Serve God -- by the eternal heaven's chart Steer thine observant course: Watch nature's workings, and with willing heart Obey the mighty force. Insult not faith -- if thou dost not believe Scorn not the saints and sages. A people knows its god: do thou receive The gifts of all the ages. Obey the church -- for men have need to pray And much the prophets saw. If thou hast visions, break thou not away, But add them to the law. Honour thy fathers -- make thy spirit strong With wisdom of the past, Then speak thy doctrine, that its days be long And that thy kingdom last. Condemn not life -- by one sole law all things Are hurried on their way: The ocean rages and the serpent stings As thou dost sin and pray. Love not -- all sorrow comes from loving life And from desire all pains. Sell not for love thy freedom to a wife; Love goes, the bond remains. Think not to die -- for when thy body lies Beneath a graven stone, Thy soul shall read there, through a stranger's eyes, The deeds it once had done. Seek truth -- but lightly hold its counterfeit In mortal thought or word. The brain is full of sound: the infinite Remains unseen, unheard. Envy not men -- rejoice if something fair To thy dim eyes is shown, But know that all the beauty that is there Some god hath called his own. Strive not -- but free thy bosom and resign Thy wish and thy endeavour, And the sweet kernel of the good is thine, Since peace is thine for ever. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE WORN WEDDING-RING by WILLIAM COX BENNETT A PASTORAL DIALOGUE: SHEPHERD, NYMPH, CHORUS by THOMAS CAREW SMALL BEGINNINGS by CHARLES MACKAY SONNET: 55 by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE HYMN OF PAN by PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY CROSSING THE BAR by ALFRED TENNYSON TO MY FIANCEE by FRANKLIN PIERCE ADAMS |