Fame _Vs._ Riches

The Greeks had genius,–‘t was a gift
The Muse vouchsafed in glorious measure;
The boon of Fame they made their aim
And prized above all worldly treasure.

But _we_,–how do we train _our_ youth?
_Not_ in the arts that are immortal,
But in the greed for gains that speed
From him who stands at Death’s dark portal.

Ah, when this slavish love of gold
Once binds the soul in greasy fetters,
How prostrate lies,–how droops and dies
The great, the noble cause of letters!