Laurel · Thomas Campbell · The Pleasures of Hope, and Other Poems

Pleasures of Hope. Part II

iambic pentameter · heroic couplets · 475 lines · from The Pleasures of Hope, and Other Poems

In joyous youth, what soul hath never knownThought, feeling, taste, harmonious to its own?Who hath not paused while Beauty’s pensive eyeAsked from his heart the homage of a sigh?Who hath not owned, with rapture-smitten frame,The power of grace, the magic of a name?

There be, perhaps, who barren hearts avow,Cold as the rocks on Torneo’s hoary brow;There be, whose loveless wisdom never failed,In self-adoring pride securely mailed:—But, triumph not, ye peace-enamoured few!Fire, Nature, Genius, never dwelt with you!For you no fancy consecrates the sceneWhere rapture uttered vows, and wept between;’Tis yours, unmoved, to sever and to meet;No pledge is sacred, and no home is sweet!

Who that would ask a heart to dulness wed,The waveless calm, the slumber of the dead?No; the wild bliss of Nature needs alloy,And fear and sorrow fan the fire of joy!And say, without our hopes, without our fears,Without the home that plighted love endears,Without the smile from partial beauty won,Oh! what were man?—a world without a sun.

Till Hymen brought his love-delighted hour,There dwelt no joy in Eden’s rosy bower!In vain the viewless seraph lingering there,At starry midnight charmed the silent air:In vain the wild bird carolled on the steep,To hail the sun, slow wheeling from the deep;In vain, to soothe, the solitary shade,Aërial notes in mingling measure played;The summer wind that shook the spangled tree,The whispering wave, the murmur of the bee;—Still slowly passed the melancholy day,And still the stranger wist not where to stray.The world was sad!—the garden was a wild!And man, the hermit, sighed—till woman smiled!

True, the sad power to generous hearts may bringDelirious anguish on his fiery wing;Barred from delight by Fate’s untimely hand,By wealthless lot, or pitiless command;Or doomed to gaze on beauties that adornThe smile of triumph or the frown of scorn;While Memory watches o’er the sad review,Of joys that faded like the morning dew;Peace may depart—and life and nature seemA barren path, a wildness, and a dream!

But can the noble mind for ever brood,The willing victim of a weary mood,On heartless cares that squander life away,And cloud young Genius brightening into day?—Shame to the coward thought that e’er betrayedThe noon of manhood to a myrtle shade!—If HOPE’S creative spirit cannot raiseOne trophy sacred to thy future days,Scorn the dull crowd that haunt the gloomy shrineOf hopeless love to murmur and repine!But, should a sigh of milder mood expressThy heart-warm wishes, true to happiness,Should Heaven’s fair harbinger delight to pourHer blissful visions on thy pensive hour,No tear to blot thy memory’s pictured pageNo fears but such as fancy can assuage;Though thy wild heart some hapless hour may missThe peaceful tenor of unvaried bliss,(For love pursues an ever-devious race,True to the winding lineaments of grace;)Yet still may hope her talisman employTo snatch from Heaven anticipated joy,And all her kindred energies impartThat burn the brightest in the purest heart.

When first the Rhodian’s mimic art arrayedThe queen of Beauty in her Cyprian shade,The happy master mingled on his pieceEach look that charmed him in the fair of Greece.To faultless nature true, he stole a graceFrom every finer form and sweeter face;And as he sojourned on the Ægean isles,Woo’d all their love, and treasured all their smiles;Then glowed the tints, pure, precious, and refined,And mortal charms seemed heavenly when combinedLove on the picture smiled! Expression pouredHer mingling spirit there—and Greece adored!

So thy fair hand, enamoured Fancy! gleansThe treasured pictures of a thousand scenes;Thy pencil traces on the lover’s thoughtSome cottage-home, from towns and toil remote,Where love and lore may claim alternate hours,With Peace embosom’d in Idalian bowers!Remote from busy Life’s bewildered way,O’er all his heart shall Taste and Beauty sway!Free on the sunny slope, or winding shore,With hermit steps to wander and adore!There shall he love, when genial morn appears,Like pensive Beauty smiling in her tears,To watch the brightening roses of the sky,And muse on Nature with a poet’s eye!—And when the sun’s last splendour lights the deep,The woods and waves, and murmuring winds asleep;When fairy harps the Hesperian planet hail,And the lone cuckoo sighs along the vale,His path shall be where streamy mountains swellTheir shadowy grandeur o’er the narrow dell,Where mouldering piles and forests intervene,Mingling with darker tints the living green:No circling hills his ravished eye to bound,Heaven, Earth, and Ocean, blazing all around.

The moon is up—the watch-tower dimly burns—And down the vale his sober step returns;But pauses oft, as winding rocks conveyThe still sweet fall of music far away;And oft he lingers from his home a whileTo watch the dying notes!—and start, and smile!

Let Winter come! let polar spirits sweepThe darkening world, and tempest-troubled deep!Though boundless snows the withered heath deformAnd the dim sun scarce wanders through the storm,Yet shall the smile of social love repay,With mental light, the melancholy day!And, when its short and sullen noon is o’er,The ice-chained waters slumbering on the shore,How bright the faggots in his little hallBlaze on the hearth, and warm the pictured wall!

How blest he names, in Love’s familiar tone,The kind, fair friend, by nature marked his own;And, in the waveless mirror of his mind,Views the fleet years of pleasure left behind,Since Anna’s empire o’er his heart began!Since first he called her his before the holy man!

Trim the gay taper in his rustic dome,And light the wintry paradise of home!And let the half-uncurtained window hailSome way-worn man benighted in the vale!Now, while the moaning night-wind rages high,As sweep the shot-stars down the troubled sky,While fiery hosts in Heaven’s wide circle play,And bathe in lurid light the milky-way,Safe from the storm, the meteor, and the shower,Some pleasing page shall charm the solemn hour—With pathos shall command, with wit beguile,A generous tear of anguish, or a smile—Thy woes, Arion! and thy simple tale,O’er all the heart shall triumph and prevail!Charmed as they read the verse too sadly true,How gallant Albert, and his weary crew,Heaved all their guns, their foundering bark to save,And toiled—and shrieked—and perished on the wave!

Yes, at the dead of night, by Lonna’s steep,The seaman’s cry was heard along the deep;There, on his funeral waters, dark and wild,The dying father blessed his darling child!“Oh! Mercy, shield her innocence,” he cried,Spent on the prayer his bursting heart, and died!

Or they will learn how generous worth sublimesThe robber Moor, and pleads for all his crimes!How poor Amelia kissed, with many a tear,His hand blood-stained, but ever, ever dear!Hung on the tortured bosom of her lord,And wept and prayed perdition from his sword!Nor sought in vain! at that heart-piercing cryThe strings of Nature cracked with agony!He, with delirious laugh, the dagger hurled,And burst the ties that bound him to the world!

Turn from his dying words, that smite with steelThe shuddering thoughts, or wind them on the wheel—Turn to the gentler melodies that suitThalia’s harp, or Pan’s Arcadian lute;Or, down the stream of Truth’s historic page,From clime to clime descend, from age to age!

Yet there, perhaps, may darker scenes obtrudeThan Fancy fashions in her wildest mood;There shall he pause with horrent brow, to rateWhat millions died—that Cæsar might be great!Or learn the fate that bleeding thousands bore,Marched by their Charles to Dneiper’s swampy shore;Faint in his wounds, and shivering in the blast,The Swedish soldier sunk—and groaned his last!File after file the stormy showers benumb,Freeze every standard-sheet, and hush the drum!Horseman and horse confessed the bitter pang,And arms and warriors fell with hollow clang!Yet, ere he sunk in Nature’s last repose,Ere life’s warm torrent to the fountain froze,The dying man to Sweden turned his eye,Thought of his home, and closed it with a sigh!Imperial Pride looked sullen on his plight,And Charles beheld—nor shuddered at the sight!

Above, below, in Ocean, Earth, and Sky,Thy fairy worlds, Imagination, lie,And HOPE attends, companion of the way,Thy dream by night, thy visions of the day!In yonder pensile orb, and every sphereThat gems the starry girdle of the year;In those unmeasured worlds, she bids thee tell,Pure from their God, created millions dwell,Whose names and natures, unrevealed below,We yet shall learn, and wonder as we know;For, as Iona’s saint, a giant form,Throned on her towers, conversing with the storm(When o’er each Runic altar, weed-entwined,The vesper clock tolls mournful to the wind,)Counts every wave-worn isle, and mountain hoarFrom Kilda to the green Ierne’s shore;So, when thy pure and renovated mindThis perishable dust hath left behind,Thy seraph eye shall count the starry train,Like distant isles embosomed in the main;Rapt to the shrine where motion first began,And light and life in mingling torrent ran;From whence each bright rotundity was hurled,The throne of God,—the centre of the world!

Oh! vainly wise, the moral Muse hath sungThat suasive HOPE hath but a Syren tongue!True; she may sport with life’s untutored day,Nor heed the solace of its last decay,The guileless heart her happy mansion spurn,And part, like Ajut—never to return!

