Compare me with the great men of the earth—
What am I? Why, a pigmy among giants!
But if thou lovest—mark me! I say lovest—
The greatest of thy sex excels thee not!
The world of the affections is thy world—
Not that of man’s ambition. In that stillness
Which most becomes a woman, calm and holy,
Thou sittest by the fireside of the heart,
Feeding its flame. The element of fire
Is pure. It cannot change nor hide its nature,