In.Enough,I take thy gift; nor hast thou stood more firmTo every point of thy strange chequered tale,Revealing, threatening, offering more and more,And never all, than I to this resolve.705Pr.I knew thy heart would fail not at the hour.In.Nay, failed I now, what were my years of toilMore than the endurance of a harnessed brute,Flogged to his daily work, that cannot viewThe high design to which his labour steps?And I of all men were dishonoured mostShrinking in fear, who never shrank from toil,And found abjuring, thrusting stiffly back,The very gift for which I stretched my hands.What though I suffer? are these wintry yearsOf growing desolation to be held716As cherishable as the suns of spring?Nay, only joyful can they be in seeingLong hopes accomplished, long desires fulfilled.And since thou hast touched ambition on the sideOf nobleness, and stirred my proudest hope,And wilt fulfil this, shall I count the cost?Rather decay will triumph, and cold deathBe lapped in glory, seeing strength arise724From weakness, from the tomb go forth a flame.Pr.’Tis well; thou art exalted now, the graceBecomes thy valiant spirit.In.Lo! on this dayWhich hope despaired to see, hope manifestsA vision bright as were the dreams of youth;When life was easy as a sleeper’s faithWho swims in the air and dances on the sea;When all the good that scarce by toil is won,Or not at all is won, is as a flowerGrowing in plenty to be plucked at will:Is it a dream again or is it truth,735This vision fair of Greece inhabited?A fairer sight than all fair Iris sees,Footing her airy arch of colours spunFrom Ida to Olympus, when she staysTo look on Greece and thinks the sight is fair;Far fairer now, clothed with the works of men.Pr.Ay, fairer far: for nature’s varied pleasaunceWithout man’s life is but a desert wild,Which most, where most she mocks him, needs his aid.She knows her silence sweeter when it girds745His murmurous cities, her wide wasteful curvesLarger beside his economic line;Or what can add a mystery to the dark,As doth his measured music when it movesWith rhythmic sweetness through the void of night?Nay, all her loveliest places are but groundsOf vantage, where with geometric hand,True square and careful compass he may comeTo plan and plant and spread abroad his towers,His gardens, temples, palaces and tombs.755And yet not all thou seest, with trancèd eyeLooking upon the beauty that shall be,The temple-crownèd heights, the wallèd towns,Farms and cool summer seats, nor the broad waysThat bridge the rivers and subdue the mountains,Nor all that travels on them, pomp or warOr needful merchandise, nor all the sailsPiloting over the wind-dappled blueOf the summer-soothed Ægean, to thy mindCan picture what shall be: these are the faceAnd form of beauty, but her heart and lifeShall they be who shall see it, born to shieldA happier birthright with intrepid arms,To tread down tyranny and fashion forthA virgin wisdom to subdue the world,770To build for passion an eternal song,To shape her dreams in marble, and so sweetTheir speech, that envious Time hearkening shall stayIn fear to snatch, and hide his rugged hand.Now is the birthday of thy conquering youth,O man, and lo! thy priest and prophet standBeside the altar and have blessed the day.In.Ay, blessed be this day. Where is thy fire?Or is aught else to do, ere I may take?Pr.This was my message, speak and there is fire.In.There shall be fire. Await me here awhile.I go to acquaint my house, and bring them forth.[Exit.Chorus.Hearken, O Argos, hearken!783There will be fire.And thou, O Earth, give ear!There will be fire.Sem.(maidens). Who shall be sent to fetch this firefor the king?Sem.(youths). Shall we put forth in boats to reap,And shall the waves for harvest yieldThe rootless flames that nimbly leap790Upon their ever-shifting field?Sem.(maidens). Or we in olive-groves go shakeAnd beat the fruiting sprays, till allThe silv’ry glitter which they makeBeneath into our baskets fall?Sem.(youths). To bind in sheaves and bear awayThe white unshafted darts of day?Sem.(maidens). And from the shadow one by onePick up the playful oes of sun?Sem.(youths). Or wouldst thou mine a passage deepUntil the darksome fire is found,801Which prisoned long in seething sleepVexes the caverns underground?Sem.(maidens). Or bid us join our palms perchance,To cup the slant and chinkèd beam,Which mounting morn hath sent to danceAcross our chamber while we dream?Sem.(youths). Say whence and how shall we fetch this fire for the king?Our hope is impatient of vain debating.Sem.