WEAK and irresolute is man; The purpose of to-day, Woven with pains into his plan, To-morrow rends away. The bow well bent and smart the spring, Vice seems already slain, But passion rudely snaps the string, And it revives again. Some foe to his upright intent Finds out his weaker part, Virtue engages his assent, But pleasure wins his heart. 'Tis here the folly of the wise Through all his art we view, And while his tongue the charge denies, His conscience owns it true. Bound on a voyage of awful length And dangers little known, A stranger to superior strength, Man vainly trusts his own. But oars alone can ne'er prevail To reach the distant coast, The breath of heaven must swell the sail, Or all the toil is lost. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...GEORGE WASHINGTON by JOHN HALL INGHAM THE PASSIONATE SHEPHERD TO HIS LOVE by CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE LAUS VENERIS by ALGERNON CHARLES SWINBURNE TEMPEST by ANITA CONCHITA ALLMON THE RIVER STOUR by WILLIAM BARNES THE COMPLAINT OF CHASTITIE by RICHARD BARNFIELD THE UNQUIET EYE by EDMUND CHARLES BLUNDEN |