilized, and to teach the Romans to +consider all mankind as the proper objects of their military despotism. +These circumstances prepared, thro a course of ages, and finally opened a +scene of wretchedness at which the human mind has been taught to shudder. +But some such convulsion seemed necessary to reduce the nations to a +position capable of commencing regular improvements. And, however novel the +sentiment may appear, I will venture to say that, as to the prospect of +universal civilization, mankind were in a better situation in the time of +Charlemagne than they were in the days of Augustus. + +The final destruction of the Roman empire left the nations of Europe +in circumstances similar to each other; and their consequent rivalship +prevented any disproportionate refinement from appearing in any particular +region. The principles of government, firmly rooted in the Feudal System, +unsocial and unphilosophical as they were, laid the foundation of that +balance of power which discourages the Cesars and Alexanders of modern ages +from attempting the conquest of the world. + +It seems necessary that the arrangement of events in civilizing the world +should be in the following order: _first_, all parts of it must be +considerably peopled; _second_, the different nations must be known +to each other; _third_, their wants must be increased, in order to +inspire a passion for commerce. The first of these objects was not probably +accomplished till a late period. The second for three centuries past has +been greatly accelerated. The third is a necessary consequence of the two +former. The spirit of commerce is happily calculated to open an amicable +intercourse between all countries, to soften the horrors of war, to enlarge +the field of science, and to assimilate the manners, feelings and languages +of all nations. This leading principle, in its remoter consequences, +will produce advantages in favor of free government, give patriotism the +character of philanthropy, induce all men to regard each other as brethren +and friends, and teach them the benefits of peace and harmony among the +nations. + +I conceive it no objection to this theory that the progress has hitherto +been slow; when we consider the magnitude of the object, the obstructions +that were to be removed, and the length of time taken to accomplish it. +The future progress will probably be more rapid than the past. Since the +invention of printing, the application of the properties of the magnet, +and the knowledge of the structure of the solar system, it is difficult to +conceive of a cause that can produce a new state of barbarism; unless it be +some great convulsion in the physical world, so extensive as to change the +face of the earth or a considerable part of it. This indeed may have been +the case already more than once, since the earth was first peopled with +men, and antecedent to our histories. But such events have nothing to do +with the present argument. + + + +No. 48. + + + _Herschel ascends himself with venturous wain, + And joins and flanks thy planetary train,_ + + Book IX. Line 601. + +The planet discovered by Herschel was called by him Georgium Sidus; but in +all countries except England it is named Herschel, and probably will be so +named there after his death and that of the patron to whom his gratitude +led him to make this extraordinary dedication. + +I would observe that, besides the impropriety of giving it another name +than that of the discoverer, it is inconvenient to use a double name, or a +name composed of two words. Let it be either George or Herschel. + +The passage referred to in this note was written before the discovery of +the three other planets which are now added to our catalogue. Could my +voice have weight in deciding on the names to be given to these new +children of the sun, I would call them by the names of their respective +discoverers, Piazzi, Gibers and Harding, instead of the senseless and +absurd appellations of Ceres, Pallas and Juno. The former method would at +least assist us in preserving the history of science; the latter will only +tend farther to confuse a very ancient mythology which is already extremely +confused, and increase the difficulty of following the faint traces of real +knowledge that seems couched under the mass of that mythology; traces which +may one day lead to many useful truths in philosophy and morals. + + + +No. 49. + + + _To build on ruin'd realms the shrine of fame, + And load his numbers with a tyrant's name._ + + Book X. Line 261. + +A most useful book might be written on this subject. It should be a Review +of Poets and Historians, as to the moral and political tendency of their +works. It should likewise treat of the importance of the task assigned to +these two classes of writers. It might attempt to point out the true object +they ought to have in view; perhaps do this with such clearness and energy +as to gain the attention of writers as well as readers, and thus serve in +some measure as a guide to future historians and poets. At least it would +prove a guide to readers; and by teaching them how to judge, and what +to praise or blame in the accounts of human actions, whether real or +fictitious, the public taste would be reformed by degrees. In this case the +recorders of heroic actions, as well as the authors of them, would find it +necessary to follow this reform, or they must necessarily fail of obtaining +the celebrity to which they all aspire. + +I think every person who will give himself the trouble to form an opinion +on the manner in which actions, called heroic, have been recorded, must +find it faulty; and must lament, as one of the misfortunes of society, that +writers of these two classes almost universally, from Homer down to Gibbon, +have led astray the moral sense of man. In this view we may say in general +of poets and historians, as we do of their heroes, that they have injured +the cause of humanity almost in proportion to the fame they have