Birds of Passage（二）

    Lo！ keen-eyed towering science，

    As from tall peaks the modern overlooking，

    Successive absolute fiats¹ issuing.

    Yet again， lo！ the soul， above all science，

    For it has history gather'd like husks around the globe，

    For it the entire star-myriads roll through the sky.

    In spiral routes by long detours²，

    （As a much-tacking ship upon the sea，）

    For it the partial to the permanent flowing，

    For it the real to the ideal tends.

    For it the mystic evolution，

    Not the right only justified³， what we call evil also

    justified.

    Forth⁴ from their masks， no matter what，

    From the huge festering trunk， from craft and guile⁵

    and tears，

    Health to emerge and joy， joy universal.

    Out of the bulk， the morbid⁶ and the shallow，

    Out of the bad majority， the varied⁷ countless⁸ frauds

    of men and states，

    Electric， antiseptic yet， cleaving⁹， suffusing¹⁰ all，

    Only the good is universal.