'Tis not in numbers that a city's great: The population of the Attic town Is quite forgotten now; but what came down Is Sophocles portraying love and hate; The life of Socrates and his sad fate; Praxiteles bidding marble smile or frown; Demosthenes denouncing Philip's crown; And Plato's vision of the perfect state. 'Tis not for numbers that a town should cope: For Babylon, not Athens, follows then, And Babylon we know but by its fall; No, not in numbers let us place our hope, But in the large heart of the citizen Who sacrifices self to succor all. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE by EMMA LAZARUS SURFACES AND MASKS; 30 by CLARENCE MAJOR BOTANICAL GARDENS by EDGAR LEE MASTERS YOU SAY YOU SAID by MARIANNE MOORE HOMAGE TO SEXTUS PROPERTIUS: 2 by EZRA POUND TO BEACHEY, 1912 by CARL SANDBURG |