quote · Legacy record
Who loves not knowledge? who shall rail Against her beauty? May she mix With men and prosper! Who shall fix Her pillars? Let her work prevail. But on her forehead sits a fire; She sets her forward countenance, And leaps into the future chance, Submitting all things to desire. Half-grown as yet, a child, and vain, She cannot fight the fear of death. What is she, cut from love and faith, But some wild Pallas from the brain Of Demons? fiery hot to burst All barriers in her onward race For power. Let her know her place, She is the second, not the first. A higher hand must make her mild, If all be not in vain; and guide Her footsteps moving side by side With wisdom, like the younger child. For she is earthly of the mind, But wisdom heavenly of the soul. O friend, who earnest to thy goal So early, leaving me behind, I would the great world grew like thee, Who grewest not alone in power And knowledge, but from hour to hour In reverence and in charity.
Who loves not knowledge? who shall rail Against her beauty? May she mix With men and prosper! Who shall fix Her pillars? Let her work prevail. But on her forehead sits a fire; She sets her forward countenance, And leaps into the future chance, Submitting all things to desire. Half-grown as yet, a child, and vain, She cannot fight the fear of death. What is she, cut from love and faith, But some wild Pallas from the brain Of Demons? fiery hot to burst All barriers in her onward race For power. Let her know her place, She is the second, not the first. A higher hand must make her mild, If all be not in vain; and guide Her footsteps moving side by side With wisdom, like the younger child. For she is earthly of the mind, But wisdom heavenly of the soul. O friend, who earnest to thy goal So early, leaving me behind, I would the great world grew like thee, Who grewest not alone in power And knowledge, but from hour to hour In reverence and in charity.
Approximate author period: c. 1850 AD · industrial
Meaning not yet available
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Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Alfred Tennyson
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Approximate author period: c. 1850 AD · industrial
author lifetime midpoint (1809–1892)
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- A Cyclopædia of Sacred Poetical Quotations (catalogued1888) (1888 AD)
Page 348 · printed citation: Tennyson · subject: KNOWLEDGE
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