The World in Self.
If all mankind were safe in Heav’n, and I1
(Alone denied the boon of second birth,)2
Condemned to linger on a lonely earth3
Whence life and strife were banished ;— could I lie4
Content, in contemplation of the sky5
Above my own self’s unconsidered worth,6
—Dwelling with rapture on their gain,—my dearth7
Forgotten in the blessèdness on high
?...8
Ah, no ! I, too, would share that perfect state
!..9
There is a world, in each poor heart’s domain,10
Of sense and action,—infinitely great11
Which needs no outward stress of varied life12
Or emulation ! Wherefore, it were vain,13
—The peace of millions would not calm my strife.14