A Nameless Epitaph. New Poems, 1867. Matthew Arnold. 1909. The Poems of Matthew Arnold, 1840-1867

Matthew Arnold (1822–88). The Poems of Matthew Arnold, 1840–1867. 1909.

New Poems, 1867

A Nameless Epitaph


[First published 1867.] THIS sentence have I left behind:
An aching body, and a mind
Not wholly clear, nor wholly blind,
Too keen to rest, too weak to find,
That travails sore, and brings forth wind,	5
Are God’s worst portion to mankind.

Another Ask not my name, O friend!
That Being only, which hath known each man
From the beginning, can
Remember each unto the end.	10