ON THE EXTINCTION OF THE VENETIAN REPUBLIC, 1802

by: William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

NCE did she hold the gorgeous East in fee;

And was the safeguard of the West: the worth

Of Venice did not fall below her birth,

Venice, the eldest Child of Liberty.

She was a maiden City, bright and free;

No guile seduced, no force could violate;

And, when she took unto herself a mate,

She must espouse the everlasting Sea.

And what if she had seen those glories fade,

Those titles vanish, and that strength decay;

Yet shall some tribute of regret be paid

When her long life hath reach'd its final day:

Men are we, and must grieve when even the Shade

Of that which once was great is pass'd away.

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