High walls and huge the body may confine, And iron grates obstruct the prisoner’s gaze, And massive bolts may baffle his design, And vigilant keepers watch his devious ways: Yet scorns the immortal mind this base control! No chains can bind it, and no cell enclose: Swifter than light, it flies from pole to pole, And, in a flash, from earth to heaven it goes! It leaps from mount to mount—from vale to vale It wanders, plucking honeyed fruits and flowers; It visits home, to hear the fireside tale, Or in sweet converse pass the joyous hours. ’T is up before the sun, roaming afar, And, in its watches, wearies every star!
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