Memorials of Theophilus Trinal, Student By Thomas T. Lynch. Third Edition, Enlarged |
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| I. | CHAPTER I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
| VIII. |
| IX. |
| X. |
| XI. |
| XIII. |
| XIV. |
| XV. |
 | CHAPTER I. Memorials of Theophilus Trinal, Student |  |
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CHAPTER I.
MAN AND THE BIRD.
Oh! what would it avail to have
The heart of bird, without his wing?
It were a woe to view the height,
Yet powerless be to rise and sing.
The heart of bird, without his wing?
It were a woe to view the height,
Yet powerless be to rise and sing.
And what were it a wing to have,
Without an eye far-seeing, bright?
The spaciousness of ample heaven
Were but a prison, without light.
Without an eye far-seeing, bright?
The spaciousness of ample heaven
Were but a prison, without light.
And what, without the heart of bird,
Were it to have both wing and eye?
The love must be as is the life,
To use its powers rejoicingly.
Were it to have both wing and eye?
The love must be as is the life,
To use its powers rejoicingly.
Truth for the bird his eye discerns;
By birdly hope his wing is strong;
And full delight in birdly good,
Makes utterance for itself in song.
By birdly hope his wing is strong;
And full delight in birdly good,
Makes utterance for itself in song.
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Man hath a large unresting heart—
His good he is pursuing still;
And reason is his wondrous eye—
His mighty wing, it is his will.
His good he is pursuing still;
And reason is his wondrous eye—
His mighty wing, it is his will.
Like down by lightest breezes stirr'd
Would be his heart, if he were blind;
But, reason-guided, he can soar,
And free-adventuring breast the wind.
Would be his heart, if he were blind;
But, reason-guided, he can soar,
And free-adventuring breast the wind.
And though the heart may prisoner seem,
When man is weak for flight and song;
Yet soon aloft on rested wing
He sweeps exultingly along.
When man is weak for flight and song;
Yet soon aloft on rested wing
He sweeps exultingly along.
Self-active, wisely, and in love,
Man greater grows, already great;
His heart will swell, his wing expand,
His eye will brighten and dilate.
Man greater grows, already great;
His heart will swell, his wing expand,
His eye will brighten and dilate.
But vain alike were wing and eye,
Could eye and wing be found alone;
What is it but the heart of love
That differences man and stone?
Could eye and wing be found alone;
What is it but the heart of love
That differences man and stone?
Of thinking, acting, loving, vain
Were any two without the third;
But by the union of the three
Man soareth heavenward, like the bird.
Were any two without the third;
But by the union of the three
Man soareth heavenward, like the bird.
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THOUGHTS.
How comes a Thought?—
Even as the dew,
Which falls not in a visible drop,
But the still night through
Gathers upon the flower-cup,
Life to renew.
Even as the dew,
Which falls not in a visible drop,
But the still night through
Gathers upon the flower-cup,
Life to renew.
How unfolds a Thought?—
As a bud of spring,
Which in itself contains a branch,
Leaf, and blossoming—
A bough on which a happy bird
May rest and sing.
As a bud of spring,
Which in itself contains a branch,
Leaf, and blossoming—
A bough on which a happy bird
May rest and sing.
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How abides a Thought?—
As a heavenly star,
Which seen by us, but not controll'd,
Burns in its sphere;
Veil'd often, but by passing clouds,
Our own eye near.
As a heavenly star,
Which seen by us, but not controll'd,
Burns in its sphere;
Veil'd often, but by passing clouds,
Our own eye near.
Hath a Thought a voice?—
As sweet as bird,
Whose melody, in a dusky wood
With wind unstirr'd,
Spreading, like brightness from a lamp,
All around is heard.
As sweet as bird,
Whose melody, in a dusky wood
With wind unstirr'd,
Spreading, like brightness from a lamp,
All around is heard.
Will a Thought leave us?—
Even as the moon,
Which from fullest beauty failing,
For a while is gone—
To come again in softest light,
Surely and soon.
Even as the moon,
Which from fullest beauty failing,
For a while is gone—
To come again in softest light,
Surely and soon.
Doth Thought propagate?—
Like polyp of the sea,
Fashion'd of buds into a form
Of strangest beauty;
Each bud in stillness opens—each
May parent be.
Like polyp of the sea,
Fashion'd of buds into a form
Of strangest beauty;
Each bud in stillness opens—each
May parent be.
What power has a Thought?—
The power of an eye,
Whose expression the soul changes,
As the sun the sky;
There are sudden lights, a slow dawn,
Shadows that fly.
The power of an eye,
Whose expression the soul changes,
As the sun the sky;
There are sudden lights, a slow dawn,
Shadows that fly.
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Can a Thought be lost?—
Lost but as rain,
Some of which falls on a lily
Without a stain;
While some anew, dispersed in air,
Will fall again.
Lost but as rain,
Some of which falls on a lily
Without a stain;
While some anew, dispersed in air,
Will fall again.
What is Thought to life?—
As air to a tree,
Which, through summer and through winter,
Works invisibly;
Building up the trunk and branches
With solidity.
As air to a tree,
Which, through summer and through winter,
Works invisibly;
Building up the trunk and branches
With solidity.
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ON MEDITATION.
I saw a cloud
Passing the moon;
It brighten'd and it darken'd,
And vanish'd soon.
Passing the moon;
It brighten'd and it darken'd,
And vanish'd soon.
It came on my sight
From the southern heaven;
By one wind into light
And into darkness driven.
From the southern heaven;
By one wind into light
And into darkness driven.
Dimly from the deep
It uprose on high;
Then it shone far and wide,
Then it melted in the sky.
It uprose on high;
Then it shone far and wide,
Then it melted in the sky.
Thus it is that man
Comes to wisdom's noon;
Brightening as this cloud,
He vanishes as soon.
Comes to wisdom's noon;
Brightening as this cloud,
He vanishes as soon.
His beauty is upon him
While light is given;
Swiftly forward is he speeded
By the breath of heaven.
While light is given;
Swiftly forward is he speeded
By the breath of heaven.
From darkness of the deep
He comes forth on high;
Then in silence he departs—
But it is into the sky.
He comes forth on high;
Then in silence he departs—
But it is into the sky.
| CHAPTER I. Memorials of Theophilus Trinal, Student | |