THE SALT OF THE EARTH

THE SALT OF THE EARTH

If childhood were not in the world,

      But only men and women grown;

No baby-locks in tendrils curled,

      No baby-blossoms blown;

Though men were stronger, women fairer,

      And nearer all delights in reach,

And verse and music uttered rarer

      Tones of more godlike speech;

Though the utmost life of life’s best hours

      Found, as it cannot now find, words;

Though desert sands were sweet as flowers,

      And flowers could sing like birds:

But children never heard them, never

      They felt a child’s foot leap and run, —

This were a drearier star than ever

      Yet looked upon the sun.

Arthur Hughes THE KING’S ORCHARD Oil on canvas. Circa 1858 Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

Артур Хьюз КОРОЛЕВСКИЙ САД Холст, масло. Ок. 1858 Музей Фицуильяма, Кембридж