Ambition

Let fame the shining annals spread

Author: Anne Steele (1760)
Published in 1 hymnal

Representative Text

I. Let fame the shining annals spread,
Where she records her mighty dead,
And boasting, promise an immortal dead,
Vain is her boast, her proud parade,
Sinks in oblivion's dreary shade;
Time, all-destroying time, forbids the claim.

II. Let her employ her utmost pow'r,
With radiance gild the present hour,
('Tis all she can) her fairest wreaths display;
What is the envy'd prize, decreed
The living Conqu'ror's glorious meed?
At best, the fading triumph of a day.

III. The Christian seeks a nobler prize,
A fairer wreath attracts his eyes,
[p.108] Divine ambition in his bosom glows;
His hopes a crown immortal fires;
Jesus, the Lord of his desires,
On faith, and humble love, the crown bestows.

IV. Honours, unconscious of decay,
While ages rise and roll away,
Secur'd by perfect truth's unchanging word;
The victor's palm, the robe of state,
Laid up in heav'n, the christian wait,
Triumphant, through his dying, rising Lord.

V. His name, enroll'd among the just,
When sculptur'd monuments are dust,
And mortal glory sinks in endless night;
Shall with immortal lustre shine,
Wrote by the hand of love divine
In life's fair book, in characters of light.

VI. Such is the Christian's glorious prize;
Thus high, his hopes, his wishes rise
Inspir'd by blest ambition, heav'n-born flame!
O thou, the source of bliss divine,
My heart renew, exalt, refine!
Nor let me bear, in vain, the Christian's name.

Source: Poems on Subjects Chiefly Devotional, Vol. 2 #107

Author: Anne Steele

Anne Steele was the daughter of Particular Baptist preacher and timber merchant William Steele. She spent her entire life in Broughton, Hampshire, near the southern coast of England, and devoted much of her time to writing. Some accounts of her life portray her as a lonely, melancholy invalid, but a revival of research in the last decade indicates that she had been more active and social than what was previously thought. She was theologically conversant with Dissenting ministers and "found herself at the centre of a literary circle that included family members from various generations, as well as local literati." She chose a life of singleness to focus on her craft. Before Christmas in 1742, she declined a marriage proposal from contemporar… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Let fame the shining annals spread
Title: Ambition
Author: Anne Steele (1760)
Language: English
Publication Date: 1760
Copyright: This text is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before 1929.

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Poems on Subjects Chiefly Devotional, Vol. 2 #107

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