(maidens). My heart is stirred at the name of the wondrous thing,810And trembles awaiting.ODE.A coy inquisitive spirit, the spirit of wonder,Possesses the child in his cradle, when mortal thingsAre new, yet a varied surface and nothing under.It busies the mind on trifles and toys and bringsHer grasp from nearer to further, from smaller to greater,And slowly teaches flight to her fledgeling wings.Where’er she flutters and falls surprises await her:She soars, and beauty’s miracles open in sight,The flowers and trees and beasts of the earth; and later820The skies of day, the moon and the stars of night;’Neath which she scarcely venturing goes demurely,With mystery clad, in the awe of depth and height.O happy for still unconscious, for ah! how surely,How soon and surely will disenchantment come,When first to herself she boasts to walk securely,And drives the master spirit away from his home;Seeing the marvellous things that make the morningAre marvels of every-day, familiar, and someHave lost with use, like earthly robes, their adorning,As earthly joys the charm of a first delight,831And some are fallen from awe to neglect and scorning;Until—O tarry not long, dear needed sprite!Till thou, though uninvited, with fancy returnestTo hallow beauty and make the dull heart bright:To inhabit again thy gladdened kingdom in earnest;Wherein—from the smile of beauty afar forecastingThe pleasure of god, thou livest at peace and yearnestWith wonder everlasting.
In.Enough,I take thy gift; nor hast thou stood more firmTo every point of thy strange chequered tale,Revealing, threatening, offering more and more,And never all, than I to this resolve.705Pr.I knew thy heart would fail not at the hour.In.Nay, failed I now, what were my years of toilMore than the endurance of a harnessed brute,Flogged to his daily work, that cannot viewThe high design to which his labour steps?And I of all men were dishonoured mostShrinking in fear, who never shrank from toil,And found abjuring, thrusting stiffly back,The very gift for which I stretched my hands.What though I suffer? are these wintry yearsOf growing desolation to be held716As cherishable as the suns of spring?Nay, only joyful can they be in seeingLong hopes accomplished, long desires fulfilled.And since thou hast touched ambition on the sideOf nobleness, and stirred my proudest hope,And wilt fulfil this, shall I count the cost?Rather decay will triumph, and cold deathBe lapped in glory, seeing strength arise724From weakness, from the tomb go forth a flame.Pr.’Tis well; thou art exalted now, the graceBecomes thy valiant spirit.In.Lo! on this dayWhich hope despaired to see, hope manifestsA vision bright as were the dreams of youth;When life was easy as a sleeper’s faithWho swims in the air and dances on the sea;When all the good that scarce by toil is won,Or not at all is won, is as a flowerGrowing in plenty to be plucked at will:Is it a dream again or is it truth,735This vision fair of Greece inhabited?A fairer sight than all fair Iris sees,Footing her airy arch of colours spunFrom Ida to Olympus, when she staysTo look on Greece and thinks the sight is fair;Far fairer now, clothed with the works of men.Pr.Ay, fairer far: for nature’s varied pleasaunceWithout man’s life is but a desert wild,Which most, where most she mocks him, needs his aid.She knows her silence sweeter when it girds745His murmurous cities, her wide wasteful curvesLarger beside his economic line;Or what can add a mystery to the dark,As doth his measured music when it movesWith rhythmic sweetness through the void of night?Nay, all her loveliest places are but groundsOf vantage, where with geometric hand,True square and careful compass he may comeTo plan and plant and spread abroad his towers,His gardens, temples, palaces and tombs.755And yet not all thou seest, with trancèd eyeLooking upon the beauty that shall be,The temple-crownèd heights, the wallèd towns,Farms and cool summer seats, nor the broad waysThat bridge the rivers and subdue the mountains,Nor all that travels on them, pomp or warOr needful merchandise, nor all the sailsPiloting over the wind-dappled blueOf the summer-soothed Ægean, to thy mindCan picture what shall be: these are the faceAnd form of beauty, but her heart and lifeShall they be who shall see it, born to shieldA happier birthright with intrepid arms,To tread down tyranny and fashion forthA virgin wisdom to subdue the world,770To build for passion an eternal song,To shape her dreams in marble, and so sweetTheir speech, that envious Time hearkening shall stayIn fear to snatch, and hide his rugged hand.Now is the birthday of thy conquering youth,O man, and lo! thy priest and prophet standBeside the altar and have blessed the day.