But yet, methinks, when Wisdom shall assuageThe grief and passions of our greener age,Though dull the close of life, and far awayEach flower that hailed the dawning of the day;Yet o’er her lovely hopes, that once were dear,The time-taught spirit, pensive, not severe,With milder griefs her aged eye shall fill,And weep their falsehood, though she love them still!

Thus, with forgiving tears, and reconciled,The king of Judah mourned his rebel child!Musing on days, when yet the guiltless boySmiled on his sire, and filled his heart with joy!My Absalom! the voice of Nature cried:Oh! that for thee thy father could have died!For bloody was the deed, and rashly done,That slew my Absalom!—my son!—my son!

Unfading HOPE! when life’s last embers burn,When soul to soul, and dust to dust return!Heaven to thy charge resigns the awful hour!Oh! then, thy kingdom comes! Immortal Power!What though each spark of earth-born rapture flyThe quivering lip, pale cheek, and closing eye!Bright to the soul thy seraph hands conveyThe morning dream of life’s eternal day—Then, then, the triumph and the trance begin,And all the phœnix spirit burns within!

Oh! deep-enchanting prelude to repose,The dawn of bliss, the twilight of our woes!Yet half I hear the panting spirit sigh,It is a dread and awful thing to die!Mysterious worlds, untravelled by the sun!Where Time’s far-wandering tide has never run,From your unfathomed shades, and viewless spheres,A warning comes, unheard by other ears.’Tis Heaven’s commanding trumpet, long and loud,Like Sinai’s thunder, pealing from the cloud!While Nature hears, with terror-mingled trust,The shock that hurls her fabric to the dust;And, like the trembling Hebrew, when he trodThe roaring waves, and call’d upon his God,With mortal terrors clouds immortal bliss,And shrieks, and hovers o’er the dark abyss!

Daughter of Faith, awake, arise, illumeThe dread unknown, the chaos of the tomb;Melt, and dispel, ye spectre-doubts, that rollCimmerian darkness on the parting soul!Fly, like the moon-eyed herald of dismay,Chased on his night-steed by the star of day.The strife is o’er—the pangs of Nature close,And life’s last rapture triumphs o’er her woes.Hark! as the spirit eyes, with eagle gaze,The noon of Heaven undazzled by the blaze,On heavenly winds that waft her to the sky,Float the sweet tones of star-born melody;Wild as that hallowed anthem sent to hailBethlehem’s shepherds in the lonely vale,When Jordan hushed his waves, and midnight stillWatched on the holy towers of Zion hill!

Soul of the just! companion of the dead!Where is thy home, and whither art thou fled?Back to its heavenly source thy being goes,Swift as the comet wheels to whence he rose;Doomed on his airy path a while to burn,And doomed, like thee, to travel, and return.—Hark! from the world’s exploding centre driven,With sounds that shook the firmament of Heaven,Careers the fiery giant, fast and far,On bickering wheels, and adamantine car;From planet whirled to planet more remote,He visits realms beyond the reach of thought,But wheeling homeward, when his course is run,Curbs the red yoke, and mingles with the sun!So hath the traveller of earth unfurledHer trembling wings, emerging from the world;And o’er the path by mortal never trod,Sprung to her source, the bosom of her God!

Oh! lives there, Heaven! beneath thy dread expanse,One hopeless, dark idolater of Chance,Content to feed, with pleasures unrefined,The lukewarm passions of a lowly mind;Who, mouldering earthward, ’reft of every trust,In joyless union wedded to the dust,Could all his parting energy dismiss,And call this barren world sufficient bliss?—There live, alas! of heaven-directed mien,Of cultured soul, and sapient eye serene,Who hail thee, Man! the pilgrim of a day,Spouse of the worm, and brother of the clay,Frail as the leaf in Autumn’s yellow bower,Dust in the wind, or dew upon the flower;A friendless slave, a child without a sire,Whose mortal life and momentary fire,Lights to the grave his chance-created form,As ocean-wrecks illuminate the storm;And, when the gun’s tremendous flash is o’er,To night and silence sink for evermore!—

Are these the pompous tidings ye proclaim,Lights of the world, and demi-gods of Fame?Is this your triumph—this your proud applause,Children of Truth, and champions of her cause?For this hath Science searched, on weary wing,By shore and sea—each mute and living thing!Launched with Iberia’s pilot from the steep,To worlds unknown, and isles beyond the deep?Or round the cope her living chariot driven,And wheeled in triumph through the signs of Heaven?Oh! star-eyed Science, hast thou wandered there,To waft us home the message of despair?Then bind the palm, thy sage’s brow to suit,Of blasted leaf, and death-distilling fruit!Ah me! the laurelled wreath that Murder rears,Blood-nursed, and watered by the widow’s tears,Seems not so foul, so tainted, and so dread,As waves the night-shade round the sceptic’s head.What is the bigot’s torch, the tyrant’s chain?I smile on death, if heavenward HOPE remain!But, if the warring winds of Nature’s strifeBe all the faithless charter of my life,If Chance awaked, inexorable power,This frail and feverish being of an hour;Doomed o’er the world’s precarious scene to sweep,Swift as the tempest travels on the deep,To know Delight but by her parting smile,And toil, and wish, and weep a little while;Then melt, ye elements, that formed in vainThis troubled pulse, and visionary brain!Fade, ye wild flowers, memorials of my doom,And sink, ye stars, that light me to the tomb!Truth, ever lovely,—since the world began,The foe of tyrants, and the friend of man,—How can thy words from balmy slumber startReposing Virtue, pillowed on the heart!Yet, if thy voice the note of thunder rolled,And that were true which Nature never told,Let Wisdom smile not on her conquered field;No rapture dawns, no treasure is revealed!Oh! let her read, nor loudly, nor elate,The doom that bars us from a better fate;But, sad as angels for the good man’s sin,Weep to record, and blush to give it in!

And well may Doubt, the mother of Dismay,Pause at her martyr’s tomb, and read the lay.Down by the wilds of yon deserted valeIt darkly hints a melancholy tale!There, as the homeless madman sits alone,In hollow winds he hears a spirit moan!And there, they say, a wizard orgie crowds,When the Moon lights her watch-tower in the clouds.Poor lost Alonzo! Fate’s neglected child!Mild be the doom of Heaven—as thou wert mild!For oh! thy heart in holy mould was cast,And all thy deeds were blameless, but the last.Poor lost Alonzo! still I seem to hearThe clod that struck thy hollow-sounding bier!When Friendship paid, in speechless sorrow drowned,Thy midnight rites, but not on hallowed ground!

Cease, every joy, to glimmer on my mind,But leave—oh! leave the light of HOPE behind!What though my wingèd hours of bliss have been,Like angel-visits, few and far between,Her musing mood shall every pang appease,And charm—when pleasures lose the power to please!Yes; let each rapture, dear to Nature, flee:Close not the light of Fortune’s stormy sea—Mirth, Music, Friendship, Love’s propitious smile,Chase every care, and charm a little while,Ecstatic throbs the fluttering heart employ,And all her strings are harmonised to joy!—But why so short is Love’s delighted hour?Why fades the dew on Beauty’s sweetest flower?Why can no hymnèd charm of music healThe sleepless woes impassioned spirits feel?Can Fancy’s fairy hands no veil create,To hide the sad realities of fate?—

No! not the quaint remark, the sapient rule,Nor all the pride of Wisdom’s worldly school,Have power to soothe, unaided and alone,The heart that vibrates to a feeling tone!When stepdame Nature every bliss recalls,Fleet as the meteor o’er the desert falls;When, ’reft of all, yon widowed sire appearsA lonely hermit in the vale of years;Say, can the world one joyous thought bestowTo Friendship, weeping at the couch of Woe?No! but a brighter soothes the last adieu,—Souls of impassioned mould, she speaks to you!Weep not, she says, at Nature’s transient pain,Congenial spirits part to meet again!

What plaintive sobs thy filial spirit drew,What sorrow choked thy long and last adieu,—Daughter of Conrad! when he heard his knell,And bade his country and his child farewell!Doomed the long isles of Sydney-cove to see,The martyr of his crimes, but true to thee.Thrice the sad father tore thee from his heart,And thrice returned, to bless thee, and to part;Thrice from his trembling lips he murmured lowThe plaint that owned unutterable woe;Till Faith, prevailing o’er his sullen doom,As bursts the morn on night’s unfathomed gloom,Lured his dim eye to deathless hopes sublime,Beyond the realms of Nature and of Time!

“And weep not thus,” he cried, “young Ellenore,My bosom bleeds, but soon shall bleed no more!Short shall this half-extinguished spirit burn,And soon these limbs to kindred dust return!But not, my child, with life’s precarious fire,The immortal ties of Nature shall expire;These shall resist the triumph of decay,When time is o’er, and worlds have passed away!Cold in the dust this perished heart may lie,But that which warmed it once shall never die!That spark unburied in its mortal frame,With living light, eternal, and the same,Shall beam on Joy’s interminable years,Unveiled by darkness—unassuaged by tears!

