POEMS
COMPOSED OR SUGGESTED DURING A TOUR IN THE SUMMER OF 1833
XL. SUGGESTED BY THE FOREGOING
POEMS
COMPOSED OR SUGGESTED DURING A TOUR IN THE SUMMER OF 1833
TRANQUILLITY! the sovereign aim wert thou In heathen schools of philosophic lore; Heart-stricken by stern destiny of yore The Tragic Muse thee served with thoughtful vow; And what of hope Elysium could allow Was fondly seized by Sculpture, to restore Peace to the Mourner. But when He who wore The crown of thorns around his bleeding brow Warmed our sad being with celestial light, ‘Then’ Arts which still had drawn a softening grace 10 From shadowy fountains of the Infinite, Communed with that Idea face to face: And move around it now as planets run, Each in its orbit round the central Sun.