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 | Columbia's glory |  |
From the hard galling chain
Of such a king, who, by his boasts profane
And impudent appeals to THEE,
Has oft thy attributes blasphem'd,
Thou hast already set Columbia free;
O by the pow'r of thy almighty hand,
From ghastly, slav'ry save the guilty land,
Thou hast from bondage secular redeem'd:—
Still, O great guardian of our state,
Thy glorious work of LIBERTY pursue;
And, while thou dost our foreign foes defeat,
Our worse intestine foes subdue;
Make thy salvation, Lord, complete,
And from our sins grant us deliv'rance too.
Though slander'd and revil'd,
And trait'rous rebels stil'd,
To the proud monarch of an earthly throne;
Against the faith a subject plights,
We ne'er oppos'd his legal rights,
But aim'd, THOU know'st, alone
From his encroachments to secure our own:
Nay from his arbitrary sway
We with reluctancy withdrew,
And, loth e'en lawless pow'r to disobey,
Long gave to Cæsar more than Cæsar's due.
But ah! THOU injur'd Sov'reign of the skies,
To THEE, alas! to THEE,
Without the least disguise
Or palliating plea,
With conscious shame we own,
We have indeed been faithless traitors found
And rebels to thy throne,
Though to our duty bound
By the most sacred and endearing ties,
Supremely great and yet supremely good,
Thou of our youth hast been the careful guide,
And thy indulgence all our wants supply'd;
Thy pow'r our infant steps upheld,
Thy wisdom taught us, and thy bounty fed,
With necessary food;
Yet we, a vile degen'rate race,
Have most ungratefully rebell'd
Against thy government and grace,
And from our rightful Lord and gracious Father sled.
Kind thy restraints, and easy was thy yoke;
Yet we, regardless of thy smile,
The bands of our allegiance broke,
And basely spurn'd thy equitable sway:
Nay, obstinately vile,
E'en while thy angry scourge we bore,
In bold defiance of thy frown,
Still uncorrected by thy stroke,
Perversely we refus'd to lay
The arms of our rebellion down;
But still thy wrath persisted to provoke,
And from thy laws revolted more and more,
O, while thy hand averts
The unavailing blow
Of thy chastising rod,
And favours undeserv'd imparts,
May our cold breasts with grateful ardor glow,
And our reluctant stubborn hearts
Th'attractive influence feel
Of cords of mercy and of bands of love:
From the rebellious road,
We so perversely trod,
May thy forbearance efficacious prove
To draw us back to thee;
Our past backslidings heal,
And in thy goodness infinitely free,
Be ours as thou hast been our father's God.
Turn us to thee, our devious feet restore,
Great God, and suffer us no more
To wander from thy ways,
No more by folly to rebell;
But, by thy plastic hand,
Form us a people for thy praise,
And in our happy land
Let peace and glory dwell.
By radiance DIVINE
Illumin'd, and to rank exalted high
Among the nations, let Columbia shine,
To the whole world's astonish'd eye,
With all that lustre dignify'd,
Which from RELIGION, LIBERTY,
And social virtue springs;
But save, O save her, by thy watchful care,
From outside grandeur, from the tinsel glare
Of luxury and pride;
And let her be
For ever free
From those delusive and pernicious things,
Which oft the human race insnare,
Honours extrinsic to the mind,
And dignities to blood confin'd,—
Titles the vilest character may wear,
The pomp of courts and pageantry of kings.
O may her CONGRESS still,
By thee the GOD of liberty inspir'd
Obsequious to thy will,
Th'important object of their charge pursue;
And may its ev'ry member, fir'd
With zeal for THEE and love to man,
The sacred influence feel,
And with attention due,
Join to promote the glorious plan,
And keep THY glory and Columbia's weal
Forever near his heart, and ever in his view.
Of mind intelligent and heart sincere,
And in the cause of truth and reason bold,
May all her sons that rise
To offices of public trust,
Thy sacred laws revere;
All sordid views despise,
And their respective places hold,
Uninfluenc'd by the lust
Of lawless pow'r or gold:
Sagacious may her statesmen be,
Her legislators wise,
Humane her officers, her judges just,
And all her children FREE.
Rescu'd herself from a proud tyrants rage,
And with an happy independence blest,
May she, with tender sympathy, assuage
The sorrows of th'opprest,
In gratitude to THEE impart
The blessings THOU hast giv'n,
With lib'ral hand and gen'rous heart,
To all her fellow-suff'rers of mankind;
And ever, in her hospitable arms,
Allur'd by liberty's inviting charms,
May injur'd virtue, into exile driv'n,
A safe asylum find.
