Sonnet Xxxii. On Hearing That It Is Supposed, From Astronomical Considerations, The World Is Yet In Its Infancy. Poem by Henry Alford

So then the lessons of all--teaching Time
Shall not be fruitless; but the sons of men
Will live to ripen into age, and ken
The hidden laws of God: the doubts and fears
That flit around us, when the light appears,
Shall cease to haunt us; and young Truth, by then
Vigorous for good, shall take his power and reign,
Nursed in the discipline of human tears.
Oh, might I live when, from this stir of things
That fills our days, some new and mighty birth
Of purest mind hath risen upon the earth;
Or when my spirit folds her weary wing
Where no storm comes, watching with calm delight,
On human beauty feed my angel--sight.