To buzzing lecture halls his steps he bent,
Where all the paths to God were well discussed,
Or faith and reason weighed with balance just,
Till he was dizzy with strong argument.
He saw philosophers who shook their fists,
And broke commandment nine;
He saw the Sadducean alchemists
Draw water out of wine;
He saw the knife-eyed Pharisees
Adjusting their phylacteries:
But never found the gate where he could see
The One in Three.

He watched the hills as dawn unlocked the day,
And felt vibrating o’er the low green lea
The breath of lilac and of hawthorn tree,
While gold laburnums rocked each pendent spray.
He saw the sun salute the moon afar,
And felt their common soul;
He heard the song of star to sister star
Around the sky’s deep bowl;
He watched the waves withdraw their foam,
He watched the rivers wending home:
He found the One, and yet he could not see
The One in Three.

Still doubting he beheld a brother man,
Whom he ignored and scorned to think akin;
But now a sudden breath of love within
Drove him to serve, and humbly he began.
His hands that worked in love were torn with red,
He shrank not at the sight,
For he who suffered saw a Heart that bled
Become his beacon-light.
Thus brother to the Son of God
With life from heaven on earth he trod:
The Life, the Light, the Love, he knew to be
The One in Three.