But Man, within himself, your puzzle proves; And not to you alone, for Angel wings Have hovered o’er your globe, and Angel minds Peered curiously into his soul, to learn Its mysteries, in vain. The Mind Supreme That formed the soul, alone can understand Its wondrous depths. ’Tis not surprising then That Man has tried in vain to know himself. His mind, compared with his body, seems so great, He deems its power unlimited. He finds It weak, before the barriers of thought, That gird it, mountain high, on every side. No path can he pursue that’s infinite. And few exist, that do not thither lead. Hence all the vagaries that have obtained Among your race. The doubt of everything, Is only too far tracing of a thought Into absurdity intense. If you Deem all the world effect upon yourself, A principle of fairness would demand That you accord the right to other men. The question then arises, who is he That really does exist, and all the rest His ideas? Sure your neighbor has the right To claim the honor, just as well as you! Hume’s foolish thought, extended to its length, Will answer not a single end of life, And terminates in nonsense none believe. The conflict of the mental powers defeats Your inquiries. You cannot reconcile The unruled circumstance, with Man’s free-will You deem the motive free, and Man its slave; As if the motive, unintelligent, Could have a freedom, or a slavery! You make the motive to exist within the mind, When it, perforce, must be without. You get The unruled motive from the circumstance, When this itself must act upon the mind, And if _free_ motives rise within the mind, They are a _part_, and therefore _mind_ is free. And what you deemed a motive to the mind, Was mental action, and its modes of thought. The motive is confined to circumstance, And mind the circumstance can oft control, And even when it cannot, acts at will.