acquired. + +I would not be understood by this observation to mean that such writers +have done no good. Even the works of Homer, which have caused more mischief +to mankind than those of any other, have likewise been a fruitful source of +a certain species of benefits. They elevate the mind of every reader; they +have called forth great exertions of genius in poets, artists, philosophers +and heroes, thro a long succession of ages. But it remains to be considered +what a fruitful source they have likewise been of those false notions of +honor and erroneous systems of policy which have governed the actions of +men from his day to ours. + +If, instead of the Iliad, he had given us a work of equal splendor founded +on an opposite principle; whose object should have been to celebrate the +useful arts of agriculture and navigation; to build the immortal fame +of his heroes, and occupy his whole hierarchy of gods, on actions that +contribute to the real advancement of society, instead of striking away +every foundation on which society ought to be established or can be greatly +advanced; mankind, enriched with such a work at that early period, would +have given a useful turn to their ambition thro all succeeding ages. + +It is not easy to conceive how different the state of nations would have +been at this day from what we now find it, had such a bent been given to +the pursuits of genius, and such glory cast upon actions truly worthy of +imitation. I have treated this subject more at large in the third chapter +of _Advise to the Privileged Orders_. + +But it will be asked how this kind of censure can attach to the writers of +history, whose business is to invent nothing, to confine themselves to +the simple narration of facts, and relate the actions of men, not as they +should be, but as they are. This is indeed a part of the duty of the +historian; but it is not his whole duty. His narrative should be clear and +simple; but he should likewise develop the political and moral tendency of +the transactions he details. + +In reviewing actions or doctrines which favor despotism, injustice, false +morals or political errors, he should not suffer them to pass without an +open and well supported censure. He should show how the authors of such +actions might have conducted themselves and succeeded in gaining the +celebrity which they sought, by doing good instead of harm to the age and +country where they acquired their fame. + +The history of human actions, in a political view, has generally been the +history of human errors. The writers who have given it to us do not appear +to have been sensible of this. How then are young readers to be sensible +of it? Their minds are still to be formed; and those who are destined for +public life must in a great measure take their bias from the study of +history. But history in general, to answer the purpose of sound instruction +to the future guides of nations, must be rewritten. For example: among the +hundred historians who have treated of what is called the Roman Republic +I know not one who has told us this important fact, that Rome never had a +republic. The same may be said of Athens, and of several other turbulent +associations of men in former ages. And it is for want of this attention +or this knowledge in the writers of their histories, that the republican +principle of government is so generally associated, even at this day, with +the idea of insurrection, anarchy and the desire of conquest. Whereas it +is in fact the _want_ of the republican principle, not the +_practice_ of it, which has occasioned all the insurrections, anarchy +and desire of conquest, that have disturbed the order of society both in +ancient and modern times. + +Again: in relating the destruction of Carthage, a measure which the zealous +patriots, both before and after, considered so essential to the glory of +the Roman state, and which has immortalized so many heroes as the authors +and projectors of that destruction, I believe no historian has told us that +the disease, decay and downfall of Rome itself were occasioned by that +measure, and must be dated from that epoch; and that the actions of Regulus +and Scipio, the themes of universal applause, were really more injurious to +their country than those of Marias and Sylla, the objects (and justly so) +of universal detestation. + +If these principles had been understood by Polybius and his successors in +the brilliant heritage of history, and had been properly impressed on the +minds of their readers, we should not have heard old Cato's vociferation +_delenda est Carthago_ applied to the American states by an orator of +the British parliament, as we did during the war; because every member of +that parliament must have understood that the prosperity of these states +would be highly advantageous to Britain, from the extensive commercial +intercourse that the relative situation of the two countries required. +Neither should we see at this day the French English nations seeking +to impoverish and extirpate each other; each of them entertaining the +erroneous and absurd opinion that its own prosperity is to be increased by +the adversity of its neighbor. We should have learned long ago from the +plain dictates of reason, instead of having it beat into us some ages hence +by costly experience, that the true dignity of a state is in the happiness +of its members; and that their happiness is best promoted by the pursuit of +industry at home and the free exchange of their productions abroad. + +We should have perceived the real and constant interest that every nation +has in the prosperity of its neighbors, instead of their destruction. +France would have perceived that the wealth of the English would be +beneficial to her, by enabling them to receive and pay for more of her +produce. England would have seen the same thing with regard to the French; +and such would have been the sentiments of other nations reciprocally and +universally. + +I know I must be called