Time’s Laughingstocks and Other Verses

Contents:
Author: Thomas Hardy

A Dream Question

"It shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine."
Micah iii. 6.

I asked the Lord: "Sire, is this true
Which hosts of theologians hold,
That when we creatures censure you
For shaping griefs and ails untold
(Deeming them punishments undue)
You rage, as Moses wrote of old?

When we exclaim: ’Beneficent
He is not, for he orders pain,
Or, if so, not omnipotent:
To a mere child the thing is plain!’
Those who profess to represent
You, cry out: ’Impious and profane!’"

He: "Save me from my friends, who deem
That I care what my creatures say!
Mouth as you list: sneer, rail, blaspheme,
O manikin, the livelong day,
Not one grief-groan or pleasure-gleam
Will you increase or take away.

"Why things are thus, whoso derides,
May well remain my secret still . . .
A fourth dimension, say the guides,
To matter is conceivable.
Think some such mystery resides
Within the ethic of my will."

Contents:

Related Resources

None available for this document.

Download Options


Title: Time’s Laughingstocks and Other Verses

Select an option:

*Note: A download may not start for up to 60 seconds.

Email Options


Title: Time’s Laughingstocks and Other Verses

Select an option:

Email addres:

*Note: It may take up to 60 seconds for for the email to be generated.

Chicago: Thomas Hardy, "A Dream Question," Time’s Laughingstocks and Other Verses, ed. Keil, Heinrich, 1822-1894 and trans. Seaton, R. C. in Time’s Laughingstocks and Other Verses (New York: George E. Wood, ""Death-bed"" edition, 1892), Original Sources, accessed March 29, 2024, http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=CNYUQB5KW3QWTP1.

MLA: Hardy, Thomas. "A Dream Question." Time’s Laughingstocks and Other Verses, edited by Keil, Heinrich, 1822-1894, and translated by Seaton, R. C., in Time’s Laughingstocks and Other Verses, New York, George E. Wood, ""Death-bed"" edition, 1892, Original Sources. 29 Mar. 2024. http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=CNYUQB5KW3QWTP1.

Harvard: Hardy, T, 'A Dream Question' in Time’s Laughingstocks and Other Verses, ed. and trans. . cited in ""Death-bed"" edition, 1892, Time’s Laughingstocks and Other Verses, George E. Wood, New York. Original Sources, retrieved 29 March 2024, from http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=CNYUQB5KW3QWTP1.