The Higher Pantheism in a Nutshell
Algernon Charles Swinburne 1837 (London) – 1909 (London)
One, who is not, we see; but one, whom we see not, is;
Surely this is not that; but that is assuredly this.
What, and wherefore, and whence? for under is over and under;
If thunder could be without lightning, lightning could be without thunder.
Doubt is faith in the main; but faith, on the whole, is doubt;
We cannot believe by proof; but could we believe without?
Why, and whither, and how? for barley and rye are not clover;
Neither are straight lines curves; yet over is under and over.
Two and two may be four; but four and four are not eight;
Fate and God may be twain; but God is the same as fate.
Ask a man what he thinks, and get from a man what he feels;
God, once caught in the fact, shows you a fair pair of heels.
Body and spirit are twins; God only knows which is which;
The soul squats down in the flesh, like a tinker drunk in a ditch.
More is the whole than a part; but half is more than the whole;
Clearly, the soul is the body; but is not the body the soul?
One and two are not one; but one and nothing is two;
Truth can hardly be false, if falsehood cannot be true.
Once the mastodon was; pterodactyls were common as cocks;
Then the mammoth was God; now is He a prize ox.
Parallels all things are; yet many of these are askew;
You are certainly I; but certainly I am not you.
Springs the rock from the plain, shoots the stream from the rock;
Cocks exist for the hen; but hens exist for the cock.
God, whom we see not, is; and God, who is not, we see;
Fiddle, we know, is diddle, and diddle, we take it, is dee.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:32 min read
- 102 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | XX AA BB AA CC DD EE FF GG HH GG II JJ |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic heptameter |
Characters | 1,538 |
Words | 308 |
Stanzas | 13 |
Stanza Lengths | 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2 |
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"The Higher Pantheism in a Nutshell" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/1413/the-higher-pantheism-in-a-nutshell>.
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