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Sonnet Of Michel Angelo Buonarotti

By Ralph Waldo Emerson

Topics: classic

Never did sculptor's dream unfold     A form which marble doth not hold     In its white block; yet it therein shall find     Only the hand secure and bold     Which still obeys the mind.     So hide in thee, thou heavenly dame,     The ill I shun, the good I claim;     I alas! not well alive,     Miss the aim whereto I strive.     Not love, nor beauty's pride,     Nor Fortune, nor thy coldness, can I chide,     If, whilst within thy heart abide     Both death and pity, my unequal skill     Fails of the life, but draws the death and ill.

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"Never did sculptor's dream unfold..."

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Author:Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Never did sculptor's dream unfold..." by Ralph Waldo Emerson

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"The Text is taken from Percy's Reliques (1765), vol. i. p. 71, 'given from two MS. copies, transmitted from Scotland.' Herd had a very similar bal"

Ralph Waldo Emerson

About Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) was an American essayist, philosopher, and poet who led the Transcendentalist movement. His poems—including "Brahma," "The Rhodora," and "Concord Hymn"—explore nature, self-reliance, and the oversoul.

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"One musician is sure,     His wisdom will not fail..."

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