The miscellaneous works of David Humphreys :: :: University of Virginia Library

Ye rev'rend fathers! props of freedom's cause,
Who rear'd an empire by your sapient laws,
With blest example give this lesson weight,
“That toil and virtue make a nation great!”
Then shall your names reach earth's remotest clime,
Rise high as heav'n, and brave the rage of time—
His list'ning sons the sire shall oft remind,
What parent sages first in Congress join'd:
The faithful Hancock grac'd that early scene,
Great Washington appear'd in godlike mien,
Jay, Laurens, Clinton, skill'd in ruling men,
And he who, earlier, held the farmer's pen.
'Twas Lee, illustrious, at the father's head,
The daring way to independence led.
The self-taught Sherman urg'd his reasons clear,
And all the Livingstons to freedom dear:
What countless names in fair procession throng,
With Rutledge, Johnson, Nash, demand the song!
And chiefly ye, of human kind the friends,
On whose high task my humbler toil attends:

Ye who, uniting realms in leagues of peace,
The sum of human happiness increase!
Adams, the sage, a patriot from his youth,
Whose deeds are honour, and whose voice is truth;
Undying Franklin, on the hill of fame,
Who bids the thunders spread his awful name;
And Jefferson, whose mind with space extends,
Each science woos, all knowledge comprehends,
Whose patriot deeds and elevated views
Demand the tribute of a loftier muse:
Though Randolph, Hosmer, Hanson sleep in death,
Still these great patriots draw the vital breath:
And can a nation fail in peace to thrive,
Where such strong talents, such high worth survive?
Rous'd at the thought, by vast ideas fir'd,
His breast enraptur'd, and his tongue inspir'd,
Another bard, in conscious genius bold,
Sings the new world now happier than the old.

Mr. Barlow, author of the Vision of Columbus.