English Poetry III: From Tennyson to Whitman.
The Harvard Classics. 1909–14.
Richard Monckton Milnes, Lord Houghton
651. Sonnet
B
The heights and pinnacles of human mind,
Sadder and wearier than the rest are found,
Wish not thy Soul less wise or less refined.
True that the small delights which every day
Cheer and distract the pilgrim are not theirs;
A loftier being brings several cares.
Yet have they special pleasures, even mirth,
By those undreamt of who have only trod
Life’s valley smooth; and if the rolling earth
To their nice ear have many a painful tone,
They know, Man does not live by Joy alone
But by the presence of the power of God.