“We sate beside the Babylonian river:
Within the conqueror's bound, weeping we sate:
We hung our harps upon the trees that quiver
Above the rushing waters desolate.
“If I forget thee, Salem, in thy sadness,
May this right hand forget the harper's art!
If I forget thee, Salem, in my gladness,
My tongue dry up and wither, like my heart!”
It is a relic of the Babylonian captivity. The song forces from Alexander the sad confession, significant to all conquerors:
“The ages pass, like winds;