Ay, Wisdom's self was but a child, till his
Far-seeing eye and hungry soul devour'd
Its every page, and made them all his own:
And man ne'er was, nor will, nor can be great,
Tho' his name's echo talks from college halls,
Till FINIS of this book is his A. M.
Mankind, to know mankind, must study-Man;
The world's profoundly wise do study deepest.
Poor Human Nature's Book of Frailties,-
Encyclopedia of all science-truth!
The fabled stone that turns all dross to gold!
The rod of Moses and water's gush!
The wand that breaks the spell of all enchantments
And turns man's minus into plus at will!
The Alpha, Omega of earthly books-
The A B C of the great book of Life,
That makes us cry EUREKA, while we live!
Ay, here the key of all our knowledge lies,-
'Tis Learning's crown and Wisdom's utmost bound;
Boundary that human genius may not pass--
Third heaven and home to wing of glorious mind,
The all on this side-mortal, beyond-God!
Man! study Human Nature and be wise;
Heaven-eyed Philosophy, more riches here
May find, than hunting new worlds 'mong the stars;
It teacheth self! bless'd lesson known by few.
Must know thyself e'er thou canst govern self:-
This self is eel-like in its slipperiness,
And would not be examined by daylight;
Man seeks for wisdom-all, but-know himself,In science colleged, ignorant in self
Are those that this world's tongue pronounces wise: Great lesson this—to know we nothing know.
This book's wide ope to every eye,—read-read!
Tho' imperfection blots its every page
And cries-Behold an imperfection perfect,'
'Tis Life's school book and Time's philosophy;
A text-book for the deeply-thinking wise;
'Tis Reason's rule-'tis Science's highest school
That maketh men true graduates indeed;
Light of Experience, and Wisdom's all,
Nay, wisdom's not Wisdom, till patient hand.
Hath turned with care its sacred pages o'er,
And learnt this truth-a lesson quite divine:
'To know himself,'the all that man can know.
That book is-Man! revealing man to man.
Man! read man like a book, and 'KNOW THYSELF,"
And thou hast learned the alphabet of Heaven.
Experience is a hoary-headed Sage,
With hairy cheek and winter-bearded chin,
And his face maps out Old Antiquity
Plain as the dial's shade the hours of day.
Experience, too, hath sacred Wisdom's head,
Attention's smallest-whisper-hearing ear,
Persuasion's tongue of dropping eloquence,
And Penetration's eye that sees things as they are:
Yea, his all-seeing eye scans ghostly Past,
Looks on thro' heart down to the soul of things,
And e'en in Wisdom's head finds vacuum !
He's one who looks 'round other ends of times,
And sees upon both sides of things at once,—
Beholds the years in womb of Embryo,
And reads ‘to come,' as it will be when born;
By ruined Past the living Present views,
And eyelays ghost of blank Futurity.
He is the mirror of Intelligence,
Time's open book and Life's philosophy
Sent to dispel the night of Ignorance :—
Poor Human Nature sheds her robe of dust-
Revealed, and bare, and naked, to his sight!
His precepts all are pearls of priceless price,
And those who scorn them are base Folly's fools—
In knowledge all unschool'd, and in themselves,
And they shall learn wise lessons from his lash.
He teacheth Folly wisdom, and unscales
The eyes of those that would of choice be blind,—
Compels e'en Blindness' self to learn of him!
Tho' fool's back oft his iron rod rends sore,
Yet every lash that falls is for his good,-
A weight of knowledge gives not else obtained.
He is as Mercy's self, and spares the rod
Till Folly 'side from own true interest turns:
Within the school of sage Experience,
E'en Folly learns-in future to be wise.
He's Nature's teacher, training the untrained
Life's devious paths to run and stumble not,———
To steer Man's bark o'er Time's tumultuous sea
To harbor safe of Happiness and Heaven.
He wears a world of things in his long head-
Strength-intellectual strong as pyramid!
Each Wrinkle of his Brow, wise lesson is
To Wisdom's self, not found in all the books;
And one by one, I pluck them off at will,
To gem the crown on Wisdom's hoary brow.
Look into self, and seek thyself to know,-
Knowledge enough to understand below.
Wouldst thou learn much, learn little at a time, Add Perseverance, and the crown is thine.
On with Ambition
To gain addition
To-Reputation.
Souls, subject unto dust, are slaves;
Men that subdue not self are knaves,—
Must conquer, to be good and great,
And labor, if you'd fill your pate:-
Burst spirit-bonds-self-vietors be,
Soul-freedom is-heaven-liberty.
If you to Fortune would aspire,
Fling all your irons in the fire,
And blow and strike, and-never tire.
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