Alas! my friend, 'tis motive power one needs And not these idle fancies ill-advised; Mere harness will not pull us up to Christ, Without the strength of full and living creeds; These shiny morals are not match for sin, These empty trappings are not force nor speed; What! shall we hope the chariot race to win With straps and head-stalls only? To succeed In that great race, to Faith alone is given -- On-looking Faith, whose object fires the will; And, as the distance shrinks 'twixt earth and heaven, Glows with its motion, and bears forward still, Because it marks the goal with steadfast eye, While smart theosophies lose heart and die. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...HE'D BE NOTHING BUT HIS VIOLIN by MARY KYLE DALLAS ODE FOR THE AMERICAN DEAD IN ASIA by THOMAS MCGRATH THE BARTHOLDI STATUE by JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER IN PRAISE OF A COUNTRY LIFE by PHILIP AYRES PATTY MORGAN THE MILKMAID'S STORY: 'LOOK AT THE CLOCK!' by RICHARD HARRIS BARHAM TO HIS LATE MAJESTY, CONCERNING..TRUE FORM OF ENGLISH POETRY by JOHN BEAUMONT |