Page:The Excursion, Wordsworth, 1814.djvu/215

189 In Man's celestial Spirit; Virtue thus

Sets forth and magnifies herself; thus feeds

A calm, a beautiful, and silent fire,

From the incumbrances of mortal life,

From error, disappointment,—nay from guilt;

And sometimes, so relenting Justice wills,

From palpable oppressions of Despair."

The Solitary by these words was touched

With manifest emotion, and exclaimed,

"But how begin? and whence?—The Mind is free,

Resolve—the haughty Moralist would say,

This single act is all that we demand.

Alas! such wisdom bids a Creature fly

Whose very sorrow is, that time hath shorn

His natural wings!—To Friendship let him turn

For succour; but perhaps he sits alone

On stormy waters, in a little Boat

That holds but him, and can contain no more!

Religion tells of amity sublime

Which no condition can preclude; of One

Who sees all suffering, comprehends all wants,

All weakness fathoms, can supply all needs: