Poems (Hoffman)/Ambition
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AMBITION
Virtue or vice, which shall we call thy name?
Parent of wealth, of liberty, of fame;
Author of crime; shall reason bless or blame?
Parent of wealth, of liberty, of fame;
Author of crime; shall reason bless or blame?
Thine offspring are in number as the sands,
In monument to thee, all triumph stands;
Yet, blood of innocence is on thy hands.
In monument to thee, all triumph stands;
Yet, blood of innocence is on thy hands.
Stagnation into frenzy, thou hast turned;
Kindled, in sluggish veins, thy fire hath burned;
To censure and to praise thee, man hath learned.
Kindled, in sluggish veins, thy fire hath burned;
To censure and to praise thee, man hath learned.
Read where thy record fills the page of time,
Inspirer of the cursed Cain, of crime;
Creator of the noble and sublime.
Inspirer of the cursed Cain, of crime;
Creator of the noble and sublime.