In.Enough,I take thy gift; nor hast thou stood more firmTo every point of thy strange chequered tale,Revealing, threatening, offering more and more,And never all, than I to this resolve.705Pr.I knew thy heart would fail not at the hour.In.Nay, failed I now, what were my years of toilMore than the endurance of a harnessed brute,Flogged to his daily work, that cannot viewThe high design to which his labour steps?And I of all men were dishonoured mostShrinking in fear, who never shrank from toil,And found abjuring, thrusting stiffly back,The very gift for which I stretched my hands.What though I suffer? are these wintry yearsOf growing desolation to be held716As cherishable as the suns of spring?Nay, only joyful can they be in seeingLong hopes accomplished, long desires fulfilled.And since thou hast touched ambition on the sideOf nobleness, and stirred my proudest hope,And wilt fulfil this, shall I count the cost?Rather decay will triumph, and cold deathBe lapped in glory, seeing strength arise724From weakness, from the tomb go forth a flame.Pr.’Tis well; thou art exalted now, the graceBecomes thy valiant spirit.In.Lo! on this dayWhich hope despaired to see, hope manifestsA vision bright as were the dreams of youth;When life was easy as a sleeper’s faithWho swims in the air and dances on the sea;When all the good that scarce by toil is won,Or not at all is won, is as a flowerGrowing in plenty to be plucked at will:Is it a dream again or is it truth,735This vision fair of Greece inhabited?A fairer sight than all fair Iris sees,Footing her airy arch of colours spunFrom Ida to Olympus, when she staysTo look on Greece and thinks the sight is fair;Far fairer now, clothed with the works of men.Pr.Ay, fairer far: for nature’s varied pleasaunceWithout man’s life is but a desert wild,Which most, where most she mocks him, needs his aid.She knows her silence sweeter when it girds745His murmurous cities, her wide wasteful curvesLarger beside his economic line;Or what can add a mystery to the dark,As doth his measured music when it movesWith rhythmic sweetness through the void of night?Nay, all her loveliest places are but groundsOf vantage, where with geometric hand,True square and careful compass he may comeTo plan and plant and spread abroad his towers,His gardens, temples, palaces and tombs.755And yet not all thou seest, with trancèd eyeLooking upon the beauty that shall be,The temple-crownèd heights, the wallèd towns,Farms and cool summer seats, nor the broad waysThat bridge the rivers and subdue the mountains,Nor all that travels on them, pomp or warOr needful merchandise, nor all the sailsPiloting over the wind-dappled blueOf the summer-soothed Ægean, to thy mindCan picture what shall be: these are the faceAnd form of beauty, but her heart and lifeShall they be who shall see it, born to shieldA happier birthright with intrepid arms,To tread down tyranny and fashion forthA virgin wisdom to subdue the world,770To build for passion an eternal song,To shape her dreams in marble, and so sweetTheir speech, that envious Time hearkening shall stayIn fear to snatch, and hide his rugged hand.Now is the birthday of thy conquering youth,O man, and lo! thy priest and prophet standBeside the altar and have blessed the day.
In.Enough,I take thy gift; nor hast thou stood more firmTo every point of thy strange chequered tale,Revealing, threatening, offering more and more,And never all, than I to this resolve.705
In.Enough,
I take thy gift; nor hast thou stood more firm
To every point of thy strange chequered tale,
Revealing, threatening, offering more and more,
And never all, than I to this resolve.705
Pr.I knew thy heart would fail not at the hour.
Pr.I knew thy heart would fail not at the hour.
In.Nay, failed I now, what were my years of toilMore than the endurance of a harnessed brute,Flogged to his daily work, that cannot viewThe high design to which his labour steps?And I of all men were dishonoured mostShrinking in fear, who never shrank from toil,And found abjuring, thrusting stiffly back,The very gift for which I stretched my hands.What though I suffer? are these wintry yearsOf growing desolation to be held716As cherishable as the suns of spring?Nay, only joyful can they be in seeingLong hopes accomplished, long desires fulfilled.And since thou hast touched ambition on the sideOf nobleness, and stirred my proudest hope,And wilt fulfil this, shall I count the cost?Rather decay will triumph, and cold deathBe lapped in glory, seeing strength arise724From weakness, from the tomb go forth a flame.
In.Nay, failed I now, what were my years of toil
More than the endurance of a harnessed brute,
Flogged to his daily work, that cannot view
The high design to which his labour steps?
And I of all men were dishonoured most
Shrinking in fear, who never shrank from toil,
And found abjuring, thrusting stiffly back,
The very gift for which I stretched my hands.
What though I suffer? are these wintry years
Of growing desolation to be held716
As cherishable as the suns of spring?
Nay, only joyful can they be in seeing
Long hopes accomplished, long desires fulfilled.
And since thou hast touched ambition on the side
Of nobleness, and stirred my proudest hope,
And wilt fulfil this, shall I count the cost?
Rather decay will triumph, and cold death
Be lapped in glory, seeing strength arise724
From weakness, from the tomb go forth a flame.
Pr.’Tis well; thou art exalted now, the graceBecomes thy valiant spirit.
Pr.’Tis well; thou art exalted now, the grace
Becomes thy valiant spirit.
In.Lo! on this dayWhich hope despaired to see, hope manifestsA vision bright as were the dreams of youth;When life was easy as a sleeper’s faithWho swims in the air and dances on the sea;When all the good that scarce by toil is won,Or not at all is won, is as a flowerGrowing in plenty to be plucked at will:Is it a dream again or is it truth,735This vision fair of Greece inhabited?A fairer sight than all fair Iris sees,Footing her airy arch of colours spunFrom Ida to Olympus, when she staysTo look on Greece and thinks the sight is fair;Far fairer now, clothed with the works of men.
In.Lo! on this day
Which hope despaired to see, hope manifests
A vision bright as were the dreams of youth;
When life was easy as a sleeper’s faith
Who swims in the air and dances on the sea;
When all the good that scarce by toil is won,
Or not at all is won, is as a flower
Growing in plenty to be plucked at will:
Is it a dream again or is it truth,735
This vision fair of Greece inhabited?
A fairer sight than all fair Iris sees,
Footing her airy arch of colours spun
From Ida to Olympus, when she stays
To look on Greece and thinks the sight is fair;
Far fairer now, clothed with the works of men.
Pr.Ay, fairer far: for nature’s varied pleasaunceWithout man’s life is but a desert wild,Which most, where most she mocks him, needs his aid.She knows her silence sweeter when it girds745His murmurous cities, her wide wasteful curvesLarger beside his economic line;Or what can add a mystery to the dark,As doth his measured music when it movesWith rhythmic sweetness through the void of night?Nay, all her loveliest places are but groundsOf vantage, where with geometric hand,True square and careful compass he may comeTo plan and plant and spread abroad his towers,His gardens, temples, palaces and tombs.755And yet not all thou seest, with trancèd eyeLooking upon the beauty that shall be,The temple-crownèd heights, the wallèd towns,Farms and cool summer seats, nor the broad waysThat bridge the rivers and subdue the mountains,Nor all that travels on them, pomp or warOr needful merchandise, nor all the sailsPiloting over the wind-dappled blueOf the summer-soothed Ægean, to thy mindCan picture what shall be: these are the faceAnd form of beauty, but her heart and lifeShall they be who shall see it, born to shieldA happier birthright with intrepid arms,To tread down tyranny and fashion forthA virgin wisdom to subdue the world,770To build for passion an eternal song,To shape her dreams in marble, and so sweetTheir speech, that envious Time hearkening shall stayIn fear to snatch, and hide his rugged hand.Now is the birthday of thy conquering youth,O man, and lo! thy priest and prophet standBeside the altar and have blessed the day.
