Poems (Lewis)/Address to Youth
ADDRESS TO YOUTH.
—"Turn, wanderer, turn, and rest with me;
Let not yon glittering Fane allure you:
My Temple shall your shelter be,
My sacred fire from cold secure you:
Let not yon glittering Fane allure you:
My Temple shall your shelter be,
My sacred fire from cold secure you:
"Nor scorn it, though your dazzled sight
No burst of lustrous flame surprizes,
As with mild warmth and lambent light
It gently on the altar rises.
No burst of lustrous flame surprizes,
As with mild warmth and lambent light
It gently on the altar rises.
"More vivid fires gild yonder shrine,
More heat and radiance round them casting;
But trust me, Youth, though bright they shine,
Their rage is fierce, their power is blasting.
More heat and radiance round them casting;
But trust me, Youth, though bright they shine,
Their rage is fierce, their power is blasting.
"Ah! Pilgrim, shun the fatal blaze,
Thy forward steps forbear to number;
The flame, which on my altar plays,
Gives genial warmth and gentle slumber:
Thy forward steps forbear to number;
The flame, which on my altar plays,
Gives genial warmth and gentle slumber:
"Here Reason as the Priestess stands,
Here Tranquil Pleasure often lingers,—
At Friendship's fire then warm thy hands,
At Love's thou'lt surely burn thy fingers!"—
Here Tranquil Pleasure often lingers,—
At Friendship's fire then warm thy hands,
At Love's thou'lt surely burn thy fingers!"—
Friendship.