Page:The Excursion, Wordsworth, 1814.djvu/223

197 The burthen of existence. Science then

Shall be a precious Visitant; and then,

And only then, be worthy of her name.

For then her Heart shall kindle; her dull Eye,

Dull and inanimate, no more shall hang

Chained to its object in brute slavery;

But taught with patient interest to watch

The processes of things, and serve the cause

Of order and distinctness, not for this

Shall it forget that its most noble use,

Its most illustrious province, must be found

In furnishing clear guidance, a support

Not treacherous, to the Mind's excursive Power.

—So build we up the Being that we are;

Thus deeply drinking-in the Soul of Things

We shall be wise perforce; and while inspired

By choice, and conscious that the Will is free,

Unswerving shall we move, as if impelled

By strict necessity, along the path

Of order and of good. Whate'er we see,

Whate'er we feel, by agency direct

Or indirect shall tend to feed and nurse