Pr.Ay, fairer far: for nature’s varied pleasaunce
Without man’s life is but a desert wild,
Which most, where most she mocks him, needs his aid.
She knows her silence sweeter when it girds745
His murmurous cities, her wide wasteful curves
Larger beside his economic line;
Or what can add a mystery to the dark,
As doth his measured music when it moves
With rhythmic sweetness through the void of night?
Nay, all her loveliest places are but grounds
Of vantage, where with geometric hand,
True square and careful compass he may come
To plan and plant and spread abroad his towers,
His gardens, temples, palaces and tombs.755
And yet not all thou seest, with trancèd eye
Looking upon the beauty that shall be,
The temple-crownèd heights, the wallèd towns,
Farms and cool summer seats, nor the broad ways
That bridge the rivers and subdue the mountains,
Nor all that travels on them, pomp or war
Or needful merchandise, nor all the sails
Piloting over the wind-dappled blue
Of the summer-soothed Ægean, to thy mind
Can picture what shall be: these are the face
And form of beauty, but her heart and life
Shall they be who shall see it, born to shield
A happier birthright with intrepid arms,
To tread down tyranny and fashion forth
A virgin wisdom to subdue the world,770
To build for passion an eternal song,
To shape her dreams in marble, and so sweet
Their speech, that envious Time hearkening shall stay
In fear to snatch, and hide his rugged hand.
Now is the birthday of thy conquering youth,
O man, and lo! thy priest and prophet stand
Beside the altar and have blessed the day.
In.Ay, blessed be this day. Where is thy fire?Or is aught else to do, ere I may take?Pr.This was my message, speak and there is fire.In.There shall be fire. Await me here awhile.I go to acquaint my house, and bring them forth.
In.Ay, blessed be this day. Where is thy fire?Or is aught else to do, ere I may take?Pr.This was my message, speak and there is fire.In.There shall be fire. Await me here awhile.I go to acquaint my house, and bring them forth.
In.Ay, blessed be this day. Where is thy fire?Or is aught else to do, ere I may take?
In.Ay, blessed be this day. Where is thy fire?
Or is aught else to do, ere I may take?
Pr.This was my message, speak and there is fire.
Pr.This was my message, speak and there is fire.
In.There shall be fire. Await me here awhile.I go to acquaint my house, and bring them forth.
In.There shall be fire. Await me here awhile.
I go to acquaint my house, and bring them forth.
[Exit.
Chorus.
Hearken, O Argos, hearken!783There will be fire.And thou, O Earth, give ear!There will be fire.Sem.(maidens). Who shall be sent to fetch this firefor the king?Sem.(youths). Shall we put forth in boats to reap,And shall the waves for harvest yieldThe rootless flames that nimbly leap790Upon their ever-shifting field?Sem.(maidens). Or we in olive-groves go shakeAnd beat the fruiting sprays, till allThe silv’ry glitter which they makeBeneath into our baskets fall?Sem.(youths). To bind in sheaves and bear awayThe white unshafted darts of day?Sem.(maidens). And from the shadow one by onePick up the playful oes of sun?
Hearken, O Argos, hearken!783There will be fire.And thou, O Earth, give ear!There will be fire.Sem.(maidens). Who shall be sent to fetch this firefor the king?Sem.(youths). Shall we put forth in boats to reap,And shall the waves for harvest yieldThe rootless flames that nimbly leap790Upon their ever-shifting field?Sem.(maidens). Or we in olive-groves go shakeAnd beat the fruiting sprays, till allThe silv’ry glitter which they makeBeneath into our baskets fall?Sem.(youths). To bind in sheaves and bear awayThe white unshafted darts of day?Sem.(maidens). And from the shadow one by onePick up the playful oes of sun?
Hearken, O Argos, hearken!783There will be fire.And thou, O Earth, give ear!There will be fire.
Hearken, O Argos, hearken!783
There will be fire.
And thou, O Earth, give ear!
There will be fire.
