No More Learning

"

And after I had thought of it,
I said, "I will, then, be a toad. "



XLVIII

Once there was a man,--
Oh, so wise!
In all drink
He detected the bitter,
And in all touch
He found the sting.
At last he cried thus:
"There is nothing,--
"No life,
"No joy,
"No pain,--
"There is nothing save opinion,
"And opinion be damned. "



XLIX

I stood musing in a black world,
Not knowing where to direct my feet.
And I saw the quick stream of men
Pouring ceaselessly,
Filled with eager faces,
A torrent of desire.
I called to them,
"Where do you go? What do you see? "
A thousand voices called to me.
A thousand fingers pointed.
"Look! Look! There! "

I know not of it.
But, lo!
in the far sky shone a radiance
Ineffable, divine,--
A vision painted upon a pall;
And sometimes it was,
And sometimes it was not.
I hesitated.
Then from the stream
Came roaring voices,
Impatient:
"Look! Look! There! "

So again I saw,
And leaped, unhesitant,
And struggled and fumed
With outspread clutching fingers.
The hard hills tore my flesh;
The ways bit my feet.
At last I looked again.
No radiance in the far sky,
Ineffable, divine;
No vision painted upon a pall;
And always my eyes ached for the light.
Then I cried in despair,
"I see nothing! Oh, where do I go? "
The torrent turned again its faces:
"Look! Look! There! "
And at the blindness of my spirit
They screamed,
"Fool! Fool!