The Poetical Works of Horace Smith Now First Collected. In Two Volumes |
 | I. |
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AN OLD MAN'S ASPIRATION. |
 | II. |
 | The Poetical Works of Horace Smith |  |
200
AN OLD MAN'S ASPIRATION.
O glorious Sun! whose car sublime
Unerring since the birth of time,
In glad magnificence hath run its race;—
O day's delight—God-painted sky,
O moon and stars, whose galaxy
Illuminates the night thro' all the realms of space.
Unerring since the birth of time,
In glad magnificence hath run its race;—
O day's delight—God-painted sky,
O moon and stars, whose galaxy
Illuminates the night thro' all the realms of space.
O poetry of forms and hues,
Resplendent Earth! whose varied views
In such harmonious beauty are combined;—
And thou, O palpitating Sea,
Who holdest this fair mystery
In the wide circle of thy thrilling arms enshrined,—
Resplendent Earth! whose varied views
In such harmonious beauty are combined;—
And thou, O palpitating Sea,
Who holdest this fair mystery
In the wide circle of thy thrilling arms enshrined,—
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Hear me, Oh hear while I impart
The deep conviction of my heart,
That such a theatre august and grand,
Whose author, actors, awful play,
Are God, mankind, a judgment day,
Was for some higher aim, some holier purpose plann'd.
The deep conviction of my heart,
That such a theatre august and grand,
Whose author, actors, awful play,
Are God, mankind, a judgment day,
Was for some higher aim, some holier purpose plann'd.
I will not, nay I cannot, deem
This fair Creation's moral scheme,
That seems so crude, mysterious, misapplied,
Meant to conclude as it began,
Unworthy the material plan
With whose perfections rare its failures are allied.
This fair Creation's moral scheme,
That seems so crude, mysterious, misapplied,
Meant to conclude as it began,
Unworthy the material plan
With whose perfections rare its failures are allied.
As in our individual fate,
Our manhood and maturer date,
Correct the faults and follies of our youth,
So will the world, I fondly hope,
With added years give fuller scope
To the display and love of wisdom, justice, truth.
Our manhood and maturer date,
Correct the faults and follies of our youth,
So will the world, I fondly hope,
With added years give fuller scope
To the display and love of wisdom, justice, truth.
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'Tis this that makes my feelings glow,
My bosom thrill, my tears o'erflow,
At any deed magnanimous—sublime;
'Tis this that re-assures my soul,
When nations shun the forward goal,
And retrograde awhile in ignorance and crime.
My bosom thrill, my tears o'erflow,
At any deed magnanimous—sublime;
'Tis this that re-assures my soul,
When nations shun the forward goal,
And retrograde awhile in ignorance and crime.
Mine is no hopeless dream of some
Impeccable Millennium,
When saints and angels shall inhabit earth;
But a conviction deep, intense,
That man was meant by Providence
Progressively to reach a higher moral worth.
Impeccable Millennium,
When saints and angels shall inhabit earth;
But a conviction deep, intense,
That man was meant by Providence
Progressively to reach a higher moral worth.
On this dear faith's sustaining truth
Hath my soul brooded from its youth,
As heaven's best gift, and earth's most cheering dower,
Oh! may I still, in life's decline,
Hold unimpair'd this creed benign,
And mine old age attest its meliorating power!
Hath my soul brooded from its youth,
As heaven's best gift, and earth's most cheering dower,
Oh! may I still, in life's decline,
Hold unimpair'd this creed benign,
And mine old age attest its meliorating power!
| The Poetical Works of Horace Smith | |