“Yet, on the barren shore and stormy deep,One tedious watch is Conrad doomed to weep;But when I gain the home without a friend,And press the uneasy couch where none attend,This last embrace, still cherished in my heart,Shall calm the struggling spirit ere it part;Thy darling form shall seem to hover nigh,And hush the groan of life’s last agony!

“Farewell! when strangers lift thy father’s bier,And place my nameless stone without a tear;When each returning pledge hath told my childThat Conrad’s tomb is on the desert piled;And when the dream of troubled Fancy seesIts lonely rank grass waving in the breeze;Who then will soothe thy grief, when mine is o’er?Who will protect thee, helpless Ellenore?Shall secret scenes thy filial sorrows hide,Scorned by the world, to factious guilt allied?Ah! no; methinks the generous and the goodWill woo thee from the shades of solitude!O’er friendless grief compassion shall awake,And smile on innocence, for Mercy’s sake!”

Inspiring thought of rapture yet to be,The tears of Love were hopeless, but for thee!If in that frame no deathless spirit dwell,If that faint murmur be the last farewell,If Fate unite the faithful but to part,Why is their memory sacred to the heart?Why does the brother of my childhood seemRestored a while in every pleasing dream?Why do I joy the lonely spot to view,By artless friendship blessed when life was new?

Eternal HOPE! when yonder spheres sublimePealed their first notes to sound the march of Time,Thy joyous youth began—but not to fade.—When all the sister planets have decayed;When wrapt in fire the realms of ether glow,And Heaven’s last thunder shakes the world below;Thou, undismayed, shalt o’er the ruins smile,And light thy torch at Nature’s funeral pile.Falconer, who calls himself Arion in “The Shipwreck” (Canto III.)

