THREE Errors there are, that for ever are found On the lips of the good, on the lips of the best; But empty their meaning and hollow their sound— And slight is the comfort they bring to the breast. The fruits of existence escape from the clasp Of the seeker who strives but those shadows to grasp— So long as Man dreams of some Age in @3this@1 life When the Right and the Good will all evil subdue; For the Right and the Good lead us ever to strife, And wherever they lead us, the Fiend will pursue. And (till from the earth borne, and stifled at length) The earth that he touches still gifts him with strength! So long as Man fancies that Fortune will live, Like a bride with her lover, united with Worth; For her favors, alas! to the mean she will give— And Virtue possesses no title to earth! That Foreigner wanders to regions afar, Where the lands of her birthright immortally are! So long as Man dreams that, to mortals a gift, The Truth in her fulness of splendor will shine; The veil of the goddess no earth-born may lift, And all we can learn is—to guess and divine! Dost thou seek, in a dogma, to prison her form? The spirit flies forth on the wings of the storm! O, Noble Soul! fly from delusions like these, More heavenly belief be it thine to adore; Where the Ear never hearkens, the Eye never sees, Meet the rivers of Beauty and Truth evermore! Not @3without@1 thee the streams—there the Dull seek them;—No! Look @3within@1 thee—behold both the fount and the flow! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...O GLORIOUS FRANCE by EDGAR LEE MASTERS HOW CYRUS LAID THE CABLE [JULY 29, 1866] by JOHN GODFREY SAXE THE HEART'S COLLOQUY by WILLIAM ROSE BENET PSALM 140 by OLD TESTAMENT BIBLE MUTATION by WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT THE LASS THAT MADE THE BED TO ME by ROBERT BURNS |