Many are the lurking-holes of evil; who shall search them out? Who so skilled to cut away the cancer with its fibres? For wily minds with sinuous ease escape from lie to lie; And cowards driven from the trench steal back to hide again. Vain were the battle, if a warrior, having slain his foes, Shall turn and find them vital still, unharmed, yea, unashamed: For Error, dark magician, daily cast out killed, Quickeneth animate anew beneath the midnight moon: Once and again, once and again, hath reason answered wisely; But not the less with brazen front doth folly urge her questions. It were but unprofitable toil, a stand-up fight with unbelief: When was there candour in a caviller, and who can satisfy the faithless? Too long, O truant from the fold, have I tracked thy devious paths; Too long, treacherous deserter, fought thee as a noble foeman: Haply, my small art, and an arm too weakly for its weapon, Hath failed to pierce thine iron coat, and reach thy stricken soul: Haply, the fervour of my speech, and too patient sifting of thy fancies, Shall tend to make thee prize them more, as worthier and wiser: Go to: be mine the gain: we measure swords no more; Go,--and a word go with thee,--Man, thou ART Immortal! Child of light, and student in the truth, too long have I forgotten thee: Lo, after parley with an alien, let me hold sweet converse with a brother. Glorious hopes and ineffable imaginings, crowd our holy theme, Fear hath been slaughtered on the portal, and Doubt driven back to darkness: For Christ hath died, and we in Him; by faith His All is ours; Cross and crown, and love, and life; and we shall reign in Him! Yea, there is a fitness and a beauty in ascribing immortality to mind, That its energies and lofty aspirations may have scope for indefinite expansion. To learn all things is privilege of reason, and that with a growing capability, But in this age of toil and time we scarce attain to alphabets: How hardly in the midst of our hurry, and jostled by the cares of life, Shall a man turn and stop to consider mighty secrets; With barely hours, and barely powers, to fill up daily duties, How small the glimpse of knowledge his wondering eye can catch! And knowledge is a noting of the order wherein God's attributes evolve, Therefore worthy of the creature, worthy of an angel's seeking; Yea, and human knowledge, meagre though the harvest, Hath its roots, both deep and strong; but the plants are exotic to the climate; All we seem to know demand a longer learning, History and science, and prophecy and art, are workings all of God: And there are galaxies of globes, millions of unimagined beings, Other senses, wondrous sounds, and thoughts of thrilling fire, Powers of strange might, quickening unknown elements, And attributes and energies of God which man may never guess.