Egeria, or, The Spirit of Nature and Other Poems By Charles Mackay |
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| VII. | VII.—ROME. 1848-9. |
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 | Egeria, or, The Spirit of Nature and Other Poems |  |
VII.—ROME. 1848-9.
I
Rome imperial! Rome majestic!Shade of greatness, vanished all—
Looking down th' abyss of ages
To behold thy rise and fall,
We can trace upon thy forehead,
Queen and wonder of thy day,
Broadly marked the awful sentence,
“Pass Away.”
II
Great, but wicked—fair, but cruel,Sceptered mischief, worshipped long.
Never yet did men or nations
Prosper finally in wrong.
Justice did her work upon thee,
Mightier than thine her sway,
'T was her voice pronounced thy judgment—
“Pass Away!”
198
III
Modern Rome! thou mitred Phœnix!Risen from those embers cold;—
Looking dimly through the future,
The same shadow we behold—
Shadow of a power departing,
Spectre of a great decay,
Bearing on its front the motto,
“Pass Away.”
IV
Whither went the ancient CæsarsWith the pomp of peace or war,
Thither go the modern pontiffs
With dominion grander far.
Papal stole and regal purple
Fall in ripeness of the day,
Cæsar's crown and Pope's tiara,
“Pass Away!”
V
Priestly Rome! thy cup is filling;In our era, dauntless Truth
Feels her life and struggles upwards
With the energy of youth.
Thou shalt bind her wings no longer,
Never more her progress stay;
Thou hast lived thy generation—
“Pass Away!”
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VI
If hereafter from thy ashesA new Phœnix shall ascend,
May she learn to dwell with Virtue,
And take Freedom for her friend.
If as thou she clogs the spirit,
And denies the truth of day,
On her head thy doom be spoken—
“Pass Away!”
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