As infant streams, from oozing earth at first With feeble force and lonely murmurs burst, From myriad unseen fountains draw the rills And curl contentious round their hundred hills, Meet, froth and foam, their dashing currents swell, O'er crags and rocks their furious course impel, Impetuous plunging plough the mounds of earth, And tear the fostering flanks that gave them birth; Mad with the strength they gain, they thicken deep Their muddy waves and slow and sullen creep, O'erspread whole regions in their lawless pride, Then stagnate long, then shrink and curb their tide; Anon more tranquil grown, with steadier sway, Thro broader banks they shape their seaward way, From different climes converging, join and spread Their mingled waters in one widening bed, Profound, transparent; till the liquid zone Bands half the globe and drinks the golden sun, Sweeps onward still the still expanding plain, And moves majestic to the boundless main. Tis thus Society's small sources rise; Thro passions wild her infant progress lies; Fear, with its host of follies, errors, woes, Creates her obstacles and forms her foes; Misguided interest, local pride withstand, Till long-tried ills her growing views expand, Till tribes and states and empires find their place, Whose mutual wants her widest walks embrace; Enlightened interest, moral sense at length Combine their aids to elevate her strength, Lead o'er the world her peace-commanding sway. And light her steps with everlasting day. From that mark'd stage of man we now behold, More rapid strides his coming paths unfold; His continents are traced, his islands found, His well-taught sails on all his billows bound, His varying wants their new discoveries ply, And seek in earth's whole range their sure supply. First of his future stages, thou shalt see His trade unfetter'd and his ocean free. From thy young states the code consoling springs, To strip from vulture War his naval wings; In views so just all Europe's powers combine, And earth's full voice approves the vast design. Tho still her inland realms the combat wage And hold in lingering broils the unsettled age, Yet no rude shocks that shake the crimson plain Shall more disturb the labors of the main; The main that spread so wide his travell'd way, Liberal as air, impartial as the day, That all thy race the common wealth might share, Exchange their fruits and fill their treasures there, Their speech assimilate, their counsels blend, Till mutual interest fix the mutual friend. Now see, my son, the destined hour advance; Safe in their leagues commercial navies dance, Leave their curst cannon on the quay-built strand, And like the stars of heaven a fearless course command.