Indulg'd at length a sweet repose,
From her long strife with foreign foes,
With festive joy may SHE
Reap the rich harvest of her toils,
From party-rage, intestine broils,
And feuds domestic free.
Should e'er contending nations round,
With savage fury rush to arms,
Each other to destroy,
And human nature wound;
May beneficial arts her pow'rs employ,
Nor let the loud alarms
Disturb her calm tranquility;
Unanxious, or through interest or fear,
May she, like distant thunder, hear
The formidable sound,
From all disquiet free;
And, save for virtue a becoming zeal,
Or kind solicitude for human weal,
May she, without emotion, see,
Their flaming bolts of mutual vengeance hurl;
Her never let such boist'rous storms betide,
But, unambitious, prudent and sincere,
In views pacific, may she persevere,
And, spite of foreign policy or pride,
Down the smooth stream of her existence glide,
In perfect harmony with all the world.
And O may PEACE, celestial maid, descend,
Th' unhappy race of man befriend,
Make her glad olive bloom on ev'ry shore,
And through each future age
Her gentle influence extend:
May rival hosts no more engage;
May all the nations lay aside their rage,
And learn the execrable art of war no more.
Haste on the glorious day,
When Christ his banner shall display,
And draw his conquering sword,
The world from slav'ry to redeem;
When all earth's kingdoms shall submit,
In willing homage at his feet,
Vanquish'd by his all powerful word,
And yield obedience unreserv'd to him:
When monarchs shall oppress no more,
But his high pow'rs usurp'd restore,
And all with one consent adore
The only potentate, the king supreme
And universal Lord.
When HE, whose right it is alone,
Shall mount in majesty his throne,
And rule the world exclusively his own;
In whose auspicious reign,
Discord and war and tyranny shall cease,
And the free subjects of his wide domain
Shall all by glad experience prove
His sceptre righteousness, his kingdom peace,
And all the laws of his blest empire love.
Of such a king, who, by his boasts profane
And impudent appeals to THEE,
Has oft thy attributes blasphem'd,
Thou hast already set Columbia free;
O by the pow'r of thy almighty hand,
From ghastly, slav'ry save the guilty land,
Thou hast from bondage secular redeem'd:—
Still, O great guardian of our state,
Thy glorious work of LIBERTY pursue;
And, while thou dost our foreign foes defeat,
38
Make thy salvation, Lord, complete,
And from our sins grant us deliv'rance too.
Though slander'd and revil'd,
And trait'rous rebels stil'd,
To the proud monarch of an earthly throne;
Against the faith a subject plights,
We ne'er oppos'd his legal rights,
But aim'd, THOU know'st, alone
From his encroachments to secure our own:
Nay from his arbitrary sway
We with reluctancy withdrew,
And, loth e'en lawless pow'r to disobey,
Long gave to Cæsar more than Cæsar's due.
But ah! THOU injur'd Sov'reign of the skies,
To THEE, alas! to THEE,
Without the least disguise
Or palliating plea,
With conscious shame we own,
We have indeed been faithless traitors found
And rebels to thy throne,
Though to our duty bound
By the most sacred and endearing ties,
Supremely great and yet supremely good,
Thou of our youth hast been the careful guide,
And thy indulgence all our wants supply'd;
Thy pow'r our infant steps upheld,
Thy wisdom taught us, and thy bounty fed,
With necessary food;
Yet we, a vile degen'rate race,
Have most ungratefully rebell'd
Against thy government and grace,
And from our rightful Lord and gracious Father sled.
Kind thy restraints, and easy was thy yoke;
Yet we, regardless of thy smile,
The bands of our allegiance broke,
And basely spurn'd thy equitable sway:
39
E'en while thy angry scourge we bore,
In bold defiance of thy frown,
Still uncorrected by thy stroke,
Perversely we refus'd to lay
The arms of our rebellion down;
But still thy wrath persisted to provoke,
And from thy laws revolted more and more,
O, while thy hand averts
The unavailing blow
Of thy chastising rod,
And favours undeserv'd imparts,
May our cold breasts with grateful ardor glow,
And our reluctant stubborn hearts
Th'attractive influence feel
Of cords of mercy and of bands of love:
From the rebellious road,
We so perversely trod,
May thy forbearance efficacious prove
To draw us back to thee;
Our past backslidings heal,
And in thy goodness infinitely free,
Be ours as thou hast been our father's God.
