O THOU, whose stern command and precepts pure <br />(Tho' agony in every vein should start, <br />And slowly drain the blood-drops from the heart) <br />Have bade the patient spirit still endure; <br />Thou, who to sorrow hast a beauty lent, <br />On the dark brow, with resolution clad, <br />Illumining the dreary traces sad, <br />Like the cold taper on a monument; <br />O firm Philosophy! display the tide <br />Of human misery, and oft relate <br />How silent sinking in the storms of fate, <br />The brave and good have bow'd their head and died. <br />So taught by Thee, some solace I may find, <br />Remembering the sorrows of mankind.<br /><br />William Lisle Bowles<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/sonnet-iii-o-thou-whose-stern-command-and-precepts-pure/
