Robert Bridges (1844 - 1930) : From "The Testament of Beauty"

Mortal Prudence, handmaid of Divine Providence,

hath inscrutable reckoning with Fate and Fortune:

We sail a changeful sea through halcyon days and storm,

and when the ship laboureth, our steadfast purpose

trembles like as the compass in a binnacle.

Our stability is but balance, and wisdom lies

in masterful administration of the unforeseen.



. . .




From "The Testament of Beauty"
A Poem in Four Books
Oxford University Press, New York, 1930