Greatness

That man is truly great, and he alone Who venerates, of present things or past The absolute only,—is the liege of none Save God and truth; who, awed not by this vast And shadowy scheme of life, but anchored fast In love, and sitting central like the sun, So gives his mental beams to pierce and run Through all its secrets while his days may last. While thus progressive, little faith has he For mysteries, till, sounding them, he hear The gathered tones of their stirred depths agree With that religious harmony severe, Which ever anthems to his spirit’s ear The hallowing presence of the Deity.