Stood empty of all shape of life, and silent Save for that single cry, the unanswer'd bleat 410 Of a poor lamb--left somewhere to itself,[333] The plaintive spirit of the solitude![EJ] He paused, as if unwilling to proceed, Through consciousness that silence in such place Was best, the most affecting eloquence. 415 But soon his thoughts returned upon themselves, And, in soft tone of speech, thus he[334] resumed. "Ah! if the heart, too confidently raised, Perchance too lightly occupied, or lulled Too easily, despise or overlook 420 The vassalage that binds her to the earth, Her sad dependence upon time, and all The trepidations of mortality, What place so destitute and void--but there The little flower her vanity shall check; 425 The trailing worm reprove her thoughtless pride? "These craggy regions, these chaotic wilds, Does that benignity pervade, that warms The mole contented with her darksome walk In the cold ground; and to the emmet gives 430 Her foresight, and intelligence[335] that makes The tiny creatures strong by social league; Supports the generations, multiplies Their tribes, till we behold a spacious plain Or grassy bottom, all, with little hills-- 435 Their labour, covered, as a lake with waves;[EK] Thousands of cities, in the desert place Built up of life, and food, and means of life! Nor wanting here, to entertain the thought, Creatures that in communities exist, 440 Less, as might seem, for general guardianship Or through dependence upon mutual aid, Than by participation of delight And a strict love of fellowship, combined. What other spirit can it be that prompts 445 The gilded summer flies to mix and weave Their sports together in the solar beam, Or in the gloom of twilight hum their joy? More obviously the self-same influence rules 449 The feathered kinds; the fieldfare's pensive flock,[336][EL] The cawing rooks, and sea-mews from afar, Hovering above these inland solitudes, By the rough wind unscattered, at whose call Up through the trenches of the long-drawn vales Their voyage was begun:[337] nor is its power 455 Unfelt among the sedentary fowl That seek yon pool,[EM] and there prolong their stay In silent congress; or together roused Take flight; while with their clang the air resounds. And, over all, in that ethereal vault,[338] 460 Is the mute company of changeful clouds; Bright apparition, suddenly put forth, The rainbow smiling on the faded storm; The mild assemblage of the starry heavens; And the great sun, earth's universal lord! 465