The seas are quiet when the winds give o'er; br So calm are we when passions are no more. br For then we know how vain it was to boast br Of fleeting things, so certain to be lost. br Clouds of affection from our younger eyes br Conceal that emptiness which age descries. br br The soul's dark cottage, batter'd and decay'd, br Lets in new light through chinks that Time hath made: br Stronger by weakness, wiser men become br As they draw near to their eternal home. br Leaving the old, both worlds at once they view br That stand upon the threshold of the new.