"Far other ruins henceforth be your care: /Search for the failing towers of human kind, / And save that noblest edifice, the mind"
— Pratt, Samuel Jackson [pseud. Courtney Melmoth] (1749-1814)
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for Messrs. Longman and Rees ... and T. Becket ... By W. Dyde [etc.]
Date
1802
Metaphor
"Far other ruins henceforth be your care: /Search for the failing towers of human kind, / And save that noblest edifice, the mind"
Metaphor in Context
Ye happier beings! blest in fortune's store,
On mimic ruins waste your wealth no more;
Your mould'ring monuments no more repair,
Far other ruins henceforth be your care:
Search for the failing towers of human kind,
And save that noblest edifice, the mind;
The central column of the dome defend,
Nor let the glory of the fabric bend:
The fabric nods! ah, leave your barren walls,
And prop the throne of reason e're it falls!
Such be th'improvements of your vast domain;
Without them, parks and palaces are vain:
O be the generous architects, to plan
How best to renovate decaying man;
The fragments gather, where in dust they lie,
And heav'n shall bless the work of charity.
On mimic ruins waste your wealth no more;
Your mould'ring monuments no more repair,
Far other ruins henceforth be your care:
Search for the failing towers of human kind,
And save that noblest edifice, the mind;
The central column of the dome defend,
Nor let the glory of the fabric bend:
The fabric nods! ah, leave your barren walls,
And prop the throne of reason e're it falls!
Such be th'improvements of your vast domain;
Without them, parks and palaces are vain:
O be the generous architects, to plan
How best to renovate decaying man;
The fragments gather, where in dust they lie,
And heav'n shall bless the work of charity.
Categories
Provenance
HDIS
Date of Entry
07/27/2004
