Arts & Sciences
Art
From Timoleon (1891)
Arts & Sciences
In placid hours well-pleased we dream
Of many a brave unbodied scheme.
But form to lend, pulsed life create,
What unlike things must meet and mate:
A flame to melt—a wind to freeze;
Sad patience—joyous energies;
Humility—yet pride and scorn;
Instinct and study; love and hate;
Audacity—reverence. These must mate,
And fuse with Jacob’s mystic heart,
To wrestle with the angel—Art.
Cite this poem
MLA
Melville, Herman. “Art.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/melville/98/.
Chicago
Melville, Herman. “Art.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/melville/98/.
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