The Reliquary By Bernard and Lucy Barton. With A Prefatory Appeal for Poetry and Poets |
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| II. |
TO THE REV. WILLIAM KIRBY,
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TO THE REV. WILLIAM KIRBY,
RECTOR OF BARHAM, SUFFOLK; One of the Authors of the “Introduction to Entomology.”
I know not which to envy most,
Thy knowledge of the insect-host,
Tenants of earth, or air;
Or thy acquaintance with each scene
Of barren heath, or meadow green,
To which their tribes repair.
Thy knowledge of the insect-host,
Tenants of earth, or air;
Or thy acquaintance with each scene
Of barren heath, or meadow green,
To which their tribes repair.
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The first hath cast around thy name
A purer and a happier fame
Than e'er was won by arms;
While both have surely taught thy heart
Somewhat of wisdom's better part,
Through nature's hidden charms.
A purer and a happier fame
Than e'er was won by arms;
While both have surely taught thy heart
Somewhat of wisdom's better part,
Through nature's hidden charms.
For well I ween a heart like thine
Contemplating the Hand Divine
Thy favourite science shows,
Taught by each proof of power and love,
To Him who dwells and reigns above
With grateful feeling glows.
Contemplating the Hand Divine
Thy favourite science shows,
Taught by each proof of power and love,
To Him who dwells and reigns above
With grateful feeling glows.
And such a feeling to extend,
To show how skill and goodness blend
Throughout creation's plan,
Must rank amongst those wise pursuits,
Whose genuine and whose grateful fruits
Are blessed of God, and man!
To show how skill and goodness blend
Throughout creation's plan,
Must rank amongst those wise pursuits,
Whose genuine and whose grateful fruits
Are blessed of God, and man!
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Yes, every science, lore, or art,
Which tends to foster in the heart
Knowledge of nature's laws,
Must, sanctified by grace divine,
“Precept on precept, line on line,”
Exalt their First Great Cause.
Which tends to foster in the heart
Knowledge of nature's laws,
Must, sanctified by grace divine,
“Precept on precept, line on line,”
Exalt their First Great Cause.
Pursue, then, my ingenious friend,
Thy search; and may'st thou, in the end,
Partake a prouder change,
Than e'er thy insect tribes can know,
Despite the beauty these may show,
In transformations strange.
Thy search; and may'st thou, in the end,
Partake a prouder change,
Than e'er thy insect tribes can know,
Despite the beauty these may show,
In transformations strange.
For these, though plumed with splendid wings,
Are still but fair and fragile things,
Which seem but born to die;
Whilst thou, thy web of knowledge spun,
Thy daily task of duty done,
Shalt soar above yon glorious sun,
To immortality.
Are still but fair and fragile things,
Which seem but born to die;
Whilst thou, thy web of knowledge spun,
Thy daily task of duty done,
Shalt soar above yon glorious sun,
To immortality.
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