He looked around upon a world of wrong
With sorrowing spirit, pity infinite;
He saw the weak made victims of the strong,
And obscene darkness triumph over light:
He saw that men unmoved by argument,
Who turned away with scorn from wisdom's school,
Shrank from the lash of satire's chastisement,
And feared the laughing lips of ridicule:
He saw the falseness of the common creeds
And cared not to conceal his deep disdain,
Yet from himself could not root out the weeds
Convention had implanted in his brain;
And so he failed to see 'twas a vain task
To pour new wine into an outworn cask.
With sorrowing spirit, pity infinite;
He saw the weak made victims of the strong,
And obscene darkness triumph over light:
He saw that men unmoved by argument,
Who turned away with scorn from wisdom's school,
Shrank from the lash of satire's chastisement,
And feared the laughing lips of ridicule:
He saw the falseness of the common creeds
And cared not to conceal his deep disdain,
Yet from himself could not root out the weeds
Convention had implanted in his brain;
And so he failed to see 'twas a vain task
To pour new wine into an outworn cask.
THE POET OF THE FUTURE
Shall time to come another Shakespeare breed,
Gifted as he who doth our past illume,
Or who shall ev'n his wondrous powers exceed,
And so th' Arch-Poet's rank and fame assume?
Yes! her past exploits nature can repeat,
Though she loves best new miracles to prove,
And howsoe'er she seems our hopes to cheat
Doth ever forward to new victories move.
The Poet of the coming time shall own
A Shakespeare's wisdom, wit, sublimity,
With finer qualities before unknown
That might not in an age half-barbarous be.
One bard the spirit of the Past expressed,
The next the Future shall make manifest.
Gifted as he who doth our past illume,
Or who shall ev'n his wondrous powers exceed,
And so th' Arch-Poet's rank and fame assume?
Yes! her past exploits nature can repeat,
Though she loves best new miracles to prove,
And howsoe'er she seems our hopes to cheat
Doth ever forward to new victories move.
The Poet of the coming time shall own
A Shakespeare's wisdom, wit, sublimity,
With finer qualities before unknown
That might not in an age half-barbarous be.
One bard the spirit of the Past expressed,
The next the Future shall make manifest.
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