The Poetical Works of Lord Macaulay Author:Baron Thomas Babington Macaulay General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1878 Original Publisher: R. Worthington Subjects: English poetry History / Ancient / Rome Literary Criticism / Poetry Poetry / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh Travel / Europe / Italy Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustration... more »s and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: SERMON IN A CHURCHYARD. (1825.) Let pious Damon take his seat, With mincing step and languid smile, And scatter from his 'kerchief sweet, Sabaean odors o'er the aisle ; And spread his little jewelled hand, And smile round all the parish beauties, And pat his curls, and smooth his band, Meet prelude to his saintly duties. Let the thronged audience press and stare, Let stifled maidens ply the fan, Admire his doctrines, and his hair, And whisper, " What a good young man ! " While he explains what seems most clear, So clearly that it seems perplexed, I'll stay and read my sermon here ; And skulls, and bones, shall be the text. Art thou the jilted dupe of fame ? Dost thou with jealous anger pine Whene'er she sounds some other name, With fonder emphasis than thine ? To thee I preach ; draw near ; attend ! Look on these bones, thou fool, and see Where all her scorns and favors end, What Byron is, and thou must be. Dost thou revere, or praise, or trust Some clod like those that here we spurn ; Some thing that sprang like thee from dust, And shall like thee to dust return ? Dost thou rate statesmen, heroes, wits, At one sear leaf, or wandering feather ? Behold the black, damp, narrow pits, Where they and thou must lie together. Dost thou beneath the smile or frown Of some vain woman bend thy knee ? Here take thy stand, and trample down Things that were once as fair as she. Here rave of her ten thousan...« less