I lean'd, the secret Well of Life to learn.
And drink; and that impassive Lip I kiss'd.
XXXVIII. In ed. 2 the only difference is «For» instead of «And» in the first line; but in the first draft of ed. 3 the stanza appeared thus:
For, in your Ear a moment--of the same Poor Earth from which that Human Whisper came, The luckless Mould in which Mankind was cast They did compose, and call'd him by the name.
Listen--a moment listen!--Of the same, etc.
On the parcht herbage but may steal below.
As then the Tulip for her wonted sup Of Heavenly Vintage lifts her chalice up, Do you, twin offspring of the soil, till Heav'n To Earth invert you like an empty Cup.
In the first draft of ed. 3 the stanza is the same as in edd. 3 and 4, except that the second line is--
Of Wine from Heav'n her little Tass lifts up.
XLI. In ed. 2 and the first draft of ed. 3:
Oh, plagued no more with Human or Divine To-morrow's tangle to itself resign.
And if the Cup you drink, the Lip you press, End in what All begins and ends in--Yes; Imagine then you _are_ what heretofore You _were_--hereafter you shall not be less.
The first draft of ed. 3 agrees with edd. 3 and 4, except that the first line is--
And if the Cup, and if the Lip you press.
So when at last the Angel of the drink Of Darkness finds you by the river-brink, And, proffering his Cup, invites your Soul Forth to your Lips to quaff it--do not shrink.
In the first draft of ed. 3 the only change made was from «proffering» to «offering,» but in ed. 3 the stanza assumed the form in which it also appeared in ed. 4. The change from «the Angel» to «that Angel» was made in MS. by FitzGerald in a copy of ed. 4.
Is't not a shame--is't not a shame for him So long in this Clay suburb to abide!
And fear not lest Existence closing _your_ Account, should lose, or know the type no more.
As the SEV'N SEAS should heed a pebble-cast.
One Moment in Annihilation's Waste, One Moment, of the Well of Life to taste-- The Stars are setting, and the Caravan Draws to the Dawn of Nothing--Oh make haste.
In the first draft of ed. 3 the third line originally stood:
the rest of the stanza being as in edd. 3 and 4.
A Hair, they say, divides the False and True.
The change from «does» to «may» in the last line was made by FitzGerald in MS.