New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1853-05-28
LIE PnET's MISSION.

THE POETS MISSION.
Poet must ere long arise
And with regal song uncrown IN : age,
A. a saints head is with halo crovn'd;-
One, who shallIhallow Poetry to God
And to its own high use. for Poetry is
The gra.dest chariot wherein ngthOughts ride -
One. who shall fervent grasp the sword Of song
As stern swordsman grssps his keenest blade,
To find the quickest passage to the heart
mighty Poet whom this age shall choose
To be its spokesman 20 al coming times.
In the ripe foil blown season Of his soul,
He shall 90 forward In his spirits strength.
And grspple with the Questions Of all tins
And wiring from them their meanings As King Saul
Called up the buried prophet from his grave
TO speak his doom, 80 shall this Poet king
Call u the dead Past from its awful grave
To tell him Of our future As the air
Doth sphere the world so shall his heart OF love-
Loving mankind not peoples AZ the lake
Reflects thu flower tree, rock. and bending heaven
Shall be reflect great humanity;
And as the young Spring breshes with living breath
ON dead branch till it sprouts fragrantly -,
Green leaves and sunny flowers shall he breafhe hie
Through every theme he touch, making all Beauty
And Poetry for ever ike the stars
Nothing could be in higher vein than this IL re-
minds us Of the solemn grandeur, the fine humanity OF
Wordsworth But it was not Alexander Smith, who
set for the Likeness Here is another admirable pas
sage of similar cast which the poet takes care to
nut into the mouth of one Of his nterIocutOrs in the So
ca He'd drama.
We must reverse
The plans of ages Let the body sweat
So that tine soul be calm, why should IL work.
Say, had spent the pith OF half my life
And made me master Of our English law,
What gain had | on resurrection morn,
But sush as hath the body Of clown,
That il could turn a summerset on earth
single soul is richer than al worlds,
Its acts only shadows Of itself,
And Oft its wondrous wealth i all unknown
It's like mOuntsinrasge whose rugged SIDES
Feed starvelug fOcks 0 sheep pierce the bare sides
Ard they OOze plenteous gold. We must 90 down
AndW ilrp mir ma ka hoo
Not shrines to worship at nor heed the world
LIST il go roaring past You sigh for Fame
Would serve a. long as Jacob for his love-
So you might wis her. Spirits calm and still
Are high above your order as the stars
Sit large and tranquil DER the restless clouds
That weep and Tighten, pelt the earth with hail,
And fret themselves away. The truly great
Rest in the knowledge Of their own deserts,
Nor seek the confirmation of the world.
Nouldst thou be calm and still
We have also one two expressions of fey-hearted,
religious scorn at the creeping trading, mammonwor-
shipping spirit If the age They show that the heart
Of the poet is made of the right stuff When he has
lived long enough to know that loves young dream
is not the whole Of Iife-when the profounder expe-
rience that is born only of sorrow or sympathy with
SORROW, shall have been reaized-when his ambition ia
fred to become himself the ideal poet, whose work on
earth he so feeingy deScribes,-we shall look for q
divner ring from the harp of our minstrel whose
genius has dawned upon the world rich in the morn
ing promises of youth Meantime, cordially recog-
nize the masculine strength there is in him, which no
luxuriance of sensuOus imagery can conceal Watch
ing his poetic growth, shall hope to witness pro-
ducton of his vigorous in thought and artistic IN
expression as this is auen in soft and fragrant and
delicious fancies.
~ We have received copy of large quarto edition
Of Goehos Faust elegantly printed in German, with fine
gravngs steel and wood after designs by Mr. Sebert
artist Of distinction in Germany 1t an agreeable evi
dence of the increased attention paid to German literature
in this country that such work hers find oonsido
rable sale (Westermann, Broadway