Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Italy: Vols. XI–XIII. 1876–79. | | | | Venice | | On the Extinction of the Venetian Republic | | William Wordsworth (1770–1850) |
| | | 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; | 5 |
| 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; | 10 |
| 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 is passed away. | | | | |
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