 | The Poetical Works of Aubrey De Vere |  |
XIX. COMMON LIFE.
Onward between two mountain warders liesThe field that man must till. Upon the right,
Church-thronged, with summit hid by its own height,
Swells the vast range of the Theologies:
Upon the left the hills of Science rise
Lustrous but cold: nor flower is there, nor blight:
Between those ranges twain through shade and light
Winds the low vale wherein the meek and wise
Repose. The knowledge that excludes not doubt
Is there; the arts that beautify man's life:
There rings the choral psalm, the civic shout,
The genial revel, and the manly strife:
There by the bridal rose the cypress waves:
And theretheall-blest sunshine softest falls on graves.
| The Poetical Works of Aubrey De Vere | |