Not for gross good alone which ye produce, But for the impertinent and ceaseless strife Of proofs and reasons ye preclude--in those Who to your dull society are born, And with their humble birthright rest content. 620 --Would I had ne'er renounced it!" A slight flush Of moral anger previously had tinged The old Man's cheek; but, at this closing turn Of self-reproach, it passed away. Said he, "That which we feel we utter; as we think 625 So have we argued; reaping for our pains No visible recompense. For our relief You," to the Pastor turning thus he spake, "Have kindly interposed. May I entreat Your further help? The mine of real life 630 Dig for us; and present us, in the shape Of virgin ore, that gold which we, by pains Fruitless as those of aëry alchemists, Seek from the torturing crucible. There lies Around us a domain where you have long 635 Watched both the outward course and inner heart:[473] Give us, for our abstractions, solid facts; For our disputes, plain pictures. Say what man He is who cultivates yon hanging field; What qualities of mind she bears, who comes, 640 For morn and evening service, with her pail, To that green pasture;[GQ] place before our sight The family who dwell within yon house Fenced round with glittering laurel;[GR] or in that Below, from which the curling smoke ascends. 645 Or rather, as we stand on holy earth, And have the dead around us,[GS] take from them Your instances; for they are both best known, And by frail man most equitably judged. Epitomise the life; pronounce, you can, 650 Authentic epitaphs on some of these Who, from their lowly mansions hither brought, Beneath this turf lie mouldering at our feet: So, by your records, may our doubts be solved; And so, not searching higher, we may learn 655 _To prize the breath we share with human kind; And look upon the dust of man with awe._"[474]