 | Jones Very : The Complete Poems |  |
437
The Teaching Of History Confirmed
Why look we to the distant past to learnLessons of wisdom from the days gone by?
When to the living present we may turn,
And read the teaching of all History.
Behold a mighty city, boasting all
That wealth, or splendor, or renown can give,
Encompassed now by armies, soon to fall;
No more the glory of the world to live!
One moment on the pinnacle of fame,
Another humbled to the very dust;
How vain the prestige of a Conqueror's name!
In arm of flesh how vain to place our trust!
And not in arts, whose glory shall endure,
By which great nations dwell in peace secure.
Poem No. 822; c. 7 January 1871
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