Kulturtempel

Weary of life, but yet afraid to die,
Sated and soured too, he slowly sinks,
With genius, knowledge, eloquence and wit,
And all the gifts of fortune vanly given ;
Some morbid ply that flaws the heart or brain,
Some strange infirmity of thought or will,
Has marred the mall ; nothing remains behind
But fragmentary thoughts and broken schemes,
Some brilliant sayings and a social fame
Already fading ; but his mind is yet
Keen, clear, and vivid, though his nerveless will
Can never rise to action ; so he ends—
The eagle's eye without the eagle's wing.



William Edward Hartpole Lecky (1838-1903)
Aus Poems (1895)