THE MEN OF OLD

 

THE MEN OF OLD

‘The Men Of OLD’ is a poem written by the English poet Lord Houghton (19.6.1809—11.08.1885). His full name was Richard Monckton Milnes. He was born in London (U.K.) but died in Vichy (France).

Houghton was a great patron of literature and politics. The poem mentioned above has a nostalgic tone. Its theme is that the men of old were more contented, unselfish and orderly than those of present time.

The theme itself is perennial. The evolution of man on this planet has been progressively materialistic and self-centred.  Social, moral and spiritual values are constantly getting a hit. The feelings, thoughts and emotions related to goodness, beauty and truth which were the hall mark of many earlier s periods are regularly withering away. Today we are in a new world with different un-altruistic interpretations of the summum bonum, i.e. the highest good which, according to ethics, should govern all human actions.

Modern philosophers agree that science and technology have made human life more comfortable but less humane because it lacks the eternal values preached by world’s greatest religions. There is currently a good deal of selfishness and alienation in all types of personal and social relationships. Genuine philanthropy, loyalty to human welfare and yearning for togetherness are declining, rather astoundingly. People now feel lonely and helpless in the times of all sorts of critical situations.  

In short, something beautiful, heart-warming, and soul-enriching which existed in the past is tragically missing and its gradual disappearance is being deeply felt by men of letters rather than those of other pursuits of life.

Let us listen to the first stanza of the ode Intimations of Immortality from recollections of Early Childhood written by the English poet ‘William Wordsworth (1780-1830):

“There was a time when, meadow, grove, and stream.

The earth and every common sight,

            To me did seem

Apparell’d in celestial light,

The glory and the freshness of a dream.

It is not now as it hath been of yore; ---

            Turn wheresoever I may,

            By night or day,

The things which I have seen I now can see no more.”

 

What follows is Lord Houghton’s poem ‘The Men of Old’ cited in the introduction:

“I KNOW not that the men of old

Were better than men now,

Of heart more kind, of hand more bold,

Of more ingenuous brow:

I heed not those who pine for force

A ghost of Time to raise,

As if they thus could check the course

Of these appointed days.

 

Still it is true, and over true,

That I delight to close

This book of life self-wise and new,

And let my thoughts repose

On all that humble happiness

The world has since forgone,

The daylight of contentedness

That on those faces shone.

 

With rights, tho’ not too closely scann’d,

Enjoy’d as far as known;

With will by no reverse unmann’d,

With pulse of even tone,

They from today and from tonight

Expressed nothing more

Than yesterday and yesternight

Had proffer’d them before.

 

To them was Life a simple art

Of duties to be done,

A game where each man took his part,

A race where all must run;

A battle whose great scheme and scope

They little cared to know,

Content as men-at-arms to cope

Each with his fronting foe,

 

Man now his Virtue’s diadem

Puts on and proudly wears:

Great thoughts, great feelings came to them

Like instincts, unawares.

Blending their souls’ sublimest needs

With tasks of every day,

They went about their gravest deeds

As noble boys at play. “

 

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13^th September 2020                          G.  R.  Kanwal