On the Extinction of the Venetian Republic
William Wordsworth, 1807

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;
     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,--
     Yet shall some tribute of regret be paid

     When her long life hath reach'd its final day:
     Men are we, and must grieve when even the shade
     Of that which once was great has pass'd away.