Gentlb River! gentle river! Wilt thou thus complain for ever ? Why, when nought obstructs thy flow, Dost thou sigh, and murmuring low, Strike my ear with sounds of woe ? Is it that some sandbank's force For an instant stay'd thy course ? Has some shoal or rugged rock Stemm'd thy waves with sudden shock ? Wail no longer, gentle river ! These are past and gone for ever: Yonder is the wish'd-for sea, Home of peace and rest for thee !
Why does man, when all is shining,
Dim the brightness by repining ?
Why, when no dark cloud hangs o'er him,
Dreads he still some rock before him,
Weeps o'er woes he long has past,
Mourns his joys which did not last ?
Weep no more, nor sigh, nor mourn,
Yonder is the wish'd-for bourne,
Home of peace and rest for thee,—
Death and Immortality ! **
I
Affliction is the wholesome soil of virtue, where patience, honour, sweet humanity, and calm fortitude take root and strongly flourish. Mallet.
