Born into life! man grows
Forth from his parents' stem,
And blends their bloods, as those
Of theirs are blent in them;
So each new man strikes root into a far fore-time.
Born into life! we bring
A bias with us here,
And, when here, each new thing
Affects us we come near;
To tunes we did not call, our being must keep chime.
Born into life! in vain,
Opinions, those or these,
Unaltered to retain,
The obstinate mind decrees:
Experience, like a sea, soaks all-effacing in.
Born into life! who lists
May what is false hold dear,
And for himself make mists
Through which to see less clear:
The world is what it is, for all our dust and din.
Born into life! 'tis we,
And not the world, are new;
Our cry for bliss, our plea,
Others have urged it too:
Our wants have all been felt, our errors made before.
No eye could be too sound
To observe a world so vast,
No patience too profound
To sort what's here amassed;
How man may here best live, no care too great to explore.