Words in this poem 128

avow v. t.: To bind, or to devote, by a vow. Wyclif. [OF. avouer, fr. LL. votare to vow, fr. L. votun. See Vote, n.]
hoary a.: White or whitish."The hoary willows."
loveless a.: Void of love; void of tenderness or kindness. Milton. Shelton.
mailed a.: Protected by an external coat, or covering, of scales or plates.
unmoved a.: Not moved; fixed; firm; unshaken; calm; apathetic.
waveless a.: Free from waves; undisturbed; not agitated; as, the waveless sea.
needs adv.: Of necessity; necessarily; indispensably; -- often with must, and equivalent to of need. [Orig. gen. of need, used as an adverb. Cf. - wards.]
hymen n.: A fold of muscous membrane often found at the orifice of the vagina; the vaginal membrane.
delighted a.: Endowed with delight.
eden n.: The garden where Adam and Eve first dwelt; hence, a delightful region or residence. [Heb. eden delight, pleasure; also, a place of pleasure, Eden.]
viewless a.: Not perceivable by the eye; invisible; unseen.
starry a.: Abounding with stars; adorned with stars.
wheeling n.: The act of conveying anything, or traveling, on wheels, or in a wheeled vehicle.
soothe v. t.: To assent to as true. Testament of Love. [Originally, to assent to as true; OE. so to verify, AS. ges to prove the truth of, to bear witness. See Sooth, a.]
shook v. t.: To pack, as staves, in a shook.
generous a.: Of honorable birth or origin; highborn. [F. généreux, fr. L. generous of noble birth, noble, excellent, magnanimous, fr. genus birth, race: cf. It. generoso. See 2d Gender.]
depart v. i.: To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
heartless a.: Without a heart.
trophy n.: A sign or memorial of a victory raised on the field of battle, or, in case of a naval victory, on the nearest land. Sometimes trophies were erected in the chief city of the conquered people. [F. trophée (cf. It. & Sp. trofeo), L. tropaeum, trophaeum, Gr. Trope.]
repine v. i.: To fail; to wane. [Pref. re- + pine to languish.]
blissful a.: Full of, characterized by, or causing, joy and felicity; happy in the highest degree.
pictured a.: Furnished with pictures; represented by a picture or pictures; as, a pictured scene.
hapless a.: Without hap or luck; luckless; unfortunate; unlucky; unhappy; as, hapless youth; hapless maid.
cyprian a.: Belonging to Cyprus.
faultless a.: Without fault; not defective or imperfect; free from blemish; free from incorrectness, vice, or offense; perfect; as, a faultless poem.
stole n.: A long, loose garment reaching to the feet. [AS. stole, L. stola, Gr. stall. See Stall.]
embosom v. t.: To take into, or place in, the bosom; to cherish; to foster. [Written also imbosom.]
idalian a.: Of or pertaining to Idalium, a mountain city in Cyprus, or to Venus, to whom it was sacred.
shall v. i.: To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
sunny a.: Of or pertaining to the sun; proceeding from, or resembling the sun; hence, shining; bright; brilliant; radiant.
adore v. t.: To worship with profound reverence; to pay divine honors to; to honor as deity or as divine. [OE. aouren, anouren, adoren, OF. aorer, adorer, F. adorer, fr. L. adorare; ad + orare to speak, pray, os, oris, mouth. In OE. confused with honor, the French pr]
genial a.: Contributing to, or concerned in, propagation or production; generative; procreative; productive. [L. genialis: cf. OF. genial. See Genius.]
morn n.: The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
splendour n.: Great brightness; brilliant luster; brilliancy; as, the splendor ot the sun. B. Jonson. [L. fr. splendere to shine: cf. F. splendeur.]
hesperian a.: Western; being in the west; occidental. [L. hesperius, fr. hesperus the evening star, Gr. Vesper.]
lone n.: A lane. See Loanin.
vale n.: A tract of low ground, or of land between hills; a valley. [OE. val, F. val, L. vallis; perhaps akin to Gr. Avalanche, Vail to lower, Valley.]
streamy a.: Abounding with streams, or with running water; streamful.
dell n.: A small, retired valley; a ravine. [AS. del, akin to E. dale; cf. D. delle, del, low ground. See Dale.]
dimly adv.: In a dim or obscure manner; not brightly or clearly; with imperfect sight.
deform a.: Deformed; misshapen; shapeless; horrid. [L. deformis; de- + forma form: cf. OF. deforme, F. difforme. Cf. Difform.]
scarce a.: Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
sullen a.: Lonely; solitary; desolate. Wyclif (Job iii. 14). [OE. solein, solain, lonely, sullen; through Old French fr. (assumed) LL. solanus solitary, fr. L. solus alone. See Sole, a.]
wintry a.: Suitable to winter; resembling winter, or what belongs to winter; brumal; hyemal; cold; stormy; wintery. [AS. wintrig.]
lurid a.: Pale yellow; ghastly pale; wan; gloomy; dismal. [L. luridus.]
sadly adv.: Wearily; heavily; firmly.
perdition n.: Entire loss; utter destruction; ruin; esp., the utter loss of the soul, or of final happiness in a future state; future misery or eternal death. [F., fr. L. perditio, fr. perdere, perditum, to ruin, to lose; per (cf. Skr. para away) + -dere (only in comp.) to put; akin to Gr. do. See Do.]
cracked a.: Coarsely ground or broken; as, cracked wheat.
arcadian a.: Of or pertaining to Arcadia; pastoral; ideally rural; as, Arcadian simplicity or scenery. [L. Arcadius, Arcadicus, fr. Arcadia: cf. F. Arcadien, Arcadique.]
historic a.: Of or pertaining to history, or the record of past events; as, an historical poem; the historic page. [L. historicus, Gr. historique. See History.]
clime n.: A climate; a tract or region of the earth. See Climate. [L. clima. See Climate.]
obtrude v. t.: To thrust impertinently; to present without warrant or solicitation; as, to obtrude one's self upon a company. [L. obtrudere, obtrusum; ob (see Ob-) + trudere to thrust. See Threat.]
horrent a.: Standing erect, as bristles; covered with bristling points; bristled; bristling. [L. horrens, p.pr. of horrere to bristle. See Horror.]
swampy a.: Consisting of swamp; like a swamp; low, wet, and spongy; as, swampy land.
benumb v. t.: To make torpid; to deprive of sensation or sensibility; to stupefy; as, a hand or foot benumbed by cold. [OE. binomen, p. p. of binimen to take away, AS. beniman; pref. be + niman to take. See Numb, a., and cf. Benim.]
clang v. t.: To strike together so as to produce a ringing metallic sound. [L. clangere; akin to Gr. clank.]
plight v. t.: To weave; to braid; to fold; to plait. [OE. pliten; probably through Old French, fr. LL. plectare, L. plectere. See Plait, Ply.]
yonder adv.: At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
pensile a.: Hanging; suspended; pendent; pendulous. [L. pensilis, fr. pendere to hang: cf. OE. pensil. See Pendant.]
dwell v. i.: To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
vesper n.: The evening star; Hesper; Venus, when seen after sunset; hence, the evening. [L., the evening, the evening star, the west; akin to Gr. west. Cf. Hesperian, Vespers.]
isle v. t.: To cause to become an island, or like an island; to surround or encompass; to island.
hoar v. t.: To become moldy or musty. [AS. harian to grow gray.]
rapt n.: An ecstasy; a trance. Bp. Morton. [From F. rapt abduction, rape, L. raptus, fr. rapere to seize and carry off, to transport; or fr. E. rapt, a. See Rapt, a., and Rapid.]
rotundity n.: The state or quality of being rotu Smite flat the thick rotundity o'the world! [L. rotunditas: cf. F. rotondité.]
centre v. i.: To be placed in a center; to be central.
suasive a.: Having power to persuade; persuasive; suasory. South.
solace n.: Comfort in grief; alleviation of grief or anxiety; also, that which relieves in distress; that which cheers or consoles; relief. [OF. solas, ssoulaz, L. solacium, solatium, fr. solari to comfort, console. Cf. Console, v. t.]
guileless a.: Free from guile; artless.
mansion n.: A dwelling place, -- whether a part or whole of a house or other shelter. [OF. mansion, F. maison, fr. L. mansio a staying, remaining, a dwelling, habitation, fr. manere, mansum, to stay, dwell; akin to Gr. Manse, Manor, Menagerie, Men]
spurn v. t.: To drive back or away, as with the foot; to kick. [OE. spurnen to kick against, to stumble over, AS. spurnan to kick, offend; akin to spura spur, OS. & OHG. spurnan to kick, Icel. spyrna, L. spernere to despise,]
methinks v.: It seems to me; I think. See Me. [AS. þyncan to seem, me þynceedh, me þuhte, OE. me thinketh, me thoughte; akin to G. dünken to seem, denken to think, and E. think. See Me, and Think.]
forgiving a.: Disposed to forgive; inclined to overlook offenses; mild; merciful; compassionate; placable; as, a forgiving temper.
rebel a.: Pertaining to rebels or rebellion; acting in revolt; rebellious; as, rebel troops. [F. rebelle, fr. L. rebellis. See Rebel, v. t.]
guiltless a.: Free from guilt; innocent.
sire n.: A lord, master, or other person in authority. See Sir. [F. sire, originally, an older person. See Sir.]
unheard a.: Not heard; not perceived by the ear; as, words unheard by those present.
illume v. t.: To throw or spread light upon; to make light or bright; to illuminate; to illumine. [Cf. F. illuminer. See Illuminate.]
chaos n.: An empty, immeasurable space; a yawning chasm. [L. chaos chaos (in senses 1 & 2), Gr. Chasm.]
dispel v. t.: To drive away by scattering, or so to cause to vanish; to clear away; to banish; to dissipate; as, to dispel a cloud, vapors, cares, doubts, illusions. [L. dispellere; dis- + pellere to push, drive. See Pulse a beating.]
spectre n.: Something preternaturally visible; an apparition; a ghost; a phantom. [F. spectre, fr. L. spectrum an appearance, image, specter, fr. specere to look. See Spy, and cf. Spectrum.]
cimmerian a.: Pertaining to the Cimmerii, a fabulous people, said to have lived, in very ancient times, in profound and perpetual darkness. [L. Cimmerius.]
steed n.: A horse, especially a spirited horse for state of war; -- used chiefly in poetry or stately prose. [OE. stede, AS. steda a stud-horse, war horse, fr. stod a stud of breeding steeds; akin to G. stute a mare, Icel. stedda, sto, a stud. *163. See Stud of horses.]
strife n.: The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
waft v. t.: To give notice to by waving something; to wave the hand to; to beckon. [Prob. originally imp. & p. p. of wave, v. t. See Wave to waver.]
anthem v. t.: To celebrate with anthems.
jordan n.: A pot or vessel with a large neck, formerly used by physicians and alchemists. Halliwell. [Prob. fr. the river Jordan, and shortened fr. Jordan bottle a bottle of water from the Jordan, brought back by pilgrims.]
zion n.: A hill in Jerusalem, which, after the capture of that city by the Israelites, became the royal residence of David and his successors. [Heb. tsiy, originally, a hill.]
whither adv.: To what place; -- used interrogatively; as, whither goest thou [OE. whider. AS. hwider; akin to E. where, who; cf. Goth. hvadre whither. See Who, and cf. Hither, Thither.]
firmament n.: Fixed foundation; established basis. [L. firmamentum, fr. firmare to make firm: cf. F. firmament. See Firm, v. & a.]
homeward a.: Being in the direction of home; as, the homeward way.
lukewarm a.: Moderately warm; neither cold nor hot; tepid; not ardent; not zealous; cool; indifferent. [See Luke.]
earthward adv.: Toward the earth; -- opposed to heavenward or skyward.
reft n.: A chink; a rift. See Rift. Rom. of R.
joyless a.: Not having joy; not causing joy; unenjoyable.
wedded a.: Joined in wedlock; married.
cultured a.: Under culture; cultivated.
sapient a.: Wise; sage; discerning; -- often in irony or contempt. [L. sapiens, -entis, p.pr. of sapere to taste to have sense, to know. See Sage, a.]
spouse v. t.: To wed; to espouse. [See Espouse, and Spouse, n.]
friendless a.: Destitute of friends; forsaken. [AS. freóndleás.]
tremendous a.: Fitted to excite fear or terror; such as may astonish or terrify by its magnitude, force, or violence; terrible; dreadful; as, a tremendous wind; a tremendous shower; a tremendous shock or fall. [L. tremendus that is to be trembled at, fearful, fr. tremere to tremble. See Tremble.]
evermore adv.: During eternity; always; forever; for an indefinite period; at all times; -- often used substantively with for.
hast: , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
blasted a.: Blighted; withered.
precarious a.: Depending on the will or pleasure of another; held by courtesy; liable to be changed or lost at the pleasure of another; as, precarious privileges. [L. precarius obtained by begging or prayer, depending on request or on the will of another, fr. precari to pray, beg. See Pray.]
balmy a.: Having the qualities of balm; odoriferous; aromatic; assuaging; soothing; refreshing; mild.
pillowed a.: Provided with a pillow or pillows; having the head resting on, or as on, a pillow.
elate a.: Lifted up; raised; elevated. [L. elatus elevated, fig., elated, proud (the figure, perh., being borrowed from a prancing horse); e out + latus (used as p. p. of ferre to bear), for tlatus, a]
homeless a.: Destitute of a home. [AS.hamleas.]
mould n.: Crumbling, soft, friable earth; esp., earth containing the remains or constituents of organic matter, and suited to the growth of plants; soil. [OE. molde, AS. molde; akin to D. mul, G. mull, mulm, OHG. molt, molta, Icel. mold, Dan. muld, Sw. mull, Goth. mulda, and E. meal flour. See Meal, and cf. Mole a]
clod n.: A lump or mass, especially of earth, turf, or clay. [OE. clodde, latter form of clot. See Clot.]
bier n.: A handbarrow or portable frame on which a corpse is placed or borne to the grave. [OE. bæe, beere, AS. b, b; akin to D. baar, OHG. bara, G. bahre, Icel barar, Dbaare, L. feretrum, Gr. , from the same bear to produce. See 1st Bear, and cf. Barr]
speechless a.: Destitute or deprived of the faculty of speech.
sleepless a.: Having no sleep; wakeful.
impassioned p. p.: Actuated or characterized by passion or zeal; showing warmth of feeling; ardent; animated; excited; as, an impassioned orator or discourse.
quaint a.: Prudent; wise; hence, crafty; artful; wily. [OE. queint, queynte, coint, prudent, wise, cunning, pretty, odd, OF. cointe cultivated, amiable, agreeable, neat, fr. L. cognitus known, p. p. of cognoscere to ]
filial a.: Of or pertaining to a son or daughter; becoming to a child in relation to his parents; as, filial obedience. [L. filialis, fr. filius son, filia daughter; akin to e. female, feminine. Cf. Fitz.]
bade: A form of the pat tense of Bid.
tore n.: The dead grass that remains on mowing land in winter and spring. Mortimer. [Probably from the root of tear; cf. W. tór a break, cut, tóri to break, cut.]
plaint n.: Audible expression of sorrow; lamentation; complaint; hence, a mournful song; a lament. Chaucer."The Psalmist's mournful plaint." [OE. plainte, pleynte, F. plainte, fr. L. plangere, planctum (plancta, fem. p.p.), to beat, beat the breast, lament. Cf. Complain, Plague, Plangent.]
deathless a.: Not subject to death, destruction, or extinction; immortal; undying; imperishable; as, deathless beings; deathless fame.
hover n.: A cover; a shelter; a protection. Carew. C. Kingsley. [Etymol. doubtful.]
nameless a.: Without a name; not having been given a name; as, a nameless star.
piled a.: Having a pile or point; pointed. [From 2d Pile.]
childhood n.: The state of being a child; the time in which persons are children; the condition or time from infancy to puberty. [AS. cildhad; cild child + -had. See Child, and hood.]
shalt: 2d per. sing. of Shall.
falconer n.: A person who breeds or trains hawks for taking birds or game; one who follows the sport of fowling with hawks. Johnson. [OE. fauconer, OF. falconier, fauconier, F. fauconnier. See Falcon.]
canto n.: One of the chief divisions of a long poem; a book. [It. canto, fr. L. cantus singing, song. See Chant.]

