A poem delivered in the first congregational church in the town of Quincy, May 25, 1840 the two hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of the town |
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 | A poem delivered in the first congregational church in the town of Quincy, May 25, 1840 |  |
Thus while we view with undiverted eyes
The vistas of the past and future rise,
O deep but trembling are our hopes of thee,
America, thou clime of Liberty!
We fondly ask—while o'er thy rich expanse
The crowds move on, “shall truth with them advance?
While wealth increases, shall the mind increase?
Shall war be banished by the smile of peace?
Shall man be false to man? shall love of gain
Fix in thy soul its desolating reign?
Shall Slavery still curse, intemperance kill,
Vice rove unpunished, passions have their will?
Shall truth be fettered, and her pleadings spurned.
And sweet Religion to a lie be turned?”
The vistas of the past and future rise,
O deep but trembling are our hopes of thee,
America, thou clime of Liberty!
We fondly ask—while o'er thy rich expanse
The crowds move on, “shall truth with them advance?
While wealth increases, shall the mind increase?
Shall war be banished by the smile of peace?
Shall man be false to man? shall love of gain
Fix in thy soul its desolating reign?
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Vice rove unpunished, passions have their will?
Shall truth be fettered, and her pleadings spurned.
And sweet Religion to a lie be turned?”
| A poem delivered in the first congregational church in the town of Quincy, May 25, 1840 | |