The seat of empire, the abode of kings,
The final stage where Time shall introduce
Renownèd characters, and glorious works
Of high invention and of wondrous art,
Which not the ravages of Time shall waste,
Till he himself has run his long career!”[266]
To these add Voltaire, who, in his easy verse, written in 1751, represents God as putting fever in European climates, “and the remedy in America.”[267]
From this chorus, with only one discordant voice, I pass to a long line of voices so distinct and full as to be recognized separately.
JOHN MILTON, 1641.
The list opens with John Milton, whose lofty words are like an overture to the great drama of emigration, with its multitudes in successive generations. If not a prophet, he has yet struck a mighty key-note in our history.