Through orange groves soft breathing breezes play'd
And gathered sweets like bees where'er they stray'd.
In fair relievo stood the lofty town,
Set off by radiant lights and shadows brown.
"Ill-fated city! there were revels kept;
Devoid of fear, they ate, they drank, they slept.
No friendly voice like that of ancient Rome
Was sent to give them warning of their doom:
No airy warriors to each other clung,
Such as 'tis said o'er destin'd Sion hung,
But like a nightly thief their dreadful fate
Unlooked for came and undermined their state....
"Lo, what a sudden change! On ruin's brink
The proud turn humble, and the thoughtless think.
Dark, gloomy sadness overclouds the gay,
And hypocrites for once sincerely pray....
But let it not be thought their horrid deeds
Had pulled this dreadful judgment on their heads,
Or that for crimes too horrible to tell,
Like guilty Sodom, thunderstruck they fell....
"Who can with curious eyes this globe survey,
And not behold it tottering with decay?
All things created, God's designs fulfil,
And natural causes work His destined will.
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