For man is given a living, loving soul;
Man lives as other works of God live not;
He strives to reach a high and Heav'nly goal—
Incomparably higher is his lot.
God's greatest work, how fitly he should be
The one which most adores His majesty.
XXVI.
But each creation, when it first reveals
Itself to man, impresses him anew
With God's omnipotence, and so he feels
New cause for adoration in each view.
Himself though greatest, these creations each
Their own great lessons to his spirit teach.
And ye, great mountains, have your lessons, ye
Have mighty truths to teach the heart of man
Of God's omnipotence and majesty,
Which, if he will to learn from ye, he can.
But many blindly grope upon their way,
Refusing all the light of Nature's ray.
XXVIII.
A mountain tarn, with waters still and blue,
Here nestles, open to the heavens whence
It seemingly derives its azure hue.
Here, has this little tarn pre-eminence,
For 'mid such mighty works appearing less,
It must attract us by its littleness.
XXIX.
'Tis small; but, like the cloud that servant saw
Whose master bade him look for rain, it grows
To greater bulk; for hence the streamlets draw
Their first supplies; and each one onward flows,
With speed increasing, down the mountain side,
And rolls, a river, in the ocean tide.