Prefer a Will o' the Wisp's false light
To Reason's lanthorn dear and bright;
Heap follies upon follies till
They overmaster mind and will,
And, rendering us to reason blind,
Perversity controls the mind;
For truth pretend to yearn, but when
She shows herself, avert our ken
In mortal fear her gaze so stern
Win all our weaknesses discern,
And an the errors that we cherish
'Neath her too-piercing eyesight perish.
Soaring, alas! how soon we tire,
To sink yet deeper in the mire,
Yet from our deepest degradation,
Ascend to heights of exaltation,
For still there shines a spark within
That's never wholly quenched by sin.
Look through a microscope and see
The countless animalculæ
That in a drop of water dwell:—
Think you the creatures do not swell
With self-importance at the thought
That the whole universe was wrought
Solely to give them such a home,
With space so vast in which to roam?
And who shall say they are not wise
At a high rate themselves to prize?
Since in Dame Nature's wondrous scheme,
Where miracles on all sides teem,
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