an extravagant theorist if I insinuate that all +these good things would have resulted from having history well written and +poetry well conceived. No man will doubt however that such would have been +the tendency; nor can we deny that the contrary has resulted, at least in +some degree, from the manner in which such writings have been composed. And +why should we write at all, if not to benefit mankind? The public mind, as +well as the individual mind, receives its propensities; it is equally the +creature of habit. Nations are educated, like a single child. They only +require a longer time and a greater number of teachers. + + + +No. 50. + + + _For that fine apologue, in mystic strain, + Gave like the rest a golden age to man,_ + + Book X. Line 393. + +Absurdities in speculative opinion are commonly considered as innocent +things; and we are told every day that they are not worth refuting. So +far as opinions are sure to rest merely in speculation, and cannot in any +degree become practical, this is doubtless the proper way of treating them. +But there are few opinions of this dormant and indifferent kind, especially +among those that become general and classical among the nations. + +The activity of such, tho imperceptible, is extensive. They get wrought +into our intellectual existence, and govern our modes of acting as well as +thinking. The interest of society therefore requires that they should be +scrutinized, and that such as are erroneous should be exposed, in order to +be rejected; when their place may be supplied by truth and reason, which +nourish the mind and accelerate the progress of improvement. + +Among the absurd notions which early turned the heads of the teachers of +mankind, and which are so ridiculous as generally to escape our censure, is +that of a Golden Age; or the idea that men were more perfect, more moral +and more happy in some early stage of their intercourse, before they +cultivated the earth and formed great societies. + +The author of Don Quixote has played his artillery upon this doctrine to +very good effect; he has summoned against it all the force of our contempt +by making it the text of one of the gravest discourses of his hero. But +my sensibility is such on moral and political errors, as rarely to be +satisfied with the weapon of ridicule; tho I know it to be one of the most +mortal of intellectual weapons. + +The notion that the social state of men cannot ameliorate, that they have +formerly been better than they now are, and that they are continually +growing worse, is pregnant with infinite mischief. I know no doctrine in +the whole labyrinth of imposture that has a more immoral tendency. It +discourages the efforts of all political virtue; it is a constant and +practical apology for oppression, tyranny, despotism, in every shape, +in every corner of society, as well as from the throne, the pulpit, the +tribunal and the camp. It inculcates the belief that ignorance is better +than knowledge; that war and violence are more natural than industry and +peace; that deserts and tombs are more glorious than joyful cities and +cultivated fields. + +One of the most operative means of bringing forward our improvements and +of making mankind wiser and better than they are, is to convince them that +they are capable of becoming so. Without this conviction they may indeed +improve slowly, unsteadily and almost imperceptibly, as they have done +within the period in which our histories are able to trace them. But this +conviction, impressed on the minds of the chiefs and teachers of nations, +and inculcated in their schools, would greatly expedite our advancement in +public happiness and virtue. Perhaps it would in a great measure insure the +world against any future shocks and retrograde steps, such as heretofore it +has often, experienced. + + + + +Postscript. + + + +I am well aware that some readers will be dissatisfied in certain instances +with my orthography. Their judgments are respectable; and as it is not a +wanton deviation from ancient usage on my part, the subject may justify a +moment's retrospect from this place. Since we have arrived at the end of a +work that has given me more pleasure in the composition than it probably +will in its reception by the public, they must pardon me if I thus linger +awhile in taking leave. It is a favorite object of amusement as well as +labor, which I cannot hope to replace. + +Our language is constantly and rapidly improving. The unexampled progress +of the sciences and arts for the last thirty years has enriched it with a +great number of new words, which are now become as necessary to the writer +as his ancient mother tongue. The same progress which leads to farther +extensions of ideas will still extend the vocabulary; and our neology must +and will keep pace with the advancement of our knowledge. Hence will +follow a closer definition and more accurate use of words, with a stricter +attention to their orthography. + +Such innovations ought undoubtedly to be admitted with caution; and they +will of course be severely scrutinized by men of letters. A language is +public property, in the most extensive sense of the word; and readers as +well as writers arc its guardians. But they ought to have no objection to +improving the estate as it passes thro their hands, by making a liberal tho +rigid estimate of what may be offered as ameliorations. Some respectable +philologists have proposed a total and immediate reform of our orthography +and even of our alphabet; but the great body of proprietors in this +heritage are of opinion that the attempt would be less advantageous than +the slow and certain improvements which are going forward, and which will +necessarily continue to attend the active state of our literature. + +We have long since laid aside the Latin diphthongs ae and oe in common +English words, and in some proper names tho not in all. Uniformity in this +respect is desirable and will prevail. Names of that description which +occur in this work I have therefore written with the simple vowel, as +_Cesar_, _Phenicia_, _Etna_, _Medea_. + +Another class of our words are in a gradual state of reform. They are those +Latin nouns ending in _or_, which having past thro France on their +way from Rome, changed their _o_ into _eu_. The Norman English +writers restored the Latin _o_, but retained the French _u;_ +and tho the latter has been since rejected in most of these words, yet +in others it is still retained by many writers. It is quite useless in +pronunciation; and propriety as well as analogy requires that the reform +should be carried thro. No writer at this day retains the _u_ in +_actor_, _author_, _emperor_ and the far greater part, perhaps nine +tenths, of this class of nouns; why then should it be continued in the few +that remain, such as _labor_, _honor?