quote · Legacy record
If thou wouldst have high God thy soul assure That she herself shall as herself endure, Shall in no alien semblance, thine and wise, Fulfil her and be young in Paradise, One way I know; forget, forswear, disdain Thine own best hopes, thine utmost loss and gain, Till when at last thou scarce rememberest now If on the earth be such a man as thou, Nor hast one thought of self-surrender,—no, For self is none remaining to forego,— If ever, then shall strong persuasion fall That in thy giving thou hast gained thine all, Given the poor present, gained the boundless scope, And kept thee virgin for the further hope.... When all base thoughts like frighted harpies flown In her own beauty leave the soul alone; When Love,—not rosy-flushed as he began, But Love, still Love, the prisoned God in man,— Shows his face glorious, shakes his banner free, Cries like a captain for Eternity:— O halcyon air across the storms of youth, O trust him, he is true, he is one with Truth! Nay, is he Christ? I know not; no man knows The right name of the heavenly Anterôs,— But here is God, whatever God may be, And whomsoe’er we worship, this is He.
If thou wouldst have high God thy soul assure That she herself shall as herself endure, Shall in no alien semblance, thine and wise, Fulfil her and be young in Paradise, One way I know; forget, forswear, disdain Thine own best hopes, thine utmost loss and gain, Till when at last thou scarce rememberest now If on the earth be such a man as thou, Nor hast one thought of self-surrender,—no, For self is none remaining to forego,— If ever, then shall strong persuasion fall That in thy giving thou hast gained thine all, Given the poor present, gained the boundless scope, And kept thee virgin for the further hope.... When all base thoughts like frighted harpies flown In her own beauty leave the soul alone; When Love,—not rosy-flushed as he began, But Love, still Love, the prisoned God in man,— Shows his face glorious, shakes his banner free, Cries like a captain for Eternity:— O halcyon air across the storms of youth, O trust him, he is true, he is one with Truth! Nay, is he Christ? I know not; no man knows The right name of the heavenly Anterôs,— But here is God, whatever God may be, And whomsoe’er we worship, this is He.
In print by 1921 AD · modern
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
Meaning not yet available
An individual explanation has not yet been added. We do not substitute a generic description for an interpretation of these particular words.
Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- F. W. Myers (identity unresolved)
Attribution: unknown - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1921 AD · modern
In print by 1921: recorded in My Commonplace Book (third English edition,1921). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- My Commonplace Book (third English edition,1921) (1921 AD)
Page 199 · printed citation: F. W. Myers (The Implicit Promise of Immortality). · compiler notes excluded
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.