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INSCRIPTION FOR THE CENOTAPH AT ERMENONVILLE, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Stranger! The man of nature lies not here
Last Line: From hence returning purified of heart.
Subject(s): Introspection; Rousseau, Jean Jacques (1712-1778); Strangers; Voltaire, Francois Marie Arouet De


STRANGER! the man of nature lies not here:
Inshrined far distant by his rival's side
His relics rest, there by the giddy throng
With blind idolatry alike revered!
Wiselier directed have thy pilgrim feet
Explored the scenes of Ermonville. Rousseau
Loved these calm haunts of solitude and peace;
Here he has heard the murmurs of the lake,
And the soft rustling of the poplar grove,
When o'er their bending boughs the passing wind
Swept a grey shade. Here, if thy breast be full,
If in thine eye the tear devout should gush,
His spirit shall behold thee, to thine home
From hence returning purified of heart.





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