Madmoments: or First Verseattempts By a Bornnatural. Addressed to the Lightheaded of Society at Large, by Henry Ellison |
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WISDOM. |
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 | Madmoments: or First Verseattempts |  |
WISDOM.
We should do as the flowers; e'en as theyFrom their unsightly roots derive the true
Lifesap of Being, and the perfect hue
Of Beauty, so should we, from day to day
(Subjecting vilest things to reason's sway,)
Make them subservient to higher Ends
Than they seem destined for; thus Wisdom lends
Value to earthly passions: her strong ray
Consumes that which is gross in them, and to
A calm, clear flame their nature purifies;
For all things here are but as trials thro'
Which the Will gains its noblest victories
O'er Earth's brute foes: enduringly it plies
Its task, and reaps the triomph which is due.
| Madmoments: or First Verseattempts | |