 | The Poetical Works of Oliver Wendell Holmes |  |
TO THE HARVARD ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK CITY
FEBRUARY 20, 1866
She to whose faithful breast each child is dear
Hears the far murmur of your voices meeting,—
Ah sweetest music to her loving ear!
And sends a mother's greeting.
Hears the far murmur of your voices meeting,—
Ah sweetest music to her loving ear!
And sends a mother's greeting.
When first enrobed her radiant form she dressed
TRUTH was the pearl that on her forehead glistened,—
FREEDOM her message to the virgin West,
And the whole world has listened.
TRUTH was the pearl that on her forehead glistened,—
FREEDOM her message to the virgin West,
And the whole world has listened.
Whate'er she gave you,—learning, science, art,—
Shed from the mystic tree whose leaves are letters,
One gift excelled them all—a manly heart
Freed from all earthly fetters.
Shed from the mystic tree whose leaves are letters,
One gift excelled them all—a manly heart
Freed from all earthly fetters.
Guard well the pearl of Harvard, all too white
For the coarse hands to clutch that buy and barter,—
Conquer with Freedom in her life-long fight
Or fall her noble martyr!
For the coarse hands to clutch that buy and barter,—
Conquer with Freedom in her life-long fight
Or fall her noble martyr!
| The Poetical Works of Oliver Wendell Holmes | |