 | The Poetical Works of Aubrey De Vere |  |
ODE.
The marvels of the seas and earth
Their works and ways, are little worth
Compared with man their lord:
He masters Nature through her laws
And therefore not without a cause
Is he by all adored.
Their works and ways, are little worth
Compared with man their lord:
He masters Nature through her laws
And therefore not without a cause
Is he by all adored.
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Lord of the mighty Eye and Ear,
Each centring an immortal sphere
Of empire and command:
Lord of the heavenly Breast and Brow,
That step which makes all creatures bow,
And the earth-subduing hand.
Each centring an immortal sphere
Of empire and command:
Lord of the heavenly Breast and Brow,
That step which makes all creatures bow,
And the earth-subduing hand.
And yet, not loftier swells the state
Of Man o'er shapes inanimate
In majesty confest
Than among men, that man by Faith
Assured in life, confirmed in death
Uptowers above the rest!
Of Man o'er shapes inanimate
In majesty confest
Than among men, that man by Faith
Assured in life, confirmed in death
Uptowers above the rest!
For God is with him; and the end
Of all things, downward as they tend
Toward their term and close
A sov'reign throne for him prepares;
And makes of vanquished pains and cares
A couch for his repose!
Of all things, downward as they tend
Toward their term and close
A sov'reign throne for him prepares;
And makes of vanquished pains and cares
A couch for his repose!
While kingdoms lapse, and all things range
He rules a world exempt from change;
He sees as Spirits see:
And garners ever more and more
While years roll by, an ampler store
Of glorious liberty;
He rules a world exempt from change;
He sees as Spirits see:
And garners ever more and more
While years roll by, an ampler store
Of glorious liberty;
Yea, ten times glorious when at last
The enfranchised Soul, her trials past,
Stands up, prepared to die;
And, fanning wide her swan-like plumes
A glory flings across the glooms
Through which her course must lie.
The enfranchised Soul, her trials past,
Stands up, prepared to die;
And, fanning wide her swan-like plumes
A glory flings across the glooms
Through which her course must lie.
| The Poetical Works of Aubrey De Vere | |