quote · Legacy record
’Tis not in mockery of man that earth Is strewed with splendid fragments, temple, tower; That realms, where glory sprang full-arm’d to birth, Are desolate, the snake and tiger’s bower: They lie the monuments of misused power, Not freaks of fate, but warnings against crime: And ancient Babylon might, at this hour, Had she been guiltless, stand as in her prime, Nay, stand in growing pomp, till God had finished time.
’Tis not in mockery of man that earth Is strewed with splendid fragments, temple, tower; That realms, where glory sprang full-arm’d to birth, Are desolate, the snake and tiger’s bower: They lie the monuments of misused power, Not freaks of fate, but warnings against crime: And ancient Babylon might, at this hour, Had she been guiltless, stand as in her prime, Nay, stand in growing pomp, till God had finished time.
In print by 1888 AD · industrial
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
Meaning not yet available
An individual explanation has not yet been added. We do not substitute a generic description for an interpretation of these particular words.
Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Croly (identity unresolved)
Attribution: unknown - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1888 AD · industrial
In print by 1888: recorded in A Cyclopædia of Sacred Poetical Quotations (catalogued1888). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- A Cyclopædia of Sacred Poetical Quotations (catalogued1888) (1888 AD)
Page 451 · printed citation: Croly · subject: POWER
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.