Iii

Since, since we first began To measure near and far, And know that the thoughts of man His chiefest actions are,

A thousand cries in sooth Call us thro’ time amain, And every cry a truth And every truth a gain,

And yet the needful task, To mend this state withal, Remains undone; we ask, What is the good of all?

Do, cries the lofty seer; Believe, the prelate cries; Be, beauty’s priest austere Persuades. The man replies,

‘We have three beds at home Where eight of us must lie; Three blankets and one room, My children, wife and I.

All day our work we mind; But little money gain; At night the wintry wind Whines thro’ the window-pane.’

So one doth read at ease With comfortable wine Devout philosophies That say, for him, divine,

To be, to bear, to act, To know oneself, be strong, Are all the heav’ns exact. He answers, ‘I am strong;

I fear not any fate; I do; I nobly bear.’ A beggar at his gate Cries in the bitter air.

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