 | Poems |  |
Yet TULLY's speculative eye perceiv'd
The semblance of a threefold power, combin'd
In compact such as ne'er historic pen
Had trac'd amid the nations. Nor a glimpse
Of empire to perfection brought, escap'd
The sage whose penetrating genius ken'd
The internal movements of the restless mind
In politic societies; and drew
Its features strong and luminous. His soul
Imag'd in fair idea the mixt state,
Where prince and peers in concert with the tribes
Elected from the common mass, exert
Their close-cooperating powers to frame
Man's civil union. Such the form he deem'd
Too pure for mortal eyes; or only meet
For some Atlantic isle, where PLATO's thought
Might fondly brood o'er visionary bliss;
Whose white cliffs glitter to ideal suns,
The haunt of genii! Yes! the Atlantic waves
Kiss that elysian island!—and that isle
Is Albion! Lo her guarded rocks are trod
By spirits that have drank empyreal air,
Light freedom, and philosophy, heav'n-sprung!
The semblance of a threefold power, combin'd
In compact such as ne'er historic pen
Had trac'd amid the nations. Nor a glimpse
Of empire to perfection brought, escap'd
The sage whose penetrating genius ken'd
The internal movements of the restless mind
In politic societies; and drew
Its features strong and luminous. His soul
93
Where prince and peers in concert with the tribes
Elected from the common mass, exert
Their close-cooperating powers to frame
Man's civil union. Such the form he deem'd
Too pure for mortal eyes; or only meet
For some Atlantic isle, where PLATO's thought
Might fondly brood o'er visionary bliss;
Whose white cliffs glitter to ideal suns,
The haunt of genii! Yes! the Atlantic waves
Kiss that elysian island!—and that isle
Is Albion! Lo her guarded rocks are trod
By spirits that have drank empyreal air,
Light freedom, and philosophy, heav'n-sprung!
| Poems | |