Shall not the scourge of justice lash that cruel coward, Who mingled the gall of ingratitude with the bitterness of disap pointment? Shall not the hate of men, and vengeance, fiercely pursuing, But Hades rose as he came in, to point at him the finger of scorn; And again must he meet that orphan maid to answer her face to face, And her wrongs shall cling around his neck, to hinder him from rising with the just; For his last most solemn act hath linked his name with liar, And the crime of Ananias is branded on his brow! A GOOD man commendeth his cause to the one great Patron of inno cence, Convinced of justice at the last, and sure of good meanwhile. He knoweth he hath a Guardian, wise, and kind, and strong, And can thank Him for giving, or refusing, the trust or the curse of riches: His confidence standeth as a rock; he dreadeth not malice nor ca price, Nor the whisperings of artful men, nor envious, secret influence; ness; So he walketh in strict integrity, leaning on God and his right. No gain, but by its price; labor, for the poor man's meal, sea; Labor, with care, for the man of law, responsible in his gains; Labor, unto all, whether aching thews, or aching head, or spirit, The curse on the sons of men, in all their states, is labor. Nevertheless, to the diligent, labor bringeth blessing: The thought of duty sweeteneth toil, and travail is as pleasure; And the grasp of the mind is weakened, as the talons of a caged vulture. Wealth hath never given happiness, but often hastened misery: Enough hath never caused misery, but often quickened happiness: Enough is less than thy thought, O pampered creature of society, And he that hath more than enough, is a thief of the rights of his brother. OF INVENTION. MAN is proud of his mind, boasting that it giveth him divinity; For the great God into all his works hath largely poured out him self, Saving one special property, the grand prerogative, ― Creation. The potter must have his clay, and the mason his quarry, themselves, All things, rare or gross, own one common Father. Truly spake Wisdom, There is nothing new under the sun : We only arrange and combine the ancient elements of all things. Invention is activity of mind, as fire is air in motion, A sharpening of the spiritual sight, to discern hidden aptitudes : From the basket and acanthus is modelled the graceful capital: The shadowed profile on the wall helpeth the limner to his likeness: The footmarks stamped in clay lead on the thoughts to printing: The strange skin garments cast upon the shore suggest another hemisphere (23) A falling apple taught the sage pervading gravitation: The Huron is certain of his prey, from tracks upon the grass; BEHOLD the barren reef, which an earthquake hath just left dry; It hath no beauty to boast of, no harvest of fair fruits: But soon the lichen fixeth there, and, dying, diggeth its own grave, (24) And softening suns and splitting frosts crumble the reluctant sur face; And cormorants roost there, and the snail addeth its slime, And efts, with muddy feet, bring their welcome tribute; And the sea casteth out her dead, wrapped in a shroud of weeds; the corn, Lordly beeches are studded on the down, and willows crowd around the rivulet, And the tall pine and hazel thicket shade the rambling hunter. And the soul, fed and fattened on the thoughts and things around it, For we learn upon a hint, we find upon a clew, We yield a hundred-fold; but the great sower is Analogy. A boll of rotting flax before the bridal veil, An egg before an eagle, a thought before a thing, A spark struck into tinder, to light the lamp of knowledge, A slight, suggestive nod, to guide the watching mind, A half-seen hand upon the wall, pointing to the balance of Comparison. By culture man may do all things, short of the miracle, - Creation; Here is the limit of thy power, -here let thy pride be stayed: The soil may be rich, and the mind may be active, but neither yield unsown; The eye cannot make light, nor the mind make spirit: Atoms and thoughts are used again, mixing in varied combina tions; And though, by moulding them anew, thou makest them thine own, Yet have they served thousands, and all their merit is of God. OF RIDICULE. SEAMS of thought for the sage's brow, and laughing lines for the fool's face; For all things leave their track in the mind; and the glass of the mind is faithful. Seest thou much mirth upon the cheek? there is then little exercise of virtue; For he that looketh on the world cannot be glad and good: Seest thou much gravity in the eye? be not assured of finding wisdom; For she hath too great praise, not to get many mimics. There is a grave-faced folly; and verily, a laughter-loving wisdom: And what if surface-judges account it vain frivolity? There is, indeed, an evil in excess, and a field may lie fallow too long; Yet merriment is often as a froth, that mantleth on the strong mind; And note thou this for a verity, the subtlest thinker, when alone, From ease of thoughts unbent, will laugh the loudest with his fellows; And well is the loveliness of wisdom mirrored in a cheerful coun tenance; Justly the deepest pools are proved by dimpling eddies; The eye is bright with trust, the cheek bloomed over with affection, ness. AND for yon grave-faced folly, need not far to look for her. How seriously on trifles dote those leaden eyes! How ruefully she sigheth after chances long gone by! How sulkily she moaneth over evils without cure! I have known a true-born mirth, the child of innocence and wisdom, I have seen a base-born gravity, mingled of ignorance and guilt; And again, a base-born mirth, springing out of carelessness and folly, And again, a true-born gravity, the product of reflection and right fear. The wounded partridge hideth in a furrow, and a stricken conscience would be left alone; But when its breast is healed, it runneth gladly with its fellows; NEED but of light philosophy to dare the world's dread laugh; The laugh of a hooting world hath in it a notion of sublimity, But the tittering private circle stingeth as a hive of wasps. |