Nouveau Venu
Joachim du Bellay
Newly come, who seeks Rome in Rome,
And naught of Rome does there behold,
just palaces and arches old,
these crumbling walls which we call Rome.
So see what pride, and then what ruin :
They placed the world beneath their rule,
But they themselves did bridle too,
And Time did all of them consume.
Rome alone remains of Rome,
And Rome alone did lay Rome low.
The seaward fleeing Tibre sole
Rests of Rome. O worldly inconsistence!
What is firm to Time falls guaranteed,
but that which runs can make resistance