—Mrs. Browning.
[1] Pan. In Greek mythology, the god of pastures, forests and flocks. He was represented as half-man, half-goat, in appearance. He was the inventor of the shepherd's flute.
[2] Pan was not one of the gods of Olympus, and was literally "half a beast."
GRADATIM.[1]
Heaven is not reached at a single bound;
But we build the ladder by which we rise
From the lowly earth to the vaulted skies,
And we mount to the summit round by round.
I count this thing to be grandly true, 5
That a noble deed is a step toward God—
Lifting the soul from the common sod[2]
To a purer air and a broader view.
We rise by things that are under our feet;[3]
By what we have mastered of good and gain; 10
By the pride deposed and the passion slain,
And the vanquished ills that we hourly meet.
We hope, we aspire, we resolve, we trust,
When the morning calls us to life and light;
But our hearts grow weary, and ere the night, 15
Our lives are trailing the sordid[4] dust.
We hope, we resolve, we aspire, we pray,
And we think that we mount the air on wings
Beyond the recall of sensual things,
While our feet still cling to the heavy clay. 20
Wings for the angels, but feet for the men![5]
We may borrow the wings to find the way—
We may hope, and resolve, and aspire, arid pray.
But our feet must rise, or we fall again.