Page:The Excursion, Wordsworth, 1814.djvu/137

111 Yes," said I, "shall the immunities to which

She doth lay claim, the precepts she bestows,

Establish sounder titles of esteem

For Her, who (all too timid and reserved

For onset, for resistance too inert,

Too weak for suffering, and for hope too tame)

Did place, in flowery Gardens curtained round

With world-excluding groves, the Brotherhood

Of soft Epicureans, taught—if they

The ends of being would secure, and win

The crown of wisdom—to yield up their souls

To a voluptuous unconcern, preferring

Tranquillity to all things. Or is She,"

I cried, "more worthy of regard, the Power,

Who, for the sake of sterner quiet, closed

The Stoic's heart against the vain approach

Of admiration, and all sense of joy?"

His Countenance gave notice that my zeal

Accorded little with his present mind;

I ceased, and he resumed.—"Ah! gentle Sir,

Slight, if you will, the means; but spare to slight

The end of those, who did, by system, rank,