Poems (Southey)/Volume 1/Inscription 07 - For the Cenotaph at Ermenonville
INSCRIPTION VII.
For the CENOTAPH at ERMENONVILLE.
Stranger! the Man of Nature lies not here:Enshrin'd far distant by his [1]rival's sideHis relics rest, there by the giddy throngWith blind idolatry alike revered!Wiselier directed have thy pilgrim feetExplor'd the scenes of Ermenonville. RousseauLoved these calm haunts of Solitude and Peace;Here he has heard the murmurs of the lake,And the soft rustling of the poplar grove,When o'er their bending boughs the passing windSwept a grey shade. Here if thy breast be full,If in thine eye the tear devout should gush,His Spirit shall behold thee, to thine homeFrom hence returning, purified of heart.1796.