Inscriptions: IV: O Youths And Virgins

O youths and virgins: o declining eld: O pale misfortune's slaves: o ye who dwell Unknown with humble quiet; ye who wait In courts, or fill the golden seat of kings: O sons of sport and pleasure: o thou wretch That weep'st for jealous love, or the sore wounds Of conscious guilt, or death's rapacious hand Which left thee void of hope: o ye who roam In exile; ye who through the embattled field Seek bright renown; or who for nobler palms Contend, the leaders of a public cause; Approach: behold this marble. Know ye not The features? Hath not oft his faithful tongue Told you the fashion of your own estate, The secrets of your bosom? Here then, round His monument with reverence while ye stand, Say to each other: “This was Shakespear's form; “Who walk'd in every path of human life, “Felt every passion; and to all mankind “Doth now, will ever, that experience yield “Which his own genius only could acquire.