Contents -BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD

Ralph Waldo Emerson, comp. (1803–1882). Parnassus: An Anthology of Poetry. 1880.

The Old Man’s Funeral

William Cullen Bryant (1794–1878)

YE sigh not when the sun, his course fulfilled,

His glorious course, rejoicing earth and sky,

In the soft evening, when the winds are stilled,

Sinks where his islands of refreshment lie,

And leaves the smile of his departure spread

O’er the warm-colored heaven and ruddy mountain head.

Why weep ye then for him, who, having won

The bound of man’s appointed years, at last,

Life’s blessings all enjoyed, life’s labors done,

Serenely to his final rest has passed;

While the soft memory of his virtues yet

Lingers like twilight hues, when the bright sun is set?