Be Christian first and last, for thus alone
Shalt thou attain to might unfaltering.
No nation in the past has ever known
The lasting power which faith alone can bring.
Though each in turn has gained a glorious name,
Not one has risen to eternal fame.
XXXVIII.
The Roman Cæsars, with increasing pride,
"Outstretched their hands and grasped a hemisphere."
Their glory swelled with ever-flowing tide,
And nations bowed to them in trembling fear.
Their eagles flew, and lofty was their flight,
Yet only Cæsar's empire met their sight.
XXXIX.
But now the Roman Empire is no more;
No longer Roman eagles sweep the sky.
The pampered luxury of Rome soon bore
Its wonted fruit—gross immorality;
And weakened thus, and by internal strife,
Great Cæsar's Empire yielded up its life.
XL.
And classic Greece, which, in a former age,
Bore mighty warriors without compeer,
Knew not the land whose war-compelling gage
Could not be taken up without a fear.
But now her power is so completely broke,
She almost yields her to an Asian yoke.
XLI.
And France, in later days, has girded on
A might magnificent; and none could stay
The pow'r of her adored Napoleon,
Before whose hosts, in ill-concealed dismay,
The nations fled. Then France her flag unfurled,
And waved it proudly over half a world.