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

Pleasures of Hope. Part II is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of Thomas Campbell, Project Gutenberg ebook #59788; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.

Cite as: Thomas Campbell, Pleasures of Hope. Part II, in The Pleasures of Hope, and Other Poems (1824), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #59788, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/campbell-poems/pleasures-of-hope-part-ii.html, id L24398.

Form and metre

Pleasures of Hope. Part II is 475 lines in 35 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 93% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).

See other poems in heroic couplets, other poems in iambic pentameter.

Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.

Rhyme words, stanza by stanza

The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.

1 AABBCC known^A · own^A · eye^B · sigh^B · frame^C · name^C
2 AABBCCDDEE avow^A · brow^A · failed^B · mailed^B · few^C · you^C · scene^D · between^D · meet^E · sweet^E
3 AABBCCDD wed^A · dead^A · alloy^B · joy^B · fears^C · endears^C · won^D · sun^D
4 AABBCCDDEEFFGG hour^A · bower^A · there^B · air^B · steep^C · deep^C · shade^D · played^D · tree^E · bee^E · day^F · stray^F · wild^G · smiled^G
5 AABBCCDDEE bring^A · wing^A · hand^B · command^B · adorn^C · scorn^C · review^D · dew^D · seem^E · dream^E
6 AABBCCDD--EE--FFGGHHIIJJ brood^A · mood^A · away^B · day^B · betrayed^C · shade^C · raise^D · days^D · shrine · repine · express^E · happiness^E · pour · hour · page^F · assuage^F · miss^G · bliss^G · race^H · grace^H · employ^I · joy^I · impart^J · heart^J
7 AABBCCDDEEFF arrayed^A · shade^A · piece^B · greece^B · grace^C · face^C · isles^D · smiles^D · refined^E · combined^E · poured^F · adored^F
8 AA--BBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKK gleans^A · scenes^A · thought · remote · hours^B · bowers^B · way^C · sway^C · shore^D · adore^D · appears^E · tears^E · sky^F · eye^F · deep^G · asleep^G · hail^H · vale^H · swell^I · dell^I · intervene^J · green^J · bound^K · around^K
9 AABBCC burns^A · returns^A · convey^B · away^B · while^C · smile^C
10 AABBCC--DD sweep^A · deep^A · deform^B · storm^B · repay^C · day^C · o'er · shore · hall^D · wall^D
11 AABBCC tone^A · own^A · mind^B · behind^B · began^C · man^C
12 AABBCCDDEEFFBBGGHH dome^A · home^A · hail^B · vale^B · high^C · sky^C · play^D · way^D · shower^E · hour^E · beguile^F · smile^F · tale^B · prevail^B · true^G · crew^G · save^H · wave^H
13 AABBCC steep^A · deep^A · wild^B · child^B · cried^C · died^C
14 AABBCC--DD sublimes^A · crimes^A · tear^B · dear^B · lord^C · sword^C · cry · agony · hurled^D · world^D
15 AABBCC steel^A · wheel^A · suit^B · lute^B · page^C · age^C
16 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHII obtrude^A · mood^A · rate^B · great^B · bore^C · shore^C · blast^D · last^D · benumb^E · drum^E · pang^F · clang^F · repose^G · froze^G · eye^H · sigh^H · plight^I · sight^I
17 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHGGIIJJKK sky^A · lie^A · way^B · day^B · sphere^C · year^C · tell^D · dwell^D · below^E · know^E · form^F · storm^F · entwined^G · wind^G · hoar^H · shore^H · mind^G · behind^G · train^I · main^I · began^J · ran^J · hurled^K · world^K
18 AABBCC sung^A · tongue^A · day^B · decay^B · spurn^C · return^C
19 AABBCCDD assuage^A · age^A · away^B · day^B · dear^C · severe^C · fill^D · still^D
20 AABBCCDD reconciled^A · child^A · boy^B · joy^B · cried^C · died^C · done^D · son^D
21 AABBCCDDEE burn^A · return^A · hour^B · power^B · fly^C · eye^C · convey^D · day^D · begin^E · within^E
22 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHH repose^A · woes^A · sigh^B · die^B · sun^C · run^C · spheres^D · ears^D · loud^E · cloud^E · trust^F · dust^F · trod^G · god^G · bliss^H · abyss^H
23 AABBCCDDEE--FFGG illume^A · tomb^A · roll^B · soul^B · dismay^C · day^C · close^D · woes^D · gaze^E · blaze^E · sky · melody · hail^F · vale^F · still^G · hill^G
24 AABBCCCCDD--EEFFGG dead^A · fled^A · goes^B · rose^B · burn^C · return^C · driven^C · heaven^C · far^D · car^D · remote · thought · run^E · sun^E · unfurled^F · world^F · trod^G · god^G
25 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHII-- expanse^A · chance^A · unrefined^B · mind^B · trust^C · dust^C · dismiss^D · bliss^D · mien^E · serene^E · day^F · clay^F · bower^G · flower^G · sire^H · fire^H · form^I · storm^I · o'er · evermore
26 AA--BBCC--DDEE--FFGGHHIIJJKKLLMMNNOOPPQQRRSS proclaim^A · fame^A · applause · cause · wing^B · thing^B · steep^C · deep^C · driven · heaven · there^D · despair^D · suit^E · fruit^E · rears · tears · dread^F · head^F · chain^G · remain^G · strife^H · life^H · power^I · hour^I · sweep^J · deep^J · smile^K · while^K · vain^L · brain^L · doom^M · tomb^M · began^N · man^N · start^O · heart^O · rolled^P · told^P · field^Q · revealed^Q · elate^R · fate^R · sin^S · in^S
27 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHH dismay^A · lay^A · vale^B · tale^B · alone^C · moan^C · crowds^D · clouds^D · child^E · mild^E · cast^F · last^F · hear^G · bier^G · drowned^H · ground^H
28 AA--BBCCDDEEFFGGHH mind^A · behind^A · been · between · appease^B · please^B · flee^C · sea^C · smile^D · while^D · employ^E · joy^E · hour^F · flower^F · heal^G · feel^G · create^H · fate^H
29 AABBCCDDEEFFGG rule^A · school^A · alone^B · tone^B · recalls^C · falls^C · appears^D · years^D · bestow^E · woe^E · adieu^F · you^F · pain^G · again^G
30 AABBCCDDEEFFGG drew^A · adieu^A · knell^B · farewell^B · see^C · thee^C · heart^D · part^D · low^E · woe^E · doom^F · gloom^F · sublime^G · time^G
31 --AABBCCDDEEFF ellenore · more · burn^A · return^A · fire^B · expire^B · decay^C · away^C · lie^D · die^D · frame^E · same^E · years^F · tears^F
32 AABBCC-- deep^A · weep^A · friend^B · attend^B · heart^C · part^C · nigh · agony
33 AABBCC--DD--EE bier^A · tear^A · child^B · piled^B · sees^C · breeze^C · o'er · ellenore · hide^D · allied^D · good · solitude · awake^E · sake^E
34 AABBCCDDEE be^A · thee^A · dwell^B · farewell^B · part^C · heart^C · seem^D · dream^D · view^E · new^E
35 AABBCCDD- sublime^A · time^A · fade^B · decayed^B · glow^C · below^C · smile^D · pile^D · iii

Scansion, line by line

Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.

