 | Later Lyrics |  |
311
HENRY WILSON'S SILVER WEDDING.
The ancients had an age of gold,
To silver thence descending,
While yet in baser metal told
The series had its ending.
To silver thence descending,
While yet in baser metal told
The series had its ending.
The golden time bore men divine;
The silver, men heroic;
The brazen did to deeds decline,
Rebuked of sage and stoic.
The silver, men heroic;
The brazen did to deeds decline,
Rebuked of sage and stoic.
The mystic trine by Plato cast
Was thus reversed from Nature:
The gold was in the unknown Past,
Not in the unknown Future.
Was thus reversed from Nature:
The gold was in the unknown Past,
Not in the unknown Future.
312
Our country knows the age of brass,
Whose wary politician
Digs in that ore the steps that pass
To recognized position.
Whose wary politician
Digs in that ore the steps that pass
To recognized position.
But Wilson, from the lowlier base
The silver vantage gaining,
Climbs ever towards the golden grace,
With labor uncomplaining.
The silver vantage gaining,
Climbs ever towards the golden grace,
With labor uncomplaining.
Well may the country thrive like him
To whom her heart's beholden,—
His Present's Silver never dim,
His Future always Golden!
To whom her heart's beholden,—
His Present's Silver never dim,
His Future always Golden!
| Later Lyrics | |