Solitude made a Cincinnatus, ripening the hero and the patriot,
And taught De Staël self-knowledge, even in the damp Bastile;
It fostered the piety of Jerome, matured the labours of Augustine,
And gave imperial Charles religion for ambition:
That which Scipio praised, that which Alfred practised,
Which fired Demosthenes to eloquence, and fed the mind of Milton,
Which quickened zeal, nurtured genius, found out the secret things of science,
Helped repentance, shamed folly, and comforted the good with peace,—
By all men just and wise, by all things pure and perfect,
How truly, Solitude, art thou the fostering nurse of greatness!