Page:The Excursion, Wordsworth, 1814.djvu/162

136 On nearer view, a motley spectacle

Appeared, of high pretensions—unreproved

But by the obstreperous voice of higher still;

Big Passions strutting on a petty stage;

Which a detached Spectator may regard

Not unamused.—But ridicule demands

Quick change of objects; and, to laugh alone,

In woods and wilds, or any lonely place,

At a composing distance from the haunts

Of strife and folly,—though it be a treat

As choice as musing Leisure can bestow;

Yet, in the very centre of the crowd

To keep the secret of a poignant scorn,

May suit an airy Demon; but, of all

Unsocial courses, 'tis the one least fit

For the gross spirit of Mankind,—the one

That soonest fails to please, and quickliest turns

Into vexation.—Let us, then, I said,

Leave this unknit Republic to the scourge

Of its own passions; and to Regions haste,

Whose shades have never felt the encroaching axe,

Or soil endured a transfer in the mart

Of dire rapacity. There, Man abides,