Acquaint thee with thyself, O man! so shalt thou be humble: The hard hot desert of thy heart shall blossom with the lily and the rose; The frozen cliffs of pride shall melt, as an iceberg in the tropics; The bitter fountains of self-seeking be sweeter than the waters of the Nile. But if thou lack that wisdom,--thy frail skiff is doomed, On stronger eddy whirling to the dreadful gorge; Untaught in that grand lore, thou standest, cased in steel, To dare with mocking unbelief the thunderbolts of heaven. For look now around thee on the universe, behold how all things serve thee; The teeming soil, and the buoyant sea, and undulating air, Golden crops, and bloomy fruits, and flowers, and precious gems, Choice perfumes and fair sights, soft touches and sweet music: For thee, shoaling up the bay, crowd the finny nations, For thee, the cattle on a thousand hills live, and labour, and die: Light is thy daily slave, darkness inviteth thee to slumber; Thou art served by the hands of Beauty, and Sublimity kneeleth at thy feet: Arise, thou sovereign of creation, and behold thy glory! Yet more, thou hast a mind; intellect wingeth thee to heaven, Tendeth thy state on earth, and by it thou divest down to hell; Thou hast measured the belts of Saturn, thou hast weighed the moons of Jupiter, And seen, by reason's eye, the centre of thy globe; Subtly hast thou numbered by billions the leagues between sun and sun, And noted in thy book the coming of their shadows; With marvellous unerring truth, thou knowest to an inch and to an instant, The where and the when of the comet's path that shall seem to rush by at thy command: Arise, thou king of mind, and survey thy dignity! Yet more,--for once believe religion's flattering tale; Thou hast a soul, yea, and a God,--but be not therefore humbled; Thy Maker's self was glad to live and die--a man; The brightest jewel in His crown is voluntary manhood: By deep dishonour, and great price, bought He that envied freedom, But thou wast born an heir of all, thy Master scarce could earn. O climax unto pride, O triumph of humanity, O triple crown upon thy brow, most high and mighty Self! Arise, thou Lord of all, thou greater than a God!-- How saidst thou, wretched being?--cast thy glance within; Regard that painted sepulchre, the hovel of thy heart: Ha! with what fearful imagery swarmeth that small chamber; The horrid eye of murder, scowling in the dark, The bony hand of avarice, filching from the poor, The lurid fires of lust, the idiot face of folly, The sickening deed of cruelty, the foul fierce orgies of the drunken, Weak contemptible vanity, stubborn stolid unbelief, Envy's devilish sneer, and the vile features of ingratitude,-- Man, hast thou seen enough? or are these full proof That thou art a miracle of mercy, and all thy dignity is dross?