| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900. |
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| 179. The Decay of a People |
| | | By William Gilmore Simms |
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| THIS the true sign of ruin to a race— | |
| It undertakes no march, and day by day | |
| Drowses in camp, or, with the laggard’s pace, | |
| Walks sentry o’er possessions that decay; | |
| Destined, with sensible waste, to fleet away;— | 5 |
| For the first secret of continued power | |
| Is the continued conquest;—all our sway | |
| Hath surety in the uses of the hour; | |
| If that we waste, in vain walled town and lofty tower! | |
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