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Orion.
[Book III.
"And dost thou of Tomorrow also think?"
Whereat—as one dismayed by sudden thought
Of many crowding things that call him thence,—
Time, with bent brows, went hurrying on his way.
Whereat—as one dismayed by sudden thought
Of many crowding things that call him thence,—
Time, with bent brows, went hurrying on his way.
Slow towards his cave the Great Unmoved repaired,
And, with his back against the rock, sat down
Outside, half smiling in the pleasant air;
And in the lonely silence of the place,
He thus, at length, discoursed unto himself.
And, with his back against the rock, sat down
Outside, half smiling in the pleasant air;
And in the lonely silence of the place,
He thus, at length, discoursed unto himself.
"Orion, ever active and at work,
Honest and skilful, not to be surpassed,
Brought misery on himself and those he loved;
Caused his companions' death,—and now hath found
At Artemis' hand, his own. So fares it ever
With the world's builder. He, from wall to beam,
From pillar to roof, from shade to corporal form;
From the first vague Thought to the Temple vast,
A ceaseless contest with the crowd endures,
For whom he labours. Why then should we move?
Our wisdom cannot change whate'er's decreed,
Nor e'en the acts or thoughts of brainless men.
Why then be moved? Best reason is most vain.
Honest and skilful, not to be surpassed,
Brought misery on himself and those he loved;
Caused his companions' death,—and now hath found
At Artemis' hand, his own. So fares it ever
With the world's builder. He, from wall to beam,
From pillar to roof, from shade to corporal form;
From the first vague Thought to the Temple vast,
A ceaseless contest with the crowd endures,
For whom he labours. Why then should we move?
Our wisdom cannot change whate'er's decreed,
Nor e'en the acts or thoughts of brainless men.
Why then be moved? Best reason is most vain.
