Heaven attracts not! On we dream;
Cast like wrecks upon the shore
Where perfection reigns supreme,
And adieus are heard no more.
What is life? a tale! a span!
Swifter than the eagle's flight;
What the boasted age of man?
Vanishing beneath the sight.
Yet, our ardours and desires
Centred, circumscribed by earth;
Whilst eternity retires—
As an object nothing worth!
Oh, the folly of the proud!
Oh, the madness of the vain!
After every toy to crowd,
And unwithering crowns disdain!
Mighty men in grand array,
Magnates of the ages past,
Kings and conquerors, where are they?
Once whose frown a world o'ercast?
Faded! yet by fame enroll'd,
With their busts entwined with bays;
But if God his smile withhold,
Pitiful is human praise.
With what sadness and surprise,
Must Immortals view our lot;—
Eager for the flower that dies,
And the Amaranth heeding not.
May we from our dreams awake,
Love the truth, the truth obey;
On our night let morning break—
Prelude of a nobler day.
Harmony prevails above,
Where all hearts together blend;
Let the concords sweet of love,
Now begin and never end.
Have we not one common sire?
Have we not one home in sight?
Let the sons of peace conspire
Not to sever, but unite.