Sem.(maidens). Who shall be sent to fetch this firefor the king?
Sem.(maidens). Who shall be sent to fetch this fire
for the king?
Sem.(youths). Shall we put forth in boats to reap,And shall the waves for harvest yieldThe rootless flames that nimbly leap790Upon their ever-shifting field?
Sem.(youths). Shall we put forth in boats to reap,
And shall the waves for harvest yield
The rootless flames that nimbly leap790
Upon their ever-shifting field?
Sem.(maidens). Or we in olive-groves go shakeAnd beat the fruiting sprays, till allThe silv’ry glitter which they makeBeneath into our baskets fall?
Sem.(maidens). Or we in olive-groves go shake
And beat the fruiting sprays, till all
The silv’ry glitter which they make
Beneath into our baskets fall?
Sem.(youths). To bind in sheaves and bear awayThe white unshafted darts of day?
Sem.(youths). To bind in sheaves and bear away
The white unshafted darts of day?
Sem.(maidens). And from the shadow one by onePick up the playful oes of sun?
Sem.(maidens). And from the shadow one by one
Pick up the playful oes of sun?
Sem.(youths). Or wouldst thou mine a passage deepUntil the darksome fire is found,801Which prisoned long in seething sleepVexes the caverns underground?Sem.(maidens). Or bid us join our palms perchance,To cup the slant and chinkèd beam,Which mounting morn hath sent to danceAcross our chamber while we dream?Sem.(youths). Say whence and how shall we fetch this fire for the king?Our hope is impatient of vain debating.Sem.(maidens). My heart is stirred at the name of the wondrous thing,810And trembles awaiting.
Sem.(youths). Or wouldst thou mine a passage deepUntil the darksome fire is found,801Which prisoned long in seething sleepVexes the caverns underground?Sem.(maidens). Or bid us join our palms perchance,To cup the slant and chinkèd beam,Which mounting morn hath sent to danceAcross our chamber while we dream?Sem.(youths). Say whence and how shall we fetch this fire for the king?Our hope is impatient of vain debating.Sem.(maidens). My heart is stirred at the name of the wondrous thing,810And trembles awaiting.
Sem.(youths). Or wouldst thou mine a passage deepUntil the darksome fire is found,801Which prisoned long in seething sleepVexes the caverns underground?
Sem.(youths). Or wouldst thou mine a passage deep
Until the darksome fire is found,801
Which prisoned long in seething sleep
Vexes the caverns underground?
Sem.(maidens). Or bid us join our palms perchance,To cup the slant and chinkèd beam,Which mounting morn hath sent to danceAcross our chamber while we dream?
Sem.(maidens). Or bid us join our palms perchance,
To cup the slant and chinkèd beam,
Which mounting morn hath sent to dance
Across our chamber while we dream?
Sem.(youths). Say whence and how shall we fetch this fire for the king?Our hope is impatient of vain debating.
Sem.(youths). Say whence and how shall we fetch this fire for the king?
Our hope is impatient of vain debating.
Sem.(maidens). My heart is stirred at the name of the wondrous thing,810And trembles awaiting.
Sem.(maidens). My heart is stirred at the name of the wondrous thing,810
And trembles awaiting.
ODE.
A coy inquisitive spirit, the spirit of wonder,Possesses the child in his cradle, when mortal thingsAre new, yet a varied surface and nothing under.It busies the mind on trifles and toys and bringsHer grasp from nearer to further, from smaller to greater,And slowly teaches flight to her fledgeling wings.Where’er she flutters and falls surprises await her:She soars, and beauty’s miracles open in sight,The flowers and trees and beasts of the earth; and later820The skies of day, the moon and the stars of night;’Neath which she scarcely venturing goes demurely,With mystery clad, in the awe of depth and height.O happy for still unconscious, for ah! how surely,How soon and surely will disenchantment come,When first to herself she boasts to walk securely,And drives the master spirit away from his home;Seeing the marvellous things that make the morningAre marvels of every-day, familiar, and someHave lost with use, like earthly robes, their adorning,As earthly joys the charm of a first delight,831And some are fallen from awe to neglect and scorning;Until—O tarry not long, dear needed sprite!Till thou, though uninvited, with fancy returnestTo hallow beauty and make the dull heart bright:To inhabit again thy gladdened kingdom in earnest;Wherein—from the smile of beauty afar forecastingThe pleasure of god, thou livest at peace and yearnestWith wonder everlasting.
