“As though there were a tie
And obligation to posterity.
We get them, bear them, breed, and nurse:
What has posterity done for us.
That we, lest they their rights should lose,
Should trust our necks to gripe of noose?”

Canto ii, line 121.
McFingal (1775-1782)

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John Trumbull (poet) 4
American poet 1750–1831

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