The Poetry of Real Life | ||
79
TRUE GREATNESS.
True Greatness hath no strivings for effect:It rises like the mountains to the sky,
Lifting its head in simple majesty;
A firm, deep base with Nature doth connect
It ever, solid breadth of intellect;
And, as the peaks of highest mountains by
The same hard granite, which doth fortify
Their depths, are formed, so the true architect
Of greatness builds his fortunes of a piece
Throughout, and still, at each extreme, the same
Is found—and therefore takes he such long lease
Of glory; like the mountains shall his name
Endure, and still from age to age increase,
Gathering the long arrears of well-earned fame!
The Poetry of Real Life | ||