Thanks for the omen, that War's rule is spent,
And Europe from a barbarous custom free!
Too long her statesmen have their influence lent,
And to the idol bowed a willing knee;
A thousand voices heralded its fame,
And History adorned each bloody strife;
The nations gloried in their deeds of shame,
And not in saving, but destroying life.
In peaceful arbitration we behold
The dawn of a new era for the race,
That milder day, by prophets long foretold,
When Reason's sway shall violence displace,
Nations in peaceful arts alone contend,
And War's dread conflicts shall forever end.