When I have borne in memory what has tamed
Great Nations, how ennobling
thoughts
depart
When men change swords for ledgers, and desert
The student's bower for gold, some fears unnamed
I had, my Country!
William Wordsworth
.. must live ... 1803.]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTE ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: It was first printed in 'The Morning Post', April 16. 1803,
and signed W. L. D.--Ed.]
[Footnote B: Compare Daniel's 'Civil War', book ii. stanza 7.--Ed.]
* * * * *
"WHEN I HAVE BORNE IN MEMORY WHAT HAS TAMED"
Composed September, 1802.
--Published 1807 [A]
When I have borne in memory what has tamed
Great Nations, how ennobling
thoughts
depart
When men change swords for ledgers, and desert
The student's bower for gold, some fears unnamed
I had, my Country!
--am I to be blamed? 5
Now, [1] when I think of thee, and what thou art,
Verily, in the bottom of my heart,
Of those unfilial fears I am ashamed. [2]
For dearly must we prize thee; we who find
In thee a bulwark for the cause of men; [3] 10
And I by my affection was beguiled:
What wonder if a Poet now and then,
Among the many movements of his mind,
Felt for thee as a lover or a child!
