 | Jones Very : The Complete Poems |  |
463
Reverence
We need more reverence in this froward age,That doth forget the teachings of the past;
The wisdom of the old, the Sacred Page,
Whose truth shall fleeting time itself outlast.
Not by the light alone the present sheds,
Nor by the sun's bright beams alone we see;
Upon the path, in which man darkling treads,
Fall glimmering rays from far antiquity.
And all are needed, lest we go astray;
In our own wisdom confident and bold;
Careless to learn, too proud to ask the way,
Doubting, perhaps, when often plainly told;
Unwilling to confess the truth, whose light
Shone in the darkness of the ancient night.
Poem No. 762; c. 21 March 1874
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