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'Twas then, to swell his mighty name,
Arriv'd fair Sheba's royal dame,
For knowledge much renown'd;
Perchance to prove if just his fame,
Perchance to win his heart, she came
With wit and beauty crown'd.
Howe'er it chanc'd, the learned fair,
By Sheba's sages taught,
Oft hoped the monarch to ensnare,
With wily questions fraught.
Vain were her hopes, her wishes vain,
Baffled was all the studious train;
Still could that all-pervading mind
A clue to ev'ry labyrinth find,
Could learning's gordian knot untie.
Where art was vain, where science fail'd,
Quick-piercing intellect prevail'd;
And sophists fled, and sages quail'd,
Before his radiant eye.
Arriv'd fair Sheba's royal dame,
For knowledge much renown'd;
Perchance to prove if just his fame,
Perchance to win his heart, she came
With wit and beauty crown'd.
Howe'er it chanc'd, the learned fair,
By Sheba's sages taught,
Oft hoped the monarch to ensnare,
With wily questions fraught.
Vain were her hopes, her wishes vain,
Baffled was all the studious train;
Still could that all-pervading mind
A clue to ev'ry labyrinth find,
Could learning's gordian knot untie.
Where art was vain, where science fail'd,
Quick-piercing intellect prevail'd;
And sophists fled, and sages quail'd,
Before his radiant eye.
