On The Burning Of Lord Mansfield's Library
by William Cowper
On the burning of Lord Mansfield's library together with his manuscripts by the mob, in the month of June, 1780.
So then-the Vandals of our isle,
Sworn foes to sense and law,
Have burnt to dust a nobler pile
Than ever Roman saw!
And Murray sighs o'er Pope and Swift,
And many a treasure more,
The well judged purchase, and the gift
That graced his letter'd store.
Their pages mangled, burnt, and torn,
The loss was his alone;
But ages yet to come shall mourn
The burning of his own.
On The Same.
When wit and genius meet their doom
In all devouring flame,
They tell us of the fate of Rome,
And bid us fear the same.
Source:
The Poetical Works Of William Cowper, Volume 1Copyright 1859
Boston:
Little, Brown, And Company.
Shepard, Clark And Brown.