Nature and art, that seemed to flee each other,
Now find each other, ere I’d scanned the matter;
And the antipathy has vanished altogether,
And drawn to both at once, I love both better.
And after all, there’s but one true endeavor!
Only when first we bind ourselves, in hours
Of toil and soul to art, may nature ever
Kindle our heart with all its freeing powers.
Thus has all growth and learning its creation;
No spirit that’s unbound may venture ever
Upon the purest, highest consummation.
Who seeks the great must gird himself together,
Showing his mastery in limitation,
And only law can set us free forever.
1802