 | Jones Very : The Complete Poems |  |
552
A Christian Commonwealth
Seeking a Christian Commonwealth to found,Our fathers deep its true foundations laid
In pure Religion and in Learning sound,
By wise instructors to the young conveyed;
They sought no harvest, where they had not sown
Broad cast the seeds of Christian knowledge pure,
They knew that by its fruit the tree is known,
By Virtue only can a State endure.
In vain did they unto the red men preach
The truths, revealed by God mankind to save;
In vain the arts of life they sought to teach,
And Learning's lore upon their minds engrave;
Heedless of knowledge, they must soon decay,
Before a wiser race they melt away!
Poem No. 416; c. 1878–80
| Jones Very : The Complete Poems | |