Turn us to thee, our devious feet restore,
Great God, and suffer us no more
To wander from thy ways,
No more by folly to rebell;
But, by thy plastic hand,
Form us a people for thy praise,
And in our happy land
Let peace and glory dwell.
By radiance DIVINE
Illumin'd, and to rank exalted high
Among the nations, let Columbia shine,
To the whole world's astonish'd eye,
With all that lustre dignify'd,
40
And social virtue springs;
But save, O save her, by thy watchful care,
From outside grandeur, from the tinsel glare
Of luxury and pride;
And let her be
For ever free
From those delusive and pernicious things,
Which oft the human race insnare,
Honours extrinsic to the mind,
And dignities to blood confin'd,—
Titles the vilest character may wear,
The pomp of courts and pageantry of kings.
O may her CONGRESS still,
By thee the GOD of liberty inspir'd
Obsequious to thy will,
Th'important object of their charge pursue;
And may its ev'ry member, fir'd
With zeal for THEE and love to man,
The sacred influence feel,
And with attention due,
Join to promote the glorious plan,
And keep THY glory and Columbia's weal
Forever near his heart, and ever in his view.
Of mind intelligent and heart sincere,
And in the cause of truth and reason bold,
May all her sons that rise
To offices of public trust,
Thy sacred laws revere;
All sordid views despise,
And their respective places hold,
Uninfluenc'd by the lust
Of lawless pow'r or gold:
Sagacious may her statesmen be,
Her legislators wise,
Humane her officers, her judges just,
And all her children FREE.
Rescu'd herself from a proud tyrants rage,
And with an happy independence blest,
41
The sorrows of th'opprest,
In gratitude to THEE impart
The blessings THOU hast giv'n,
With lib'ral hand and gen'rous heart,
To all her fellow-suff'rers of mankind;
And ever, in her hospitable arms,
Allur'd by liberty's inviting charms,
May injur'd virtue, into exile driv'n,
A safe asylum find.
Indulg'd at length a sweet repose,
From her long strife with foreign foes,
With festive joy may SHE
Reap the rich harvest of her toils,
From party-rage, intestine broils,
And feuds domestic free.
Should e'er contending nations round,
With savage fury rush to arms,
Each other to destroy,
And human nature wound;
May beneficial arts her pow'rs employ,
Nor let the loud alarms
Disturb her calm tranquility;
Unanxious, or through interest or fear,
May she, like distant thunder, hear
The formidable sound,
From all disquiet free;
And, save for virtue a becoming zeal,
Or kind solicitude for human weal,
May she, without emotion, see,
Their flaming bolts of mutual vengeance hurl;
Her never let such boist'rous storms betide,
42
In views pacific, may she persevere,
And, spite of foreign policy or pride,
Down the smooth stream of her existence glide,
In perfect harmony with all the world.
And O may PEACE, celestial maid, descend,
Th' unhappy race of man befriend,
Make her glad olive bloom on ev'ry shore,
And through each future age
Her gentle influence extend:
May rival hosts no more engage;
May all the nations lay aside their rage,
And learn the execrable art of war no more.
Haste on the glorious day,
When Christ his banner shall display,
And draw his conquering sword,
The world from slav'ry to redeem;
When all earth's kingdoms shall submit,
In willing homage at his feet,
Vanquish'd by his all powerful word,
And yield obedience unreserv'd to him:
When monarchs shall oppress no more,
But his high pow'rs usurp'd restore,
And all with one consent adore
The only potentate, the king supreme
And universal Lord.
When HE, whose right it is alone,
Shall mount in majesty his throne,
And rule the world exclusively his own;
In whose auspicious reign,
Discord and war and tyranny shall cease,
And the free subjects of his wide domain
Shall all by glad experience prove
His sceptre righteousness, his kingdom peace,
And all the laws of his blest empire love.
Already has she afforded a quiet retreat to many oppressed foreigners, and in future times, unless her example should be pretty generally followed by the inhabitants of Europe and even Asia, vast numbers more will avail themselves of the same inestimable benefit.
The author has observed with pleasure, since this poem was written, with what rapidity the inhabitants of the United States were making improvements in both the liberal and mechanical arts.
| Columbia's glory | |