[Man, the pomp and pride of earth]
[_]
FROM THE GERMAN OF RÜCKERT.
Man, the pomp and pride of earth
Were not merely spread for thee;
Nature bade some part have birth
For her own delight and glee.
Therefore sings the nightingale,
While thou sleepest, in the night;
Flowers, the fairest ones, unveil
Half their beauty ere daylight.
Soars the loveliest butterfly
All untracked by eye of thine;
Pearls in ocean's bosom lie,
Jewels in the unwrought mine.
Richly, child, are sky and plain
Furnished for thee; be content
That thy mother too retain
For herself some ornament.
