651. Sonnet

BECAUSE the Few with signal virtue crowned,

The heights and pinnacles of human mind,

Sadder and wearier than the rest are found,

Wish not thy Soul less wise or less refined.

True that the small delights which every day

Cheer and distract the pilgrim are not theirs;

True that, though free from passion’s lawless sway,

A loftier being brings several cares.

Yet have they special pleasures, even mirth,

By those undreamt of who have only trod

Life’s valley smooth; and if the rolling earth

To their nice ear have many a painful tone,

They know, Man does not live by Joy alone

But by the presence of the power of God.