...ancient as the sun,—the vales Stretching in pensive quietness between; The venerable woods—rivers that move In majesty, and the complaining brooks That...the solemn decorations all Of the great tomb of man. The golden sun, The planets, all the infinite host of heaven, Are shining on the sad abodes of death,...

...good, Fair forms, and hoary seers of ages past, All in one mighty sepulchre. The hills Rock-ribbed and ancient as the sun, — the vales Stretching in pensive quietness between; 40 The venerable woods — rivers that move In majesty, and the complaining brooks That make the meadows...

...immortality the poet asks us to take comfort from the beauty of our common sepulcher: The hills Rock-ribbed and ancient as the sun; the vales Stretching in pensive...brooks That make the meadows green; and, poured round Old ocean's grey and melancholy waste, — Are but the solemn decorations all Of the great tomb of...

...good, Fair forms, and hoary seers of ages past, All in one mighty sepulchre. — The hills Rock-ribb'd and ancient as the sun, — the vales Stretching in...complaining brooks That make the meadows green; and, pour'd round all, Old Ocean's grey and melancholy waste, — Are but the solemn decorations all Of...

..."Thanatopsis," blank verse written when he was sixteen years old in which Nature discusses death: Old oceans gray and melancholy waste, Are but the solemn decorations all Of the great tomb of man. - " He went to work in 1826 as an editor at the New York Evening Post, and from 1829 until his death...

...good, Fair forms, and hoary seers of ages past, All in one mighty sepulchre. — The hills Rock-ribbed and ancient as the sun, — the vales Stretching in...the solemn decorations all Of the great tomb of man. The golden sun, The planets, all the infinite host of heaven, Are shining on the sad abodes of death,...

...possible to improve upon the ways of nature . . . The hills, rock-ribbed and ancient as the sun — the venerable woods — rivers that move in majesty...the complaining brooks that make the meadows green, these for years had been neglected by the people of the state . . . the men of public spirit generally,...

...with Fair forms, and hoary seers of ages past, All in one mighty sepulchre.' The hills Rock-ribbed and ancient as the sun, — the vales Stretching in...the solemn decorations all Of the great tomb of man. The golden sun, The planets, all the infinite host of heaven, Are shining on the sad abodes of death,...

...illustrated well by the American poet William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878): ... The Hills Rock-ribbed and ancient as the sun. - the vales Stretching in...make the meadows green, and, poured round all Old oceans grey and melancholy waste, Are but the solemn decorations all Of the great tomb of man. Bryant...

...good, Fair forms, and hoary seers of ages past, All in one mighty sepulcher. The hills, Rock-ribbed, and ancient as the sun; the vales Stretching in pensive...the solemn decorations all Of the great tomb of man! The golden sun, The planets, all the infinite host of heaven, Are shining on the sad abodes of death,...