Egeria, or, The Spirit of Nature and Other Poems By Charles Mackay |
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THE SECRET OF SUCCESSFUL LYING. |
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 | Egeria, or, The Spirit of Nature and Other Poems |  |
149
THE SECRET OF SUCCESSFUL LYING.
Build a lie—yes, build a lie,
A large one—be not over tender;
Give it a form, and raise it high,
That all the world may see its splendour;
Then launch it like a mighty ship
On the restless sea of men's opinion,
And the ship shall sail before the gale
Endued with motion and dominion.
A large one—be not over tender;
Give it a form, and raise it high,
That all the world may see its splendour;
Then launch it like a mighty ship
On the restless sea of men's opinion,
And the ship shall sail before the gale
Endued with motion and dominion.
Though storms may batter it evermore,
Though angry lightnings flash around it,
Though whirlwinds rave, and whirlpools roar,
To overwhelm and to confound it,
The ship shall ride, all wrath of time
And hostile elements defying:
The winds of Truth are doubtless strong,
But great's the buoyancy of lying.
Though angry lightnings flash around it,
Though whirlwinds rave, and whirlpools roar,
To overwhelm and to confound it,
The ship shall ride, all wrath of time
And hostile elements defying:
The winds of Truth are doubtless strong,
But great's the buoyancy of lying.
And though the ship grow old at last,
Leaky, and water-logged, and crazy,
Yet still the hulk endures the blast,
And fears no weather, rough or hazy;
For should she sink, she'll rise again,
No strength her rotten planks shall sever:
Give her but size, and the worst of lies
May float about the world for ever.
Leaky, and water-logged, and crazy,
Yet still the hulk endures the blast,
And fears no weather, rough or hazy;
For should she sink, she'll rise again,
No strength her rotten planks shall sever:
Give her but size, and the worst of lies
May float about the world for ever.
| Egeria, or, The Spirit of Nature and Other Poems | |