The area where Rhodes Memorial is located was apparently Rhodes's favourite spot for quiet contemplation - hence this pensive pose. The inscription above the statue reads:

TO THE SPIRIT AND LIFE WORK OF CECIL
JOHN RHODES WHO LOVED AND SERVED SOUTH AFRICA
1853 - 1902
The inscription below it reads:
THE IMMENSE AND
BROODING
SPIRIT STILL
SHALL QUICKEN
AND CONTROL
LIVING HE WAS THE
LAND AND DEAD
HIS SOUL SHALL BE
HER SOUL.