" He was of ancient lineage, proud and high,
" Born in the purple " as the poet saith;
Nursed in the lap of wealth and luxury
That knew no need of faith.

" Yet he was generous, gentle, brave and kind,
Helping, as he believed, with might and main,
To lift the least and lowest of mankind,
To some broad, lofty plane.

" His thoughts soared up, like eagles, to the sun;
Weighed tawny stardust on the mountain cones,
And followed wayward comets as they run
Their course through golden zones.

" He read the writing that the hand of God
Traced on the firm foundations of the earth,
Ere bud or blossom prankt the new-made sod,
Or lowest life had birth.

" He sought the subtle love of nature's laws
To guage her forces, find her hidden springs,
Trace her results back to their primal cause,
And know her secret things.

" And not contented with the knowledge won
By patient seeking in earth's secret nooks,
Through hieroglyphics ages rolling on
Left in unwritten books,

" His reason sat in judgment, and arraigned
To its tribunal the eternal plan
That wisdom's self conceived and love ordained
To ransom ruined man.

" Gifted with wondrous eloquence of speech,
Learned in philosophy of seer and sage,
His glowing argument had range and reach
That few could rightly gauge.