_ The most accurate authors +reject it in all these, and I have followed the example. + +I have also respectable authorities in prose as well as poetry for +expunging the three last letters in _though_ and _through;_ they +being totally disregarded in pronunciation and awkward in appearance. The +long sound of _o_ in many words, as _go, fro_, puts it out of +doubt with respect to _tho;_ and its sound of _oo_, which, frequently +occurs, as in _prove, move_, is an equal justification of _thro_. +All the British poets, from Pope downwards, and several eminent prose +writers, including Shaftsbury and Staunton, have by their practice +supported this orthography. + +Some verbs in the past tense, where the usual ending in _ed_ is +harsh and uncouth, hare long ago changed it for _t_, as _fixt_, +_capt_, _meant_, _past_, _blest_. Poetry has extended this innovation +to many other verbs which are necessarily uttered with the sound of _t_, +tho in prose they may still retain for a while their ancient _ed_. +I consider this reform as a valuable improvement in the language, because +it brings a numerous class of words to be written as they are spoken; and +the proportion of the reformed ones is already so considerable that +analogy, or regularity of conjugation, requires us to complete the list. +I have not carried this reform much farther than other poets have done +before me. Examples might perhaps be found for nearly all the instances in +which I have indulged it, such as _perisht_, _astonisht_, tho I have +not been solicitous to seek them. The correction might well be extended to +several remaining verbs of the same class; but it is difficult in this +particular case to fix the proper limit. + +With regard to the apostrophe, as employed to mark the elision in the past +tense of verbs, I have followed the example of the most accurate poets; who +use it where the verb in the present tense does not end in _e_, as +_furl'd_, because the _ed_ would add a syllable and destroy the +measure. But where the present tense ends in _e_, it is retained in +the past with the _d_, as _robed_, because it does not add a +syllable. + +The letter _k_ we borrowed from the Greek, and the _c_ from the +Latin. The power of each of these letters at the end of a word is precisely +the same; and the power of one is the same as that of both. Yet our early +writers placed them both at the end of certain words, with the _c_ +before the _k_, as _musick_, _publick_, why they did not put the _k_ first, +as being the most ancient character, does not appear. Modern authors have +rejected the _k_ sit the end of this class of words; and no correct +writer will think of replacing such an inconvenient appendage. + +The idea of putting a stop to innovation in a living language is absurd, +unless we put a stop to thinking. When a language becomes fixt it becomes +a dead language. Men must leave it for a living one, in which they can +express their ideas with all their changes, extensions and corrections. The +duty of the critic in this case is only to keep a steady watch over the +innovations that are offered, and require a rigid conformity to the general +principles of the idiom. Noah Webster, to whose philological labors our +language will be much indebted for its purity and regularity, has pointed +out the advantages of a steady course of improvement, and how it ought to +be conducted. The Preface to his new Dictionary is an able performance. He +might advantageously give it more development, with some correction, and +publish it as a Prospectus to the great work he now has in hand. + +The uniform tendency of our language is towards simplicity as well as +regularity. With this view the final e, in words where it is quite silent +and useless, is dropping off, and will soon disappear. Having long +since resigned the place it held in the greater part of these words, as +_joye_, _ruine_, and more recently in some others, it must finally quit +the remainder where it is still found a superfluous letter, as _active_, +_decisive_, _determine_. + +We may even hazard a prediction that our whole class of adjectives ending +in _ous_ will be reformed and brought nearer to their pronunciation by +rejecting the _o_. A similar change may be expected in words ending +in _ss_. These words have already undergone one reform; they were +formerly written with a final _e_, as _wildernesse_. They have +lost the _e_ because it was useless; and as the final _s_ has now +become equally useless, it might be dismissed with as little violence +to the language. But these two projected innovations have not yet been +ventured upon in any degree; and it is not desirable to be the first in so +daring an enterprise, when it is not immediately important. + + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Columbiad, by Joel Barlow + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE COLUMBIAD *** + +***** This file should be named 8683.txt or 8683.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/8/6/8/8683/ + +Produced by Distributed Proofreaders + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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