Greece
James Montgomery
Greece, thine ancient lamp is spent;
Thou art thine own monument;
But the sepulchre is rent,
And a wind is on the wing,
At whose breath new heroes spring,
Sages teach and poets sing.
In his long poem A Voyage Round the World, of which this stanza is part, James Montgomery often refers to down-trodden nations and their desire for independence. Here he refers to the movement for Greek Independence which led to the revolutionary war with the Ottoman Empire and independence for Greece in 1832.
