Cleon And I
Cleon hath a million acres, not a one have I;
Cleon dwelleth in a palace, in a cottage I;
Cleon hath a dozen fortunes, not a penny I;
Yet the poorer of the twain is Cleon, and not I.
Cleon, true, possesses acres, but the landscape I;
Half the charm to me it yieldeth money cannot buy,
Cleon harbors sloth and dullness, freshening vigor I;
He in velvet, I in fustian, richer man am I.
Cleon is a slave to grandeur, free as thought am I;
Cleon fees a score of doctors, need of none have I;
Wealth-surrounded, care-environed, Cleon fears to die;
Death may come, he’ll find me ready, happier man am I.
Cleon sees no charm in nature, in a daisy I;
Cleon hears no anthems ringing in the sea and sky;
Nature sings to me forever, earnest listener I;
State for state, with all attendants, who would change? Not I!
—Charles Mackay.
The World My Fatherland
I am not the native of a small corner only; the whole world is my fatherland.
—Seneca.
The whole world is a man’s birth-place.
—Statius.
Alternate Reading: Acts 25:13-37.