O thou whom none hath utter'd, leaving all To thee that infinite, consummate form, Which the great powers, the gods around thy throne And nearest to thy counsels, know with thee For ever to have been; but who she is, Or what her likeness, know not. Man surveys 620 A narrower scene, where, by the mix'd effect Of things corporeal on his passive mind, He judgeth what is fair. Corporeal things The mind of man impel with various powers, And various features to his eye disclose. The powers which move his sense with instant joy, The features which attract his heart to love, He marks, combines, reposits. Other powers And features of the self-same thing (unless The beauteous form, the creature of his mind, 630 Request their close alliance) he o'erlooks Forgotten; or with self-beguiling zeal, Whene'er his passions mingle in the work, Half alters, half disowns. The tribes of men Thus from their different functions and the shapes Familiar to their eye, with art obtain, Unconscious of their purpose, yet with art Obtain the Beauty fitting man to love; Whose proud desires from Nature's homely toil Oft turn away, fastidious, asking still 640 His mind's high aid, to purify the form From matter's gross communion; to secure For ever, from the meddling hand of Change Or rude Decay, her features; and to add Whatever ornaments may suit her mien, Where'er he finds them scatter'd through the paths Of Nature or of Fortune. Then he seats The accomplish'd image deep within his breast, Reviews it, and accounts it good and fair.