 | [Poems by Hoffman in] Charles Fenno Hoffman |  |
294
STANZAS
It is not Friendship that would here record
The hacknied tribute of elegiac wo—
The sacred tear, by mute affection poured,
The silent offerings that in secret flow,
Are, in the realms to which thy soul has soared,
As grateful still as once they were below.
'Tis not that vanity thy modest name
Would wreathe with chaplets, which it never earned—
And empty honors idly strive to claim
For one whose mind their fleeting shadows spurned.
The hacknied tribute of elegiac wo—
The sacred tear, by mute affection poured,
The silent offerings that in secret flow,
Are, in the realms to which thy soul has soared,
As grateful still as once they were below.
'Tis not that vanity thy modest name
Would wreathe with chaplets, which it never earned—
And empty honors idly strive to claim
For one whose mind their fleeting shadows spurned.
It is the man—'tis character, that here
Exacts the tribute unto merit due—
'Tis singleness of heart—piety sincere,
A soul unto itself, as others, true.
'Tis while we ripen'd intellect revere,
To human excellence we in homage sue.
And one to cold obscurity consign'd,
From which in dreams alone he e'er has sighed,
Would snatch the memory of thy noble mind,
From dark Oblivion's swift effacing tide.
Exacts the tribute unto merit due—
'Tis singleness of heart—piety sincere,
A soul unto itself, as others, true.
'Tis while we ripen'd intellect revere,
To human excellence we in homage sue.
And one to cold obscurity consign'd,
From which in dreams alone he e'er has sighed,
Would snatch the memory of thy noble mind,
From dark Oblivion's swift effacing tide.
Few of the qualities, to few belong,
Which here were all within one breast combined—
The gentle temper, and the judgment strong—
The chastened humor, and the taste refined—
The indignation, when audacious wrong
Excited feeling deep, as well as kind.
Such minds can ne'er that impious cant approve,
Which names this life one miserable breath,
Measures the Creator's, by a mortal's love,
And makes Religion odious as Death.
Which here were all within one breast combined—
The gentle temper, and the judgment strong—
The chastened humor, and the taste refined—
The indignation, when audacious wrong
Excited feeling deep, as well as kind.
Such minds can ne'er that impious cant approve,
Which names this life one miserable breath,
Measures the Creator's, by a mortal's love,
And makes Religion odious as Death.
295
Not as the vulture, but the peaceful dove,
The soul to solace, not the mind molest—
She comes, embassadress of heavenly love,
To the wild empire of the human breast:
And bears a mission from the realms above,
To soothe its jarring elements to rest.
And thou hast realized her promise, when
The bitter struggles of this world are o'er,
Nor cold suspense nor torturing despair,
With doubt or fear distract thy bosom more.
The soul to solace, not the mind molest—
She comes, embassadress of heavenly love,
To the wild empire of the human breast:
And bears a mission from the realms above,
To soothe its jarring elements to rest.
And thou hast realized her promise, when
The bitter struggles of this world are o'er,
Nor cold suspense nor torturing despair,
With doubt or fear distract thy bosom more.
| [Poems by Hoffman in] Charles Fenno Hoffman | |