Note 466 — Part II—The Worldlings (continued 3)

"Strong were our sires, and as they fought they writ, Conquering with force of arms and dint of wit: Theirs was the giant race before the flood, And thus, when Charles return'd, our empire stood. Like Janus, he the stubborn soil manured, With rules of husbandry the rankness cured; Tamed us to manners, when the stage was rude, And boisterous English wit with art endured.... But what we gain'd in skill we lost in strength, Our builders were with want of genius curst; The second temple was not like the first." —"Epistle 12 to Congreve," XI. 59.