1838
In 1838 Wordsworth wrote ten sonnets. These were published (along with the one suggested by Mrs. Southey) for the first time in the volume of collected Sonnets, several being inserted out of their intended place, while the book was passing through the press.
The Protest against the Ballot, which appeared in 1838, was never republished.—Ed.
TO THE PLANET VENUS
Upon its Approximation (as an Evening Star) to the Earth, January 1838
Composed 1838.—Published 1838[170]
One of the “Miscellaneous Sonnets.”—Ed.
What strong allurement draws, what spirit guides,
Thee, Vesper! brightening still, as if the nearer
Thou com’st to man’s abode the spot grew dearer
Night after night? True is it Nature hides
Her treasures less and less.—Man now presides 5
In power, where once he trembled in his weakness;
Science[171] advances with gigantic strides;
But are we aught enriched in love and meekness?[172]
Aught dost thou see, bright Star! of pure and wise
More than in humbler times graced human story; 10
That makes our hearts more apt to sympathise
With heaven, our souls more fit for future glory,
When earth shall vanish from our closing eyes,
Ere we lie down in our last dormitory?[173]
[170] It was afterwards printed in the Saturday Magazine, Oct. 24, 1840.—Ed.
[171] 1845.
Knowledge
1838.
[172] Compare Tennyson’s In Memoriam, stanza cxx.—
Let Science prove we are, and then
What matters Science unto men, etc.
Ed.
[173] Compare the poem in vol. vii. p. 299, To the Planet Venus, an Evening Star.—Ed.