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4.22.5: “A Utilitarian View of the Monitor Fight” (1866)

  • Page ID
    63815
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    Plain be the phrase, yet apt the verse,
    More ponderous than nimble;
    For since grimed War here laid aside
    His Orient pomp, ‘twould ill befit
    Overmuch to ply
    The Rhyme’s barbaric cymbal.

    Hail to victory without the gaud
    Of glory; zeal that needs no fans
    Of banners; plain mechanic power
    Plied cogently in War now placed—
    Where War belongs—
    Among the trades and artisans.

    Yet this was battle, and intense—
    Beyond the strife of fleets heroic;
    Deadlier, closer, calm ‘mid storm;
    No passion; all went on by crank,
    Pivot, and screw,
    And calculations of caloric.

    Needless to dwell; the story’s known.
    the ringing of those plates on plates
    Still ringeth round the world—
    The clangor of that blacksmith’s fray.
    The anvil-din
    Resounds this message from the Fates:

    War shall yet be, and to the end;
    But war-paint shows the streaks of weather;
    War yet shall be, but warriors
    Are now but operatives; War’s made
    Less grand than Peace,
    And a singe runs through lace and feather.


    4.22.5: “A Utilitarian View of the Monitor Fight” (1866) is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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