University of Virginia Library


485

EUREKA.

Whom I crown with love is royal;
Matters not her blood or birth;
She is queen, and I am loyal
To the noblest of the earth.
Neither place, nor wealth, nor title,
Lacks the man my friendship owns;
His distinction, true and vital,
Shines supreme o'er crowns and thrones.
Where true love bestows its sweetness,
Where true friendship lays its hand,
Dwells all greatness, all completeness,
All the wealth of every land.
Man is greater than condition,
And where man himself bestows,
He begets, and gives position
To the gentlest that he knows.
Neither miracle nor fable
Is the water changed to wine;
Lords and ladies at my table
Prove Love's simplest fare divine.
And if these accept my duty,
If the loved my homage own,
I have won all worth and beauty;
I have found the magic stone.