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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

LONDON: PAEAN by SAMUEL CARTER

First Line: MAGNIFICENT, TOO IS THE SYSTEM OF DRAINS
Last Line: THAT CLEANLINESS FOR HUMAN WEAL TO GODLINESS IS NEXT.
Subject(s): REFUSE & REFUSE DISPOSAL;
MAGNIFICENT, too, is the system of drains,
Exceeding the far-spoken wonders of old:
So lengthen'd and vast in its branches and chains,
That labyrinths pass like a tale that is told:
The sewers gigantic, like multiplied veins,
Beneath the whole city their windings unfold,
Disgorging the source of plagues, scourges, and pains,
Which visit those cities to cleanliness cold.
Well did the ancient proverb lay down this important text,
That cleanliness for human weal to godliness is next.



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