THE SPIRITUAL LIFE
There lived a man in days long past,
The happiest of his kind,
Who kept unstained from first to last
His pure and lucid mind.
The happiest of his kind,
Who kept unstained from first to last
His pure and lucid mind.
Not of, though in the world he dwelt,
Eventless was his life;
No greed, no lust, no hate he felt,
With no man had he strife.
Eventless was his life;
No greed, no lust, no hate he felt,
With no man had he strife.
Ambition, wealth, and beauty sought
To tempt him with their wares,
But on his equal temper wrought
In vain with all their snares.
To tempt him with their wares,
But on his equal temper wrought
In vain with all their snares.
They offered him a statesman's place,
He held it for a time,
But left it rather than abase
His soul with statecraft's slime.
He held it for a time,
But left it rather than abase
His soul with statecraft's slime.
Reason was valued not, he found,
By people or by prince,
Who on his wisest measures frowned
And at plain truth did wince.
By people or by prince,
Who on his wisest measures frowned
And at plain truth did wince.
But when by sad disasters tried,
They sought his aid again,
And begged he would the kingdom guide,
And as their sovereign reign.
They sought his aid again,
And begged he would the kingdom guide,
And as their sovereign reign.
"Ah! could I only think," he said,
"Taught in affliction's school,
That you the righteous path would tread
Then would I o'er you rule.
"Taught in affliction's school,
That you the righteous path would tread
Then would I o'er you rule.
"But nations never yet for long
Have been by wisdom swayed,
Reason than passion's far less strong,
And truth's with treachery paid.
Have been by wisdom swayed,
Reason than passion's far less strong,
And truth's with treachery paid.
"As king I must my own soul lose
To gain ingratitude,
Wherefore the path of peace I choose,
Where no false shows delude.
To gain ingratitude,
Wherefore the path of peace I choose,
Where no false shows delude.
"Ambition's but a will o' th' wisp,
Wealth's but a pedlar's pack,
Beauty is but a shining lure
The souls of men to wreck.
Wealth's but a pedlar's pack,
Beauty is but a shining lure
The souls of men to wreck.
"Mine are the stars, the sun, the moon,
Valleys and mountains mine;
All things yield up some precious boon
To make my life divine.
Valleys and mountains mine;
All things yield up some precious boon
To make my life divine.
"When morning breaks I greet the sun
With ever-new delight,
And still, when he his course has run,
Welcome no less the night.
With ever-new delight,
And still, when he his course has run,
Welcome no less the night.
"An everlasting spring I see
Of beauty and of love
In earth, sea, rock, stone, flower, and tree,
And in the heavens above.
Of beauty and of love
In earth, sea, rock, stone, flower, and tree,
And in the heavens above.
"All natural things my soul sustain,
Supplying all its needs;
From them that full content I gain
Men vainly seek in creeds.
Supplying all its needs;
From them that full content I gain
Men vainly seek in creeds.
"Glories where'er I gaze appear
Of colour, beauty, form;
The music of one Voice I hear
Alike in calm and storm.
Of colour, beauty, form;
The music of one Voice I hear
Alike in calm and storm.
"All things transfigured in my sight
A greater radiance gain,
I see the very light of light,
The heaven of heavens attain.
A greater radiance gain,
I see the very light of light,
The heaven of heavens attain.
"One impulse ruling all I feel
That in one chain doth bind
What some call real and some ideal,
Sense, substance, soul, and mind:
That in one chain doth bind
What some call real and some ideal,
Sense, substance, soul, and mind:
"The soul that unifieth all,
And all doth animate;
That finds no grain of sand too small,
No universe too great.
And all doth animate;
That finds no grain of sand too small,
No universe too great.
"Divine ideas all unsought
My spirit apprehends:
Ever the greatness of my thought
My power of speech transcends.
My spirit apprehends:
Ever the greatness of my thought
My power of speech transcends.
"Words cannot tell the sweet content
That in my soul doth reign,
Whose wealth the faster it is spent
The richer doth remain.
That in my soul doth reign,
Whose wealth the faster it is spent
The richer doth remain.
"Stars crown me with their aureole,
The sea flows through my veins,
The heavens clothe me, and my soul
Infinity contains.[1]
The sea flows through my veins,
The heavens clothe me, and my soul
Infinity contains.[1]
"I look beyond Earth's petty span,
And worlds of light I see,
Where, cleansed from sin and suffering, man
Ascends to deity,
And worlds of light I see,
Where, cleansed from sin and suffering, man
Ascends to deity,
"Until, at variance no more
With the eternal Will,
I see him, strife and effort o'er,
His destiny fulfil."
With the eternal Will,
I see him, strife and effort o'er,
His destiny fulfil."
1902
- ↑ "You never enjoy the world aright till the sea itself floweth in your veins, till you are clothed with the heavens and crowned with the stars."—Thomas Traherne.