A coy inquisitive spirit, the spirit of wonder,Possesses the child in his cradle, when mortal thingsAre new, yet a varied surface and nothing under.It busies the mind on trifles and toys and bringsHer grasp from nearer to further, from smaller to greater,And slowly teaches flight to her fledgeling wings.Where’er she flutters and falls surprises await her:She soars, and beauty’s miracles open in sight,The flowers and trees and beasts of the earth; and later820The skies of day, the moon and the stars of night;’Neath which she scarcely venturing goes demurely,With mystery clad, in the awe of depth and height.O happy for still unconscious, for ah! how surely,How soon and surely will disenchantment come,When first to herself she boasts to walk securely,And drives the master spirit away from his home;Seeing the marvellous things that make the morningAre marvels of every-day, familiar, and someHave lost with use, like earthly robes, their adorning,As earthly joys the charm of a first delight,831And some are fallen from awe to neglect and scorning;Until—O tarry not long, dear needed sprite!Till thou, though uninvited, with fancy returnestTo hallow beauty and make the dull heart bright:To inhabit again thy gladdened kingdom in earnest;Wherein—from the smile of beauty afar forecastingThe pleasure of god, thou livest at peace and yearnestWith wonder everlasting.
A coy inquisitive spirit, the spirit of wonder,Possesses the child in his cradle, when mortal thingsAre new, yet a varied surface and nothing under.It busies the mind on trifles and toys and bringsHer grasp from nearer to further, from smaller to greater,And slowly teaches flight to her fledgeling wings.
A coy inquisitive spirit, the spirit of wonder,
Possesses the child in his cradle, when mortal things
Are new, yet a varied surface and nothing under.
It busies the mind on trifles and toys and brings
Her grasp from nearer to further, from smaller to greater,
And slowly teaches flight to her fledgeling wings.
Where’er she flutters and falls surprises await her:She soars, and beauty’s miracles open in sight,The flowers and trees and beasts of the earth; and later820The skies of day, the moon and the stars of night;’Neath which she scarcely venturing goes demurely,With mystery clad, in the awe of depth and height.
Where’er she flutters and falls surprises await her:
She soars, and beauty’s miracles open in sight,
The flowers and trees and beasts of the earth; and later820
The skies of day, the moon and the stars of night;
’Neath which she scarcely venturing goes demurely,
With mystery clad, in the awe of depth and height.
O happy for still unconscious, for ah! how surely,How soon and surely will disenchantment come,When first to herself she boasts to walk securely,And drives the master spirit away from his home;
O happy for still unconscious, for ah! how surely,
How soon and surely will disenchantment come,
When first to herself she boasts to walk securely,
And drives the master spirit away from his home;
Seeing the marvellous things that make the morningAre marvels of every-day, familiar, and someHave lost with use, like earthly robes, their adorning,As earthly joys the charm of a first delight,831And some are fallen from awe to neglect and scorning;Until—O tarry not long, dear needed sprite!Till thou, though uninvited, with fancy returnestTo hallow beauty and make the dull heart bright:To inhabit again thy gladdened kingdom in earnest;Wherein—from the smile of beauty afar forecastingThe pleasure of god, thou livest at peace and yearnestWith wonder everlasting.
Seeing the marvellous things that make the morning
Are marvels of every-day, familiar, and some
Have lost with use, like earthly robes, their adorning,
As earthly joys the charm of a first delight,831
And some are fallen from awe to neglect and scorning;
Until—
O tarry not long, dear needed sprite!
Till thou, though uninvited, with fancy returnest
To hallow beauty and make the dull heart bright:
To inhabit again thy gladdened kingdom in earnest;
Wherein—
from the smile of beauty afar forecasting
The pleasure of god, thou livest at peace and yearnest
With wonder everlasting.