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Literary
May 17, 1838
Lincoln Telegraph
Bath, Sagadahoc County, Maine
What is this article about?
A reflective poem questioning whether the soul survives death and affirming faith in an eternal afterlife beyond earthly sorrows, submitted to the Lincoln Telegraph in May 1838.
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Full Text
POETRY
[FOR THE LINCOLN TELEGRAPH.
Original.
For the Telegraph.
"Say will our spirits wear oblivion's chain!
Will death forever quench our hopes and fears?"
And is it so? Are all our hopes
Of bliss beyond the grave
But "airy nothings?" Is there nought
The soul from death to save
O say, doth not the spirit rise
Above the power of death?
Or is its light forever quenched
With the expiring breath?
When grief and anguish rack the soul,
We find how cold and vain
Are earthly joys—tho' all are tried,
No solace we obtain.
But far above the mists of earth,
How doth the spirit rise,
Rejoiced by faith to view that land,
"Where pleasure never dies."
And is it all delusion vain?
Doth that bright world of bliss
But in the "poet's fancy" dwell?
Is there no life but this?—
And this so thickly strown with woes,
That each returning day
Brings its own sorrows till we view
The morrow with dismay.
Oh why is planted in the soul
That thirst for nobler joy,
If there is not a blissful realm,
Where grief can ne'er alloy?
And why desires which earth hath not
The power to satisfy!
If when the breath departs, the soul
Doth then forever die
It cannot be—the godlike mind
Was not to mortals given,
For earth alone—but for the pure
Enduring joys of Heaven.
May 1838.
[FOR THE LINCOLN TELEGRAPH.
Original.
For the Telegraph.
"Say will our spirits wear oblivion's chain!
Will death forever quench our hopes and fears?"
And is it so? Are all our hopes
Of bliss beyond the grave
But "airy nothings?" Is there nought
The soul from death to save
O say, doth not the spirit rise
Above the power of death?
Or is its light forever quenched
With the expiring breath?
When grief and anguish rack the soul,
We find how cold and vain
Are earthly joys—tho' all are tried,
No solace we obtain.
But far above the mists of earth,
How doth the spirit rise,
Rejoiced by faith to view that land,
"Where pleasure never dies."
And is it all delusion vain?
Doth that bright world of bliss
But in the "poet's fancy" dwell?
Is there no life but this?—
And this so thickly strown with woes,
That each returning day
Brings its own sorrows till we view
The morrow with dismay.
Oh why is planted in the soul
That thirst for nobler joy,
If there is not a blissful realm,
Where grief can ne'er alloy?
And why desires which earth hath not
The power to satisfy!
If when the breath departs, the soul
Doth then forever die
It cannot be—the godlike mind
Was not to mortals given,
For earth alone—but for the pure
Enduring joys of Heaven.
May 1838.
What sub-type of article is it?
Poem
Soliloquy
What themes does it cover?
Death Mortality
Religious
What keywords are associated?
Immortality
Afterlife
Death
Soul
Heaven
Faith
Earthly Sorrows
Literary Details
Subject
Meditation On The Immortality Of The Soul
Key Lines
"Say Will Our Spirits Wear Oblivion's Chain!\Nwill Death Forever Quench Our Hopes And Fears?"
It Cannot Be—The Godlike Mind\Nwas Not To Mortals Given,\Nfor Earth Alone—But For The Pure\Nenduring Joys Of Heaven.