Page:Landon in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book 1833.pdf/86

Rh

"Oh, fleeting honours of the dead,   Oh, high ambition lowly laid."

" tomb, fit for a mighty king, One last great mockery, a thousand slaves Dug marble from the quarry, then arose The slow foundation—men put forth their skill In rich devices, and in ornament, Then towered the rounded column, and the walls Shone with red gold and many-coloured stones. Then spread the broidered purple for a pall, And all for what?—to hide some grains of dust." So might the cynic say; so say not I. It is a glorious thing for man to war With time, by some great work. Wherefore was skill, And energy, and industry, bestowed, If that he use them not? How many hearts In the completion of this building throbbed With the fine pride of art—that pride which leads To all that can redeem or civilize Our human nature. Now, what solemn thoughts Brood here! an atmosphere from which we draw Such lessons as the dead alone can give, And only they when present to the mind, As they are present in this monument— Oh, build tombs for the dead, they're mightier there Than in their living palaces!