Classic Poem

ODE TO LIBERTY .

W HILE o'er the desolated earth
War stalks, with all her minions dire;
And, bursting into sudden birth,
With eyes that flash vindictive fire,
Fell Anarchy exerts his sway;
To Liberty I tune the lay:
That sacred Pow'r which guards our isle;
And bids thy coasts, Britannia, smile;
Which dreads alike, as foes to her renown,
The People's madd'ning rage, or Tyrant's angry frown.

In vain degraded G ALLIA , now,
Would emulate immortal R OME ;
In vain upon her pallid brow
Would bid the wreaths of Virtue bloom;
A Monarch's blood has stain'd the land;
A mad, insatiate, bloody band
With lawless force usurping reign;
And once where spread the fertile plain,
In dreadful strife opposing armies toil,
And slaughtered myriads cover the polluted soil.

Insatiate Furies! could not one,
One Monarch tor'n by Faction's rage,
And hurl'd indignant from his throne,
Your guilty thirst of blood asswage?
Must Female Virtue also feel
Th' insulting taunt, the murd'rous steel?
And Loveliness, to Empire born,
The sacrifice of vulgar scorn,
To Calumny's all-pois'ning influence bow,
And in the dust be laid, by dastard Cowards, low!

O! Liberty , fair gift of Heaven,
Blest Offspring of divinest Pow'r,
To man in boundless mercy given,
The solace of each virtuous hour!
Are these thy triumphs? — Is thy car
E'er guided by the Fiend of War?
Do Murther, Rapine, Slaughter, lend
Their arms, thy vot'ries to befriend?
Or do Caprice, Injustice, Treachery, aid
Thy views, for man's supremest bliss, Celestial Maid?

No — — Affectation's silly band,
And Pride, to ev'ery folly blind,
Envy, that rules the madd'ning land,
And Ignorance, dark'ner of the mind,
These have usurp'd fair Freedom's name;
And, for her pure and holy flame,
Rebellion's desolating fire,
Now ravages with vengeance dire,
Where Peace and Plenty held so late their sway,
Thy soil, unhappy France, to various ills a prey.

Meanwhile on Albion's fruitful shore,
Safe in a fav'ring Monarch's smiles,
Secur'd against each lawless pow'r,
Despotick force, insidious wiles,
The Goddess spreads her blest domain:
While o'er the cultivated plain
With joy the humble peasants know
What bounties from her Empire flow,
Trade, Arts, and Commerce, flourish through the land,
Foster'd by her regard, and rais'd at her command.