George Gordon Byron
Published: 2015-07-10
Total Pages: 564
Get eBook
Excerpt from Dramatic Works of Lord Byron, Vol. 2 of 4: Including Manfred, Cain, Doge of Venice, Sardanapalus, and the Two Foscari, Together With His Hebrew Melodies and Other Poems Manfred alone. - Scene a Gothic Gallery. - Time Midnight. Man. The lamp must be replenish'd, but even then It will not burn so long as I must watch: My slumbers - if I slumber - are not sleep, But a continuance of enduring thought, Which then I can resist not: in my heart There is a vigil, and these eyes but close To look within; and yet I live, and bear The aspect and the form of breathing men. But grief should be the instructor of the wise; Sorrow is knowledge: they who know the most Must mourn the deepest o'er the fatal truth, The Tree of Knowledge is not that of Life. Philosophy and science, and the springs Of wonder, and the wisdom of the world, I have essay'd, and in my mind there is A power to make these subject to itself - But they avail not: I have done men good. And I have met with good even among men - But this avail'd not: I have had my foes. And none have baffled, many fallen before me - But this avail'd not: - Good, or evil, life. Powers, passions, all I see in other beings. Have been to me as rain unto the sands. Since that all-nameless hour. I have no dread, And feel the curse to have no natural fear. Nor fluttering throb, that beats with hopes or wishes, Or lurking love of something on the earth. - Now to my task. - About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.