Line	Syl.	Stress
In joyous youth, what soul hath never known	10	·/˘····/˘·
Thought, feeling, taste, harmonious to its own?	10	·/˘·˘/˘···
Who hath not paused while Beauty’s pensive eye	10	·····/˘/˘·
Asked from his heart the homage of a sigh?	10	·····/˘···
Who hath not owned, with rapture-smitten frame,	10	·····/˘/˘·
The power of grace, the magic of a name?	10	·/···/˘···
There be, perhaps, who barren hearts avow,	10	··˘/·/˘·˘/
Cold as the rocks on Torneo’s hoary brow;	10	·······/˘·
There be, whose loveless wisdom never failed,	10	···/˘/˘/˘·
In self-adoring pride securely mailed:—	10	··˘/˘·˘/˘·
But, triumph not, ye peace-enamoured few!	10	·/˘···˘/˘·
Fire, Nature, Genius, never dwelt with you!	10	//˘/˘/˘···
For you no fancy consecrates the scene	10	···/˘/˘···
Where rapture uttered vows, and wept between;	10	·/˘/˘·····
’Tis yours, unmoved, to sever and to meet;	10	··˘/·/˘···
No pledge is sacred, and no home is sweet!	10	···/˘·····
Who that would ask a heart to dulness wed,	10	··········
The waveless calm, the slumber of the dead?	10	·/˘··/˘···
No; the wild bliss of Nature needs alloy,	10	·····/˘·/·
And fear and sorrow fan the fire of joy!	10	···/˘··/··
And say, without our hopes, without our fears,	10	····/···/·
Without the home that plighted love endears,	10	·····/˘·˘/
Without the smile from partial beauty won,	10	·····/˘/˘·
Oh! what were man?—a world without a sun.	10	··········
Till Hymen brought his love-delighted hour,	11	·/˘···˘/˘/˘
There dwelt no joy in Eden’s rosy bower!	11	·····/˘/˘/˘
In vain the viewless seraph lingering there,	10	···/˘/˘/˘·
At starry midnight charmed the silent air:	10	·/˘/···/˘·
In vain the wild bird carolled on the steep,	10	·····/˘···
To hail the sun, slow wheeling from the deep;	10	·····/˘···
In vain, to soothe, the solitary shade,	10	·····/˘·˘·
Aërial notes in mingling measure played;	10	····/˘˘/˘·
The summer wind that shook the spangled tree,	10	·/˘····/˘·
The whispering wave, the murmur of the bee;—	10	·/˘··/˘···
Still slowly passed the melancholy day,	10	·/˘··/˘·˘·
And still the stranger wist not where to stray.	10	···/˘·····
The world was sad!—the garden was a wild!	10	·····/˘···
And man, the hermit, sighed—till woman smiled!	10	···/˘··/˘·
True, the sad power to generous hearts may bring	10	···/·/˘···
Delirious anguish on his fiery wing;	10	˘/˘/˘··/˘·
Barred from delight by Fate’s untimely hand,	10	··˘/··˘/˘·
By wealthless lot, or pitiless command;	10	·····/˘˘˘/
Or doomed to gaze on beauties that adorn	10	·····/˘·˘/
The smile of triumph or the frown of scorn;	10	···/˘·····
While Memory watches o’er the sad review,	10	·/˘/˘····/
Of joys that faded like the morning dew;	10	···/˘··/˘·
Peace may depart—and life and nature seem	10	··˘/···/˘·
A barren path, a wildness, and a dream!	10	·/˘··/˘···
But can the noble mind for ever brood,	10	···/˘··/˘·
The willing victim of a weary mood,	10	·/˘/˘··/˘·
On heartless cares that squander life away,	10	·/˘··/˘·˘/
And cloud young Genius brightening into day?—	10	···/˘/˘···
Shame to the coward thought that e’er betrayed	10	···/˘···˘/
The noon of manhood to a myrtle shade!—	10	···/···/˘·
If HOPE’S creative spirit cannot raise	10	··˘/˘/˘/˘·
One trophy sacred to thy future days,	10	·/˘/˘··/˘·
Scorn the dull crowd that haunt the gloomy shrine	10	·······/˘·
Of hopeless love to murmur and repine!	10	·/˘··/˘·˘/
But, should a sigh of milder mood express	10	·····/˘·˘/
Thy heart-warm wishes, true to happiness,	10	···/˘··/˘˘
Should Heaven’s fair harbinger delight to pour	10	·/˘·/˘˘/··
Her blissful visions on thy pensive hour,	11	·/˘/˘··/˘/˘
No tear to blot thy memory’s pictured page	10	·····/˘/˘·
No fears but such as fancy can assuage;	10	·····/˘·˘/
Though thy wild heart some hapless hour may miss	10	·····/˘/··
The peaceful tenor of unvaried bliss,	9	·/˘/˘····
(For love pursues an ever-devious race,	10	··˘/·//˘˘·
True to the winding lineaments of grace;)	10	···/˘·····
Yet still may hope her talisman employ	10	·····/˘˘˘/
To snatch from Heaven anticipated joy,	10	···/˘/˘·˘·
And all her kindred energies impart	10	···/˘/˘˘˘/
That burn the brightest in the purest heart.	10	···/˘··/˘·
When first the Rhodian’s mimic art arrayed	10	·····/˘·˘/
The queen of Beauty in her Cyprian shade,	10	···/˘··/˘·
The happy master mingled on his piece	10	·/˘/˘/˘···
Each look that charmed him in the fair of Greece.	10	··········
To faultless nature true, he stole a grace	10	·/˘/˘·····
From every finer form and sweeter face;	10	·/˘/˘··/˘·
And as he sojourned on the Ægean isles,	10	···/˘˘····
Woo’d all their love, and treasured all their smiles;	10	·····/˘···
Then glowed the tints, pure, precious, and refined,	10	·····/˘·˘/
And mortal charms seemed heavenly when combined	10	·/˘··/˘·˘/
Love on the picture smiled! Expression poured	10	···/˘·˘/˘·
Her mingling spirit there—and Greece adored!	10	·/˘˘/···˘/
So thy fair hand, enamoured Fancy! gleans	10	····˘/˘/˘·
The treasured pictures of a thousand scenes;	10	·/˘/˘··/˘·
Thy pencil traces on the lover’s thought	10	·/˘/˘··/˘·
Some cottage-home, from towns and toil remote,	10	·/˘·····˘/
Where love and lore may claim alternate hours,	11	······/˘˘/˘
With Peace embosom’d in Idalian bowers!	11	······˘/˘˘/
Remote from busy Life’s bewildered way,	10	˘/·/˘·˘/˘·
O’er all his heart shall Taste and Beauty sway!	10	·······/˘·
Free on the sunny slope, or winding shore,	10	···/˘··/˘·
With hermit steps to wander and adore!	10	·/˘··/˘·˘/
There shall he love, when genial morn appears,	10	·····/˘·˘/
Like pensive Beauty smiling in her tears,	10	·/˘/˘/˘···
To watch the brightening roses of the sky,	10	···/˘/˘···
And muse on Nature with a poet’s eye!—	10	···/˘··/˘·
And when the sun’s last splendour lights the deep,	10	·····/˘···
The woods and waves, and murmuring winds asleep;	10	·····/˘·˘/
When fairy harps the Hesperian planet hail,	12	·/˘··˘/˘˘/˘·
And the lone cuckoo sighs along the vale,	10	···/··˘/··
His path shall be where streamy mountains swell	10	·····/˘/˘·
Their shadowy grandeur o’er the narrow dell,	10	·/˘˘/··/˘·
Where mouldering piles and forests intervene,	10	·/˘··/˘·˘/
Mingling with darker tints the living green:	10	/˘·/˘··/˘·
No circling hills his ravished eye to bound,	10	·/˘·······
Heaven, Earth, and Ocean, blazing all around.	10	/··/˘/˘···
The moon is up—the watch-tower dimly burns—	10	······//˘·
And down the vale his sober step returns;	10	·····/˘·˘/
But pauses oft, as winding rocks convey	10	·/˘··/˘·˘/
The still sweet fall of music far away;	10	·····/˘·˘/
And oft he lingers from his home a while	10	···/˘·····
To watch the dying notes!—and start, and smile!	10	···/˘·····
Let Winter come! let polar spirits sweep	10	·/˘··/˘/˘·
The darkening world, and tempest-troubled deep!	10	·/˘··/˘/˘·
Though boundless snows the withered heath deform	10	·/˘··/˘··/
And the dim sun scarce wanders through the storm,	10	·····/˘···
Yet shall the smile of social love repay,	10	·····/˘·˘/
With mental light, the melancholy day!	10	·/˘··/˘·˘·
And, when its short and sullen noon is o’er,	10	·····/˘···
The ice-chained waters slumbering on the shore,	10	···/˘/˘···
How bright the faggots in his little hall	10	···/˘··/˘·
Blaze on the hearth, and warm the pictured wall!	10	·······/˘·
How blest he names, in Love’s familiar tone,	10	······˘/˘·
The kind, fair friend, by nature marked his own;	10	·····/˘···
And, in the waveless mirror of his mind,	10	···/˘/˘···
Views the fleet years of pleasure left behind,	10	·····/˘···
Since Anna’s empire o’er his heart began!	10	·/˘/˘···˘/
Since first he called her his before the holy man!	12	·········/˘·
Trim the gay taper in his rustic dome,	10	···/˘··/˘·
And light the wintry paradise of home!	10	···/˘/˘···
And let the half-uncurtained window hail	10	·······/˘·
Some way-worn man benighted in the vale!	10	····˘/˘···
Now, while the moaning night-wind rages high,	10	···/˘··/˘·
