GOD only can a godlike gift bestow:
Genius and virtue come from Him alone,
By Him the heavenly seed is ever sown
And His the sun and rain that make it grow,

As His light that gives the flower its glow,
Himself the perfect beauty which is shown,
The highest truth and love that can be known,
Midst earthly shadows flitting to and fro.

Bow then in reverence wherever shine
The glories which illumine high-born souls:
The poet like the saint is half divine:
The music of his spheral song on-rolls
Through jarring worlds, bearing God’s countersign
To tell that love the universe controls.