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On the Extinction of the Venetian Republic |
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Written by William Wordsworth
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Once 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 reached its final day: Men are we, and must grieve when even the shade Of that which once was great has passed away.
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