You had to choose 'twixt liberty and guilt;
There is no half-way house for human kind
If human kind is still to breathe God's air.
And so you placed your lips upon the hilt
Of Freedom's sword, devoted soul with mind
To this great task which frees sad Europe from despair.
Hence we who loved and love you, Italy,...
Send winged words of greeting. You are free;
Sun-smitten the cloud that hid the soaring dome
Of Liberty, your Palace and your Home.
We who are free greet you from sea to sea.
* * * * *
Mazzini, Garibaldi, great Cavour
Watch now and greet you from their timeless place,
Whence they behold the growth of your great race
Which so they knit that long it should endure.
Spectators of eternity, whose pure,
Untarnished brows recall their ancient grace,
Behold them once again, and in them trace
The soul of freedom, splendid, patient, sure!