ASTRONOMER, MATHEMATICIAN. 1809-1890
FOR him the Architect of allUnroofed our planet's starlit hall;Through voids unknown to worlds unseenHis clearer vision rose serene.
With us on earth he walked by day,His midnight path how far away!We knew him not so well who knewThe patient eyes his soul looked through;
For who his untrod realm could shareOf us that breathe this mortal air,Or camp in that celestial tentWhose fringes gild our firmament?
How vast the workroom where he broughtThe viewless implements of thought!The wit how subtle, how profound,That Nature's tangled webs unwound;
That through the clouded matrix sawThe crystal planes of shaping law,Through these the sovereign skill that planned,--The Father's care, the Master's hand!
To him the wandering stars revealedThe secrets in their cradle sealedThe far-off, frozen sphere that swingsThrough ether, zoned with lucid rings;
The orb that rolls in dim eclipseWide wheeling round its long ellipse,--His name Urania writes with theseAnd stamps it on her Pleiades.
We knew him not? Ah, well we knewThe manly soul, so brave, so true,The cheerful heart that conquered age,The childlike silver-bearded sage.
No more his tireless thought exploresThe azure sea with golden shores;Rest, wearied frame I the stars shall keepA loving watch where thou shalt sleep.
Farewell! the spirit needs must rise,So long a tenant of the skies,--Rise to that home all worlds aboveWhose sun is God, whose light is love.
FOR him the Architect of allUnroofed our planet's starlit hall;Through voids unknown to worlds unseenHis clearer vision rose serene.
With us on earth he walked by day,His midnight path how far away!We knew him not so well who knewThe patient eyes his soul looked through;
For who his untrod realm could shareOf us that breathe this mortal air,Or camp in that celestial tentWhose fringes gild our firmament?
How vast the workroom where he broughtThe viewless implements of thought!The wit how subtle, how profound,That Nature's tangled webs unwound;
That through the clouded matrix sawThe crystal planes of shaping law,Through these the sovereign skill that planned,--The Father's care, the Master's hand!
To him the wandering stars revealedThe secrets in their cradle sealedThe far-off, frozen sphere that swingsThrough ether, zoned with lucid rings;
The orb that rolls in dim eclipseWide wheeling round its long ellipse,--His name Urania writes with theseAnd stamps it on her Pleiades.
We knew him not? Ah, well we knewThe manly soul, so brave, so true,The cheerful heart that conquered age,The childlike silver-bearded sage.
No more his tireless thought exploresThe azure sea with golden shores;Rest, wearied frame I the stars shall keepA loving watch where thou shalt sleep.
Farewell! the spirit needs must rise,So long a tenant of the skies,--Rise to that home all worlds aboveWhose sun is God, whose light is love.
About the author
Oliver Wendell Holmes
336 works
About the poet