 | The triumph of music |  |
SONNET.
WISELY from man his maker has witheld
Freedom of option, or to live, or die;
Else, quick to quarrel with a cloudy sky,
The human spirit, by caprice impell'd,
Or lur'd by fiends, who 'gainst their God rebell'd,
Would spurn existence, Heaven's rich gift belie,
And from the slander'd charms of nature fly,
Leagued with her foes, by virtue to be quell'd.
Freedom of option, or to live, or die;
Else, quick to quarrel with a cloudy sky,
The human spirit, by caprice impell'd,
Or lur'd by fiends, who 'gainst their God rebell'd,
Would spurn existence, Heaven's rich gift belie,
And from the slander'd charms of nature fly,
Leagued with her foes, by virtue to be quell'd.
In changeful scenes, mortality's domain!
Let piety prepare the mind elate
Bliss to enjoy, or sorrow to sustain,
Firm as her sightless bard, whose heavenly strain
May reconcile the soul to lingering fate!
“They also serve, who only stand, and wait.”
Let piety prepare the mind elate
Bliss to enjoy, or sorrow to sustain,
Firm as her sightless bard, whose heavenly strain
May reconcile the soul to lingering fate!
“They also serve, who only stand, and wait.”
Theodore.
| The triumph of music | |