[A] Seneca the poet, native of Cordova in Spain.--_Freneau's note_ (_1786_). _Venient annis secula seris, quibus oceanus vincula rerum laxet, et ingens pateat tellus, Typhisque novos detegat orbes; nec sit terris Ultima Thule._--Seneca, Med., Act. III, V. 375. (_Ibid. Ed. 1795 et seq._) "_And Typhis shall disclose the mighty land "Far, far away, where none have rov'd before; "Nor shall the world's remotest region be "Gibraltar's rock, or Thule's[B] savage shore._"[44] [B] Supposed by many to be the Orkney or Shetland Isles.--_Freneau's note._ Fir'd at the theme, I languish to depart, Supply the barque, and bid Columbus sail, He fears no storms upon the untravell'd deep; Reason shall steer, and skill disarm the gale. Nor does he dread to lose the intended course, Though far from land the reeling galley stray, And skies above, and gulphy seas below Be the sole objects seen for many a day. Think not that Nature has unveil'd in vain The mystic magnet to the mortal eye: So late have we the guiding needle plann'd Only to sail beneath our native sky? Ere this was found, the ruling power of all Found for our use an ocean in the land, Its breadth so small we could not wander long, Nor long be absent from the neighbouring strand. Short was the course, and guided by the stars, But stars no more shall point our daring way; The Bear shall sink, and every guard be drown'd, And great Arcturus scarce escape the sea, When southward we shall steer--O grant my wish. Supply the barque, and bid Columbus sail, He dreads no tempests on the untravell'd deep, Reason shall steer, and shall disarm the gale. [43] According to the edition of 1786, this poem was "written 1770." The first trace that I find of it is in the June number of the _United States Magazine_, 1779. The 1786 text, which I have followed, was changed but little in the later editions. [44] This is a translation of the passage from Seneca used on the title page of _The Rising Glory of America_. THE RISING GLORY OF AMERICA[45] Being part of a Dialogue pronounced on a public occasion. ARGUMENT The subject proposed.--The discovery of America by Columbus.-- A philosophical enquiry into the origin of the savages of America.--The first planters from Europe.--Causes of their migration to America.--The difficulties they encountered from the jealousy of the natives.--Agriculture descanted on.--Commerce and navigation.--Science.--Future prospects of British usurpation, tyranny, and devastation on this side the Atlantic.--The more comfortable one of Independence, Liberty and Peace.--Conclusion. _Acasto_