Introductory material
Reading edition
As the ample Moon, In the deep stillness of a summer even Rising behind a thick and lofty Grove, Burns like an unconsuming fire of light In the green trees; and kindling on all sides Their leafy umbrage, turns the dusky veil Into a substance glorious as her own, Yea, with her own incorporated, by power Capacious and serene: Like power abides In Man’s celestial Spirit; Virtue thus Sets forth and magnifies herself: thus feeds A calm, a beautiful and silent fire, From the incumbrances of mortal life, From error, disappointment, ... nay from guilt; And sometimes, so relenting Justice wills, From palpable oppressions of Despair. Wordsworth.