Page:The Excursion, Wordsworth, 1814.djvu/209

183 Which the warm Sun solicited—and Earth

Bestowed; were gladsome,—and their moral sense

They fortified with reverence for the Gods;

And they had hopes that overstepped the Grave.

Now, shall our great Discoverers," he exclaimed,

Raising his voice triumphantly, "obtain

From Sense and Reason less than These obtained,

Though far misled? Shall Men for whom our Age

Unbaffled powers of vision hath prepared,

To explore the world without and world within,

Be joyless as the blind? Ambitious Souls—

Whom Earth, at this late season, hath produced

To regulate the moving spheres, and weigh

The planets in the hollow of their hand;

And They who rather dive than soar, whose pains

Have solved the elements, or analysed

The thinking principle—shall They in fact

Prove a degraded Race? and what avails

Renown, if their presumption make them such?

Oh! there is laughter at their work in Heaven!

Enquire of ancient Wisdom; go, demand

Of mighty Nature, if 'twas ever meant