Careful Words

guardian (n.)

A guardian angel o'er his life presiding,

Doubling his pleasures, and his cares dividing.

Samuel Rogers (1763-1855): Human Life.

When Britain first, at Heaven's command,

Arose from out the azure main,

This was the charter of her land,

And guardian angels sung the strain:

Rule, Britannia! Britannia rules the waves!

Britons never shall be slaves.

James Thomson (1700-1748): Alfred. Act ii. Sc. 5.

I sing New England, as she lights her fire

In every Prairie's midst; and where the bright

Enchanting stars shine pure through Southern night,

She still is there, the guardian on the tower,

To open for the world a purer hour.

William Ellery Channing (1817-1901): New England.