Zealous, yet modest; innocent, though free;

Patient of toil, serene amidst alarms;

Inflexible in faith, invincible in arms.

James Beattie (1735-1803): The Minstrel. Book i. Stanza 11.

But an old age serene and bright,

And lovely as a Lapland night,

Shall lead thee to thy grave.

William Wordsworth (1770-1850): To a Young Lady. Dear Child of Nature.

Full many a gem of purest ray serene

The dark unfathom'd caves of ocean bear;

Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,

And waste its sweetness on the desert air.

Thomas Gray (1716-1771): Elegy in a Country Churchyard. Stanza 14.

How beautiful is night!

A dewy freshness fills the silent air;

No mist obscures; nor cloud, or speck, nor stain,

Breaks the serene of heaven:

In full-orbed glory, yonder moon divine

Rolls through the dark blue depths;

Beneath her steady ray

The desert circle spreads

Like the round ocean, girdled with the sky.

How beautiful is night!

Robert Southey (1774-1843): Thalaba. Book i. Stanza 1.