Alas! I know not why it should be so,
But the most rarely mental of Mankind
Are seldom prosperous in Life; as though
High Heaven, severe in simple good, designed,—
In thus denying to Majesty of mind
All accidental blazonry—to show
That Lasting Glory thence alone can flow,
And that the favor of the World is blind.
The Seers of Old were poor in all but style;
Nay, even Jesus for a price was sold,
And lived and died a Child of Scorn, the while
Herod could buy Supremacy with gold,
A Dotard Rome’s almighty Empire hold,
And even Barabbas, liberated, smile.