CXXVII.

Yet let us ponder boldly--'tis a base Abandonment of reason[504] to resign Our right of thought--our last and only place Of refuge; this, at least, shall still be mine: Though from our birth the Faculty divine Is chained and tortured--cabined, cribbed, confined, And bred in darkness,[505] lest the Truth should shine Too brightly on the unpreparéd mind, The beam pours in--for Time and Skill will couch the blind.