Hymns for the Amusement of Children (1791)/Against Despair

212339Hymns for the Amusement of Children — XXXII. Against Despair1791Christopher Smart

HYMN XXXII.

Against DESPAIR.

OLD RALPH in the WOOD.


A raven once an Acorn took
From Bashan's tallest stoutest tree;[1]
He hid it by a limpid brook,
And liv'd another oak to see.

5 Thus Melancholy buries Hope,
Which Providence keeps still alive,
And bids us with afflictions cope,
And all anxiety survive.

Notes

  1. 2. From Bashan's tallest stoutest tree... — the oaks of Bashan are mentioned in the Bible: Isaiah 2:13 and Ezekiel 27:6. In the publication in Gentleman's Magazine (Sept. 1779): From Romney's stoutest, tallest tree. Romney or the Romney Marsh is a sparsely populated wetland area in the counties of Kent and East Sussex in the south-east of England.

This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.

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