Judge not! 'Tis past thy ken;
Strangely the web of destiny is ordered;
In highest-natured men
The loftiest wit with depths of madness bordered!
Judge not! The taper's light
Is too small measure for volcanoes' burning;
This constant, feebly-bright, —
That sudden, with wild flame, all barriers spurning.
Judge not! Beyond the grave
We shall know better the immense, great trial;
This man submits, a slave;
The other fights, and dies, in fierce denial.
But He who views the strife,
Calm from without, more wise than those within it,
Counts the long "Yes" of life,
Not the one "No," the single faithless minute.
