Agriculture Author:Alexander Smith Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: |J0oh Stcmttr. PEO GEESS—TEACHING. Instructed Greece, by the Illyrian coast, To Italy beneficent Cere came, And Magna Mater there received for name, To anc... more »ient Italy that Rome did boast, The world's great mistress in her palmy days, And object once of every brave man's praise: But since the scandal of the human race, And of religion pure and saintly grace,— Of civil liberty and conscience free, Though central seat it of the Holy See, Deserted by all art, save that of priest, With Crosier, 'neath which no flock can feast, And by all intellectual, moral life, His rule beneath, who owns nor wh—re nor wife! Of ignorance the nursery and vice, Superstition, dirt, laziness, and lice! Thither Cere came, her knowledge sent before From fruitful Sicily, once Rome's corn-store, The Isles enlightening—cross'd the Alps and Po; And then the country travers'd to Sulmo, With streams refreshed—flowing streams and clear, By which the amorous Ovid, born here, In early life was wont to gambol free, Aud in the pool or waters himself see, + As did Narcissus, whose tale he has sung, Like him, enamour'd of his beauty, young! Thence passing through the land of the Sabines, Divided by the lofty Appenines, Rising, she found the world-renowned Rome, And grateful welcom'd, made it long a home, Where, honour'd she, respected, all were bound To cultivate some portion of the ground, In recognition of her most just claims, The least of which is, 'tis her power that tamea Horse, ox, and heifer, for man's uses, though Not for those uses which their blood lets flow In crimson streams, with which life ebbs away— A cruel practice is this art to slay! But for those uses, perhaps not enjoined, For benefit implied of all mankind, From their mark'd instincts, making...« less