As sweep the shot-stars down the troubled sky,	10	·······/˘·
While fiery hosts in Heaven’s wide circle play,	11	·/˘··/˘·/˘·
And bathe in lurid light the milky-way,	10	···/˘··/˘·
Safe from the storm, the meteor, and the shower,	10	·····/˘··/
Some pleasing page shall charm the solemn hour—	11	·/˘····/˘/˘
With pathos shall command, with wit beguile,	10	·/˘·˘/··˘/
A generous tear of anguish, or a smile—	10	·/˘··/˘···
Thy woes, Arion! and thy simple tale,	9	······/˘·
O’er all the heart shall triumph and prevail!	10	·····/˘·˘/
Charmed as they read the verse too sadly true,	10	·······/˘·
How gallant Albert, and his weary crew,	10	·/˘/˘··/˘·
Heaved all their guns, their foundering bark to save,	10	·····/˘···
And toiled—and shrieked—and perished on the wave!	10	·····/˘···
Yes, at the dead of night, by Lonna’s steep,	10	··········
The seaman’s cry was heard along the deep;	10	·/˘···˘/··
There, on his funeral waters, dark and wild,	10	···/˘/˘···
The dying father blessed his darling child!	10	·/˘/˘··/˘·
“Oh! Mercy, shield her innocence,” he cried,	10	·/˘··/˘˘··
Spent on the prayer his bursting heart, and died!	10	·····/˘···
Or they will learn how generous worth sublimes	10	·····/˘·˘/
The robber Moor, and pleads for all his crimes!	10	·/˘·······
How poor Amelia kissed, with many a tear,	10	··˘/˘··/··
His hand blood-stained, but ever, ever dear!	10	·····/˘/˘·
Hung on the tortured bosom of her lord,	10	···/˘/˘···
And wept and prayed perdition from his sword!	10	····˘/˘···
Nor sought in vain! at that heart-piercing cry	10	·······/˘·
The strings of Nature cracked with agony!	10	···/˘··/˘˘
He, with delirious laugh, the dagger hurled,	10	··˘/˘··/˘·
And burst the ties that bound him to the world!	10	··········
Turn from his dying words, that smite with steel	10	···/˘·····
The shuddering thoughts, or wind them on the wheel—	10	·/˘·······
Turn to the gentler melodies that suit	10	···/˘/˘˘··
Thalia’s harp, or Pan’s Arcadian lute;	10	/˘····/˘˘·
Or, down the stream of Truth’s historic page,	10	······˘/˘·
From clime to clime descend, from age to age!	10	····˘/····
Yet there, perhaps, may darker scenes obtrude	10	··˘/·/˘·˘/
Than Fancy fashions in her wildest mood;	10	·/˘/˘··/˘·
There shall he pause with horrent brow, to rate	10	·····/˘···
What millions died—that Cæsar might be great!	9	·/˘······
Or learn the fate that bleeding thousands bore,	10	·····/˘/˘·
Marched by their Charles to Dneiper’s swampy shore;	10	·······/˘·
Faint in his wounds, and shivering in the blast,	10	·····/˘···
The Swedish soldier sunk—and groaned his last!	10	·/˘/˘·····
File after file the stormy showers benumb,	10	·····/˘/˘/
Freeze every standard-sheet, and hush the drum!	10	·/˘/˘·····
Horseman and horse confessed the bitter pang,	10	/˘··˘/·/˘·
And arms and warriors fell with hollow clang!	10	···/˘··/˘·
Yet, ere he sunk in Nature’s last repose,	10	·····/˘·˘/
Ere life’s warm torrent to the fountain froze,	10	···/˘··/˘·
The dying man to Sweden turned his eye,	10	·/˘··/˘···
Thought of his home, and closed it with a sigh!	10	··········
Imperial Pride looked sullen on his plight,	10	˘/˘··/˘···
And Charles beheld—nor shuddered at the sight!	10	··˘/·/˘···
Above, below, in Ocean, Earth, and Sky,	10	·····/˘···
Thy fairy worlds, Imagination, lie,	10	·/˘·˘·˘/˘·
And HOPE attends, companion of the way,	10	··˘/˘/˘···
Thy dream by night, thy visions of the day!	10	·····/˘···
In yonder pensile orb, and every sphere	10	·/˘/˘··/˘·
That gems the starry girdle of the year;	10	···/˘/˘···
In those unmeasured worlds, she bids thee tell,	10	··········
Pure from their God, created millions dwell,	10	····˘/˘/˘·
Whose names and natures, unrevealed below,	10	···/˘·····
We yet shall learn, and wonder as we know;	10	·····/˘···
For, as Iona’s saint, a giant form,	10	··˘/˘··/˘·
Throned on her towers, conversing with the storm	10	···/˘/˘···
(When o’er each Runic altar, weed-entwined,	10	···/˘/˘·˘/
The vesper clock tolls mournful to the wind,)	10	·/˘··/˘···
Counts every wave-worn isle, and mountain hoar	10	·/˘····/˘·
From Kilda to the green Ierne’s shore;	8	········
So, when thy pure and renovated mind	10	·····/˘·˘·
This perishable dust hath left behind,	10	·/˘˘˘·····
Thy seraph eye shall count the starry train,	10	·/˘····/˘·
Like distant isles embosomed in the main;	10	·/˘·······
Rapt to the shrine where motion first began,	10	·····/˘·˘/
And light and life in mingling torrent ran;	10	·····/˘/˘·
From whence each bright rotundity was hurled,	10	····˘/˘˘··
The throne of God,—the centre of the world!	10	·····/˘···
Oh! vainly wise, the moral Muse hath sung	10	·/˘··/˘···
That suasive HOPE hath but a Syren tongue!	10	·/˘····/˘·
True; she may sport with life’s untutored day,	10	··········
Nor heed the solace of its last decay,	10	···/˘···˘/
The guileless heart her happy mansion spurn,	10	·/˘··/˘/˘·
And part, like Ajut—never to return!	10	·····/˘·˘/
But yet, methinks, when Wisdom shall assuage	10	··˘/·/˘·˘/
The grief and passions of our greener age,	10	···/˘·//˘·
Though dull the close of life, and far away	10	········˘/
Each flower that hailed the dawning of the day;	10	·/···/˘···
Yet o’er her lovely hopes, that once were dear,	10	···/˘·····
The time-taught spirit, pensive, not severe,	10	···/˘/˘·˘/
With milder griefs her aged eye shall fill,	9	·/˘······
And weep their falsehood, though she love them still!	10	···/······
Thus, with forgiving tears, and reconciled,	10	··˘/˘··/˘·
The king of Judah mourned his rebel child!	10	···/˘··/˘·
Musing on days, when yet the guiltless boy	10	/˘·····/˘·
Smiled on his sire, and filled his heart with joy!	10	···/······
My Absalom! the voice of Nature cried:	10	·/˘˘···/˘·
Oh! that for thee thy father could have died!	10	·····/˘···
For bloody was the deed, and rashly done,	10	·/˘····/˘·
That slew my Absalom!—my son!—my son!	10	···/˘˘····
Unfading HOPE! when life’s last embers burn,	10	·······/˘·
When soul to soul, and dust to dust return!	10	········˘/
Heaven to thy charge resigns the awful hour!	11	/···˘/·/˘/˘
Oh! then, thy kingdom comes! Immortal Power!	11	···/˘·˘/˘/˘
What though each spark of earth-born rapture fly	10	·······/˘·
The quivering lip, pale cheek, and closing eye!	10	·/˘····/˘·
Bright to the soul thy seraph hands convey	10	·····/˘·˘/
The morning dream of life’s eternal day—	10	·/˘···˘/˘·
Then, then, the triumph and the trance begin,	10	···/˘···˘/
And all the phœnix spirit burns within!	10	·····/˘···
Oh! deep-enchanting prelude to repose,	10	··˘/˘/··˘/
The dawn of bliss, the twilight of our woes!	10	·····/··/·
Yet half I hear the panting spirit sigh,	10	·····/˘/˘·
It is a dread and awful thing to die!	10	·····/˘···
Mysterious worlds, untravelled by the sun!	10	˘/˘·······
Where Time’s far-wandering tide has never run,	10	···/˘˘··/·
From your unfathomed shades, and viewless spheres,	10	·······/˘·
A warning comes, unheard by other ears.	10	·/˘·˘/·/˘·
’Tis Heaven’s commanding trumpet, long and loud,	11	·/˘˘/˘/˘···
Like Sinai’s thunder, pealing from the cloud!	10	·/·/˘/˘···
While Nature hears, with terror-mingled trust,	10	·/˘··/˘/˘·
The shock that hurls her fabric to the dust;	10	·····/˘···
And, like the trembling Hebrew, when he trod	10	···/˘/˘···
The roaring waves, and call’d upon his God,	10	·/˘·······
With mortal terrors clouds immortal bliss,	10	·/˘/˘·˘/˘·
And shrieks, and hovers o’er the dark abyss!	10	···/˘···˘/
Daughter of Faith, awake, arise, illume	10	/˘··˘/˘/˘/
The dread unknown, the chaos of the tomb;	10	··˘/·/˘···
Melt, and dispel, ye spectre-doubts, that roll	10	··˘/·/˘···
Cimmerian darkness on the parting soul!	11	˘/˘˘/˘··/˘·
Fly, like the moon-eyed herald of dismay,	10	·····/˘·˘/
Chased on his night-steed by the star of day.	10	··········
The strife is o’er—the pangs of Nature close,	10	·······/˘·
And life’s last rapture triumphs o’er her woes.	10	···/˘/˘···
Hark! as the spirit eyes, with eagle gaze,	10	···/˘··/˘·
