Verses on the Prospect of Planting Arts and Learning in America
by George Berkeley (1685-1753)
The muse, disguised at an age and clime,
Barren of every glorious theme,
In distant lands now waits a better time,
Producing subjects [of] worthy fame:
In happy climes, where from the genial sun
And virgin earth such scenes ensue,
The force of arms by nature seems outdone,
And fancied beauties by the true:
In happy climes the seat of innocence,
Where nature guides and virtue rules,
Where men shall not impose for truth and sense,
The pedantry of courts and schools:
There shall be sung another golden age,
The rise of empire and of arts,
The good and great inspiring epic rage,
The wisest heads and noblest hearts.
Not such as Europe breeds in her decay;
Such as she bred when fresh and young,
When heavenly flame did animate her clay,
By future poets shall be sung.
Westward the course of empire takes its way;
The four first acts already past,
A fifth shall close the drama with the day;
Times’s noblest offspring is the last.
“Verses on the Prospect of Planting Arts and Learning in America”
The mechanism, product of an age, and grime,
Like its installed owners, Half in shadow, Half in sight,
Does more than wait upon a better time;
But roaring rises on a pillar,
A pornographic rapture set a boil,
Greasy and thick,
To meet its day and fame;
Deadly without foil.
“Subjects of worthy fame”
Pass by the sights prepared for them.
Unseen beneath the musky dew
Bright beads of oil gleam.
Behold “the rise of empire and of arts,”
Outdone nature in fits and starts.
Arrayed in the customary uniform—black and white—
But adding a slash of dark maroon,
Like rotted blood, closest to the heart,
Scion of Puritans
Pass to and fro in the stench as the assent continues
Against a murmur of endless background noise:
The courses of the courts;
Epic news shorts
Which leave nothing to chance;
Video games: Skater’s knees, Smart bombs, Severed parts;
“The good and great inspiring epic age.”
“The wisest heads and noblest hearts,”
In the corner offices—
No need to hide—
Tanned hands shuttle and maneuver,
Shuttle and glide,
Seeking the advantage.
Sutured smiles hold the place of ritual rage.
“There shall be another golden age.”
This One & This One 