LAUSANNE! and Ferney! ye have been the abodes Of names which unto you bequeathed a name; Mortals, who sought and found, by dangerous roads, A path to perpetuity of fame: They were gigantic minds, and their steep aim Was, Titan-like, on daring doubts to pile Thoughts which should call down thunder and the flame Of heaven, again assailed, if heaven the while On man and man's research could deign do no more then smile. The one was fire and fickleness, a child, Most mutable in wishes, but in mind A wit as various, - gay, grave, sage, or wild, - Historian, bard, philosopher combined; He multiplied himself among mankind, The Proteus of their talents: but his own Breathed most in ridicule, - which, as the wind, Blew where it listed, laying all things prone, - Now to o'erthrow a fool, and now to shake a throne. The other, deep and slow, exhausting thought, And hiving wisdom with each studious year, In meditation dwelt, with learning wrought, And shaped his weapon with an edge severe, Sapping a solemn creed with solemn sneer: The lord of irony, - that master-spell, Which stung his foes to wrath, which grew from fear, And doomed him to the zealot's ready hell, Which answers to all doubts so eloquently well. Yet, peace be with their ashes, - for by them, If merited, the penalty is paid; It is not ours to judge, - far less condemn; The hour must come when such things shall be made Known unto all, - or hope and dread allayed By slumber, on one pillow, - in the dust, Which, thus much we are sure, must lie decayed; And when it shall revive, as is our trust, 'T will be forgiven, or suffer what is just. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE PHANTOM-LOVER [OR, WOOER] by THOMAS LOVELL BEDDOES WELCOME by WILLIAM BROWNE (1591-1643) THE JOYS OF THE ROAD by BLISS CARMAN OUR LADY by MARY ELIZABETH COLERIDGE THE MAN CHRIST by THERESE (KARPER) LINDSEY GRACE AND STRENGTH by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH |