See, see, the black night disappears,
Free, free, the world its head uprears.
No longer any Caesar's thrall,
Fit to be wed, the nations seem,
And in the blue, wide-stretching, gleam
The wings of Peace that cover all.
Surge up, free France—white-robed and pure!
Thy place is first, thy place is sure!
O triumph, after sorrows dire!
The hammer on the anvil rings,
The blue sky smiles, the redbreast sings,
From white-thorns drest in fresh attire.
The halberds are devoured by rust,
Cannons and howitzers are dust,
There scarce remains, it is averred,
A fragment large enough to hold
A drop of water bright and cold,
To quench the longing of a bird.
Rancour and hatred are effaced,
One picture in all hearts is traced,
One purpose animates all minds;
Equality—no king, no chief,
And God to tie the glorious sheaf,
The toscin's old rope round it binds.
A pin's point on the heavens is seen—
Look, look, it widens; nought can screen
Its lustre—'tis the day begun.
Republic of all nations met
In conclave, but a point as yet,
To-morrow thou shalt be the sun.
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