The noon of Heaven undazzled by the blaze,	10	···/˘·····
On heavenly winds that waft her to the sky,	10	·/˘·······
Float the sweet tones of star-born melody;	10	·······/˘˘
Wild as that hallowed anthem sent to hail	10	···/˘/˘···
Bethlehem’s shepherds in the lonely vale,	10	/˘·/˘··/˘·
When Jordan hushed his waves, and midnight still	10	·/˘····/··
Watched on the holy towers of Zion hill!	10	···/˘/·/˘·
Soul of the just! companion of the dead!	10	····˘/˘···
Where is thy home, and whither art thou fled?	10	·····/˘···
Back to its heavenly source thy being goes,	10	···/˘˘··/·
Swift as the comet wheels to whence he rose;	10	···/˘·····
Doomed on his airy path a while to burn,	10	···/˘·····
And doomed, like thee, to travel, and return.—	10	·····/˘·˘/
Hark! from the world’s exploding centre driven,	11	····˘/˘/˘/˘
With sounds that shook the firmament of Heaven,	11	·····/˘˘·/˘
Careers the fiery giant, fast and far,	10	˘/·/˘/˘···
On bickering wheels, and adamantine car;	10	·/˘·······
From planet whirled to planet more remote,	10	·/˘··/˘·˘/
He visits realms beyond the reach of thought,	10	·/˘·······
But wheeling homeward, when his course is run,	10	·/˘/˘·····
Curbs the red yoke, and mingles with the sun!	10	·····/˘···
So hath the traveller of earth unfurled	10	···/˘˘··˘/
Her trembling wings, emerging from the world;	10	·/˘·˘/˘···
And o’er the path by mortal never trod,	10	·····/˘/˘·
Sprung to her source, the bosom of her God!	10	·····/˘···
Oh! lives there, Heaven! beneath thy dread expanse,	10	···/····˘/
One hopeless, dark idolater of Chance,	10	·/˘·˘/˘˘··
Content to feed, with pleasures unrefined,	10	˘/···/˘·˘/
The lukewarm passions of a lowly mind;	10	·///˘··/˘·
Who, mouldering earthward, ’reft of every trust,	10	·/˘····/˘·
In joyless union wedded to the dust,	10	·/˘/˘/˘···
Could all his parting energy dismiss,	10	···/˘/˘˘˘/
And call this barren world sufficient bliss?—	10	···/˘·˘/˘·
There live, alas! of heaven-directed mien,	10	··˘/·/˘/˘·
Of cultured soul, and sapient eye serene,	11	·/˘··/˘˘·˘/
Who hail thee, Man! the pilgrim of a day,	10	·····/˘···
Spouse of the worm, and brother of the clay,	10	·····/˘···
Frail as the leaf in Autumn’s yellow bower,	11	·····/˘/˘/˘
Dust in the wind, or dew upon the flower;	11	·········/˘
A friendless slave, a child without a sire,	11	·/˘······/˘
Whose mortal life and momentary fire,	11	·/˘··/˘·˘/˘
Lights to the grave his chance-created form,	10	······˘/˘·
As ocean-wrecks illuminate the storm;	10	·/˘·˘/˘˘··
And, when the gun’s tremendous flash is o’er,	10	····˘/˘···
To night and silence sink for evermore!—	10	···/˘··/˘·
Are these the pompous tidings ye proclaim,	10	···/˘/˘·˘/
Lights of the world, and demi-gods of Fame?	10	·····/˘···
Is this your triumph—this your proud applause,	10	···/˘···˘/
Children of Truth, and champions of her cause?	10	/˘···/˘···
For this hath Science searched, on weary wing,	10	···/˘··/˘·
By shore and sea—each mute and living thing!	10	·······/˘·
Launched with Iberia’s pilot from the steep,	10	··˘/˘/˘···
To worlds unknown, and isles beyond the deep?	10	··˘/······
Or round the cope her living chariot driven,	10	·····/˘/˘/
And wheeled in triumph through the signs of Heaven?	11	···/˘····/˘
Oh! star-eyed Science, hast thou wandered there,	10	···/˘··/˘·
To waft us home the message of despair?	10	·····/˘·˘/
Then bind the palm, thy sage’s brow to suit,	10	·····/˘···
Of blasted leaf, and death-distilling fruit!	10	·/˘···˘/˘·
Ah me! the laurelled wreath that Murder rears,	10	···/˘··/˘·
Blood-nursed, and watered by the widow’s tears,	10	···/˘··/˘·
Seems not so foul, so tainted, and so dread,	10	·····/˘···
As waves the night-shade round the sceptic’s head.	10	··········
What is the bigot’s torch, the tyrant’s chain?	10	···/˘··/˘·
I smile on death, if heavenward HOPE remain!	11	·····/˘˘·˘/
But, if the warring winds of Nature’s strife	10	···/˘··/˘·
Be all the faithless charter of my life,	10	···/˘/˘···
If Chance awaked, inexorable power,	11	··˘/·/˘˘˘/˘
This frail and feverish being of an hour;	11	···/˘˘/··/˘
Doomed o’er the world’s precarious scene to sweep,	10	····˘/˘···
Swift as the tempest travels on the deep,	10	···/˘/˘···
To know Delight but by her parting smile,	10	··˘/···/˘·
And toil, and wish, and weep a little while;	10	·······/˘·
Then melt, ye elements, that formed in vain	10	···/˘˘····
This troubled pulse, and visionary brain!	10	·/˘··/˘·˘·
Fade, ye wild flowers, memorials of my doom,	10	···/˘/˘···
And sink, ye stars, that light me to the tomb!	10	··········
Truth, ever lovely,—since the world began,	10	·/˘/˘···˘/
The foe of tyrants, and the friend of man,—	10	···/˘·····
How can thy words from balmy slumber start	10	·····/˘/˘·
Reposing Virtue, pillowed on the heart!	10	/·˘/˘/˘···
Yet, if thy voice the note of thunder rolled,	10	·······/˘·
And that were true which Nature never told,	10	·····/˘/˘·
Let Wisdom smile not on her conquered field;	10	·/˘····/˘·
No rapture dawns, no treasure is revealed!	10	·/˘··/˘·˘/
Oh! let her read, nor loudly, nor elate,	10	·····/˘·˘/
The doom that bars us from a better fate;	10	·······/˘·
But, sad as angels for the good man’s sin,	10	···/˘·····
Weep to record, and blush to give it in!	10	··˘/······
And well may Doubt, the mother of Dismay,	10	·····/˘·˘/
Pause at her martyr’s tomb, and read the lay.	10	···/˘·····
Down by the wilds of yon deserted vale	10	······˘/˘·
It darkly hints a melancholy tale!	10	·/˘··/˘·˘·
There, as the homeless madman sits alone,	10	···/˘/··˘/
In hollow winds he hears a spirit moan!	10	·/˘····/˘·
And there, they say, a wizard orgie crowds,	10	·····/˘···
When the Moon lights her watch-tower in the clouds.	10	······/···
Poor lost Alonzo! Fate’s neglected child!	10	··˘/˘·˘/˘·
Mild be the doom of Heaven—as thou wert mild!	10	·····/····
For oh! thy heart in holy mould was cast,	10	·····/˘···
And all thy deeds were blameless, but the last.	10	·····/˘···
Poor lost Alonzo! still I seem to hear	10	··˘/˘·····
The clod that struck thy hollow-sounding bier!	10	·····/˘/˘·
When Friendship paid, in speechless sorrow drowned,	10	·/˘··/˘/˘·
Thy midnight rites, but not on hallowed ground!	10	·/·····/˘·
Cease, every joy, to glimmer on my mind,	10	·/˘··/˘···
But leave—oh! leave the light of HOPE behind!	10	··········
What though my wingèd hours of bliss have been,	10	····/˘····
Like angel-visits, few and far between,	10	·/˘/˘·····
Her musing mood shall every pang appease,	10	·/˘··/˘·˘/
And charm—when pleasures lose the power to please!	10	···/˘··/··
Yes; let each rapture, dear to Nature, flee:	10	···/˘··/˘·
Close not the light of Fortune’s stormy sea—	10	·····/˘/˘·
Mirth, Music, Friendship, Love’s propitious smile,	10	·/˘/˘·˘/˘·
Chase every care, and charm a little while,	10	·/˘····/˘·
Ecstatic throbs the fluttering heart employ,	10	˘/˘··/˘·˘/
And all her strings are harmonised to joy!—	10	·····/˘···
But why so short is Love’s delighted hour?	11	······˘/˘/˘
Why fades the dew on Beauty’s sweetest flower?	11	·····/˘/˘/˘
Why can no hymnèd charm of music heal	9	······/˘·
The sleepless woes impassioned spirits feel?	10	·/˘·˘/˘/˘·
Can Fancy’s fairy hands no veil create,	10	·/˘/˘···˘/
To hide the sad realities of fate?—	10	····˘/˘˘··
No! not the quaint remark, the sapient rule,	11	····˘/·/˘˘·
Nor all the pride of Wisdom’s worldly school,	10	·····/˘/˘·
Have power to soothe, unaided and alone,	10	·/··˘/˘·˘/
The heart that vibrates to a feeling tone!	10	···/˘··/˘·
When stepdame Nature every bliss recalls,	10	·/˘/˘/˘·˘/
Fleet as the meteor o’er the desert falls;	10	···/˘··/˘·
When, ’reft of all, yon widowed sire appears	10	·····/˘/˘/
A lonely hermit in the vale of years;	10	·/˘/˘·····

The first 400 of 475 lines; the reader marks them all.

The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.

More by Thomas Campbell

Poems The Pleasures of Hope, and Other Poems