Reason Use It Divine Matters

Some blind themselves, ’cause possibly they may

Be led by others a right way;

They build on sands, which if unmov’d they find,

‘T is but because there was no wind.

Less hard ‘t is, not to err ourselves, than know

If our forefathers err’d or no.

When we trust men concerning God, we then

Trust not God concerning men.

Visions and inspirations some expect

Their course here to direct;

Like senseless chemists their own wealth destroy,

Imaginary gold t’ enjoy.

So stars appear to drop to us from sky,

And gild the passage as they fly:

But when they fall, and meet th’opposing ground,

What but a sordid slime is found?

Sometimes their fancies they ‘bove reason set,

And fast, that they may dream of meat;

Sometimes ill spirits their sickly souls delude,

And bastard forms obtrude:

So Endor’s wretched sorceress, although

She Saul through his disguise did know,

Yet, when the devil comes up disguis’d, she cries,

” Behold! the Gods arise.”

In vain, alas! these outward hopes are try’d;

Reason within’s our only guide;

Reason, which (God be prais’d!) still walks, for all

Its old original fall:

And, since itself the boundless Godhead join’d

With a reasonable mind,

It plainly shows that mysteries divine

May with our reason join.

The holy book, like the eighth sphere, does shine

With thousand lights of truth divine:

So numberless the stars, that to the eye

It makes but all one galaxy.

Yet Reason must assist too; for, in seas

So vast and dangerous as these,

Our course by stars above we cannot know,

Without the compass too below.

Though Reason cannot through Faith’s mysteries see,

It sees that there and such they be;

Leads to heaven’s door, and there does humbly keep,

And there through chinks and key-holes peep;

Though it, like Moses, by a sad command,

Must not come in to th’ Holy Land,

Yet thither it infallibly does guide,

And from afar ‘t is all descry’d.

Poetry Monster – Home

A few random poems:

External links

Bat’s Poetry Page – more poetry by Fledermaus

Talking Writing Monster’s Page –

Batty Writing – the bat’s idle chatter, thoughts, ideas and observations, all original, all fresh

Poems in English 

• Николай Карамзин – Из письма к И. И. Дмитриеву (Что ж может быть любви и счастия быстрее) by Николай Карамзин
• Николай Карамзин – Из мелодрамы Петр Великий (Жил был в свете добрый царь) by Николай Карамзин
• Николай Карамзин – Истина by Николай Карамзин
• Николай Карамзин – Impromptu графине Р, которой в одной святошной игре досталось быть королевою by Николай Карамзин
• Николай Карамзин – Илья Муромец by Николай Карамзин
• Николай Карамзин – Граф Гваринос by Николай Карамзин
• Николай Карамзин – Господину Дмитриеву на болезнь его (Болезнь есть часть живущих в мире) by Николай Карамзин
• Николай Карамзин – Гимн слепых by Николай Карамзин
• Николай Карамзин – Гимн by Николай Карамзин
• Николай Карамзин – Филлиде by Николай Карамзин
• Николай Карамзин – Эпитафия (Он жил в сем мире для того) by Николай Карамзин
• Николай Карамзин – Эпитафия Джону Гею by Николай Карамзин
• Николай Карамзин – Эпиграмма (Я знаю, для чего Крадон) by Николай Карамзин
• Николай Карамзин – Две песни by Николай Карамзин
• Николай Карамзин – Дурной вкус by Николай Карамзин
• Николай Карамзин – Делиины слова by Николай Карамзин
• Николай Карамзин – Часто здесь в юдоли мрачной by Николай Карамзин
• Николай Карамзин – Берег by Николай Карамзин
• Николай Карамзин – Анакреонтические стихи А. А. Петрову by Николай Карамзин
• Николай Карамзин – Алина by Николай Карамзин

More external links (open in a new tab):

Russian Commerce Agency

Dealing Monster

Doska or the Board – write anything

Search engines:

Yandex – the best search engine for searches in Russian (and the best overall image search engine, in any language, anywhere)

Qwant – the best search engine for searches in French, German as well as Romance and Germanic languages.

Ecosia – a search engine that supposedly… plants trees

Duckduckgo – the real alternative and a search engine that actually works. Without much censorship or partisan politics.

Yahoo– yes, it’s still around, amazingly, miraculously, incredibly, but now it seems to be powered by Bing.

 

Parallel Translations of Poetry

Poems by Author and Category

The Poetry Repository – an online library of poems, poetry, verse and poetic works