What weight of woe we owe to thee, Accurst comparative degree! Thy paltry step can never give Access to the superlative; For he who would the wisest be, Strives to make others wise as he, And never yet was man judged best Who would be better than the rest; So does comparison unkind Dwarf and debase the haughty mind. Make not a man your measuring-rod If you would span the way to God; Heed not our petty "worse" or "less," But fix your eyes on perfectness. Make for the loftiest point in view, And draw your friends along with you. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...HOMAGE TO SEXTUS PROPERTIUS: 10 by EZRA POUND SHELLEY'S SKYLARK by THOMAS HARDY GO DOWN DEATH; A FUNERAL SERMON by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON THE BELLS OF LONDON by MOTHER GOOSE THE SHAVEN BEAUTY by YUSUF IBN HARUN AL-RAMADI QUATRAIN: FROM EASTERN SOURCES: 2 by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH THE VEERY'S FLUTE by LUCY BRANCH ALLEN LAURENCE BLOOMFIELD IN IRELAND: 6. SPRING by WILLIAM ALLINGHAM A QUARTET ('THE MIKADO' AT CAMBRIDGE) by EDMUND CHARLES BLUNDEN |