Concluded

Composed 1837.--Published 1842

As leaves are to the tree whereon they grow And wither, every human generation Is to the Being of a mighty nation, Locked in our world’s embrace through weal and woe; Thought that should teach the zealot to forego Rash schemes, to abjure all selfish agitation, And seek through noiseless pains and moderation The unblemished good they only can bestow. Alas! with most, who weigh futurity Against time present, passion holds the scales: Hence equal ignorance of both prevails, And nations sink; or, struggling to be free, Are doomed to flounder on, like wounded whales Tossed on the bosom of a stormy sea.

This date was omitted in the edition of 1842.

The three sonnets, At Bologna, in remembrance of the late Insurrections, 1837, are printed as a sequel to the Italian Tour of that year.--ED.