Of thine own will and of the curb upon

Thyself; mysterious to thyself, the more,

The greater it has grown, surrounded as

We are by fear and pain.

And when the soul

Lifts up her voice and speaks, then must she go

Against the will of people, not her own,

The will that is herself, the soul's own might.

When heaven asks, we work with joy, a dear

Beloved business put into our hands.

We dream at first to make it daintily,

Like Nature's work, so careful and so rich,

And then the dream becomes a wish, then changes

To action, to be called by us our own

Free will. And when we feel alleviated

Of suffering, we call it hope. In each

{9}

Hard battle of our life, free will is quite

The same, unbending and undone, and gave

Us never yet a ray of satisfaction,

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