Then twig; then sapling; and as cent’ry roll’d
Slow after century, a giant-bulk
Of girth enormous, with moss-cushion’d root
Upheav’d above the soil, and sides emboss’d
With prominent wens globose—till at the last
The rottenness, which time is charged to inflict
On other mighty ones, found also thee.
* * * * *
William Cowper, 1731–1800.