There are who ask not if thine eye Be on them; who, in love and truth, Where no misgiving is, rely Upon the genial sense of youth: Glad Hearts! without reproach or blot; Who do thy work, and know it not: May joy be theirs while life shall last! And Thou, if they should totter, teach them to stand fast! Serene will be our days and bright, And happy will our nature be, When love is an unerring light, And joy its own security. And bless'd are they who in the main This faith, even now, do entertain: Live in the spirit of this creed; Yet find that other strength, according to their need. I, loving freedom, and untried; No sport of every random gust, Too blindly have reposed my trust: Upon my present happiness, I shoved unwelcome tasks away; But thee I now would serve more strictly, if I may. Through no disturbance of my soul, I feel the weight of chance desires : Yet not the less would I throughout Of my own wish; and feel past doubt Not seeking in the school of pride Denial and restraint I prize No farther than they breed a second Will more wise. Stern Lawgiver! yet thou dost wear Nor know we any thing so fair As is the smile upon thy face; Flowers laugh before thee on their beds; (Thou dost preserve the Stars from wrong; And the most ancient Heavens through Thee are fresh and strong.) VOL. I. |