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Poem
October 4, 1836
Rutland Herald
Rutland, Rutland County, Vermont
What is this article about?
A devotional poem addressed to Heaven, beseeching divine intervention to soften the speaker's heart with humanity and sympathy, warning against a soul ruled by hatred, vice, and indifference to woe.
Clipping
OCR Quality
85%
Good
Full Text
[From the N. Y. Weekly Messenger]
HUMANITY
Kind Heaven! if all thy hand bestows,
Ne'er taught this heart humanity,
Let stern misfortune interpose.
And teach me by severity
What curse is like a human soul,
Which ne'er exert sympathy can know,
Where tears of pity never roll,
But heard unmoved the tale of woe;
Where friendship ne'er with social ease,
Can chase life's tide to sweetly flow,
But hatred with discordant voice,
Bade those base passions rule the soul;
Where virtue ne'er can find a place,
To fix her temple there to dwell,
But vice, with all her viperous race,
Is welcomed from the gates of hell.
Almighty power! avert that doom—
Soften this unrelenting heart,
Or shroud me in oblivion's tomb,
Unfit to act a being's part.
HUMANITY
Kind Heaven! if all thy hand bestows,
Ne'er taught this heart humanity,
Let stern misfortune interpose.
And teach me by severity
What curse is like a human soul,
Which ne'er exert sympathy can know,
Where tears of pity never roll,
But heard unmoved the tale of woe;
Where friendship ne'er with social ease,
Can chase life's tide to sweetly flow,
But hatred with discordant voice,
Bade those base passions rule the soul;
Where virtue ne'er can find a place,
To fix her temple there to dwell,
But vice, with all her viperous race,
Is welcomed from the gates of hell.
Almighty power! avert that doom—
Soften this unrelenting heart,
Or shroud me in oblivion's tomb,
Unfit to act a being's part.
What sub-type of article is it?
Ode
Hymn
What themes does it cover?
Moral Virtue
Religious Faith
What keywords are associated?
Humanity
Sympathy
Virtue
Vice
Heaven
Misfortune
Heart
Pity
What entities or persons were involved?
From The N. Y. Weekly Messenger
Poem Details
Title
Humanity
Author
From The N. Y. Weekly Messenger
Form / Style
Rhymed Quatrains
Key Lines
Kind Heaven! If All Thy Hand Bestows,
What Curse Is Like A Human Soul,
Almighty Power! Avert That Doom—
Or Shroud Me In Oblivion's Tomb,