‘Tis true, Idoloclastes Satyrane !
(So call him, for so mingling blame with praise,
And smiles with anxious looks, his earliest friends,
Masking his birth-name, wont to character
His wild-wood fancy and impetuous zeal,)
‘Tis true that, passionate for ancient truths,
And honouring with religious love the Great
Of elder times, he hated to excess,
With an unquiet and intolerant scorn,
The hollow Puppets of an hollow Age,
Ever idolatrous, and changing ever
Its worthless Idols ! Learning, Power, and Time,
(Too much of all) thus wasting in vain war
Of fervid colloquy. Sickness, ’tis true,
Whole years of weary days, besieged him close,
Even to the gates and inlets of his life !
But it is true, no less, that strenuous, firm,
And with a natural gladness, he maintained
The citadel unconquered, and in joy
Was strong to follow the delightful Muse.
For not a hidden path, that to the shades
Of the beloved Parnassian forest leads,
Lurked undiscovered by him ; not a rill
There issues from the fount of Hippocrene,
But he had traced it upward to its source,
Through open glade, dark glen, and secret dell,
Knew the gay wild flowers on its banks, and culled
Its med’cinable herbs. Yea, oft alone,
Piercing the long-neglected holy cave,
The haunt obscure of old Philosophy,
He bade with lifted torch its starry walls
Sparkle, as erst they sparkled to the flame
Of odorous lamps tended by Saint and Sage.
O framed for calmer times and nobler hearts !
O studious Poet, eloquent for truth !
Philosopher ! contemning wealth and death,
Yet docile, childlike, full of Life and Love !
Here, rather than on monumental stone,
This record of thy worth thy Friend inscribes,
Thoughtful, with quiet tears upon his cheek.
(Samuel Coleridge)
More Poetry from Samuel Coleridge:
Samuel Coleridge Poems based on Topics: Life, Friendship, Joy & Excitement, Death & Dying, Literature, Poets, Time, Age, Power, Education, Praise- Inscription For A Fountain On A Heath (Samuel Coleridge Poem)
- Glycine's Song (Samuel Coleridge Poems)
- Lines (Samuel Coleridge Poem)
- The Blossing Of The Solitary Date-Tree (Samuel Coleridge Poem)
- As some vast Tropic tree, itself a wood (fragment) (Samuel Coleridge Poem)
- Hymn before Sun-rise, in the Vale of Chamouni (Samuel Coleridge Poem)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Life Poems, Time Poems, Death & Dying Poems, Joy & Excitement Poems, Friendship Poems, Power Poems, Education Poems, Literature Poems, Praise Poems, Age Poems, Poets PoemsBased on Keywords: leads, cave, record, gates, upward, bade, yea, natural, sickness, wont, friend