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On the Neglect of the Study of History
History repeats her lessons; oft in vain!For we to profit by her page are slow;
She shows how States may eminence attain,
How ignorance and vice their power o'erthrow;
How Government was formed for noble ends,
To establish order, vice and crime remove;
But these, neglected, it to ruin tends,
And what was made for good doth evil prove.
So doth a noble river, that should bless
And fertilize its banks on either side,
Bursting its bounds, bring ruin and distress,
And desolate a happy region wide!
Ah, when shall man, if not by History taught,
Learn from the wondrous works in Nature wrought?
Poem No. 174; c. 29 October 1878
| Jones Very : The Complete Poems | |