Bearing two crystal goblets in her hands
To a philosopher an Angel came:
One wine shone clear as water o'er white sands,
One red as flame.
"Choose!" said the Angel. "From life's wine-press flows
For all mankind the vintage which I bring.
The pale cup holds exemption from life's woes,
The red brings suffering."
"One wine is colourless," the dreamer said.
"Who suffer keenest nobler joys attain."
And to the dregs drained from the goblet red
The draught of pain.
Then spake the Angel: "Thou hast chosen well.
What seemeth loss to thee shall prove thy gain.
All that is pure, and sweet, and beautiful
Is born of pain."
This work is in the public domain in Australia because it was created in Australia and the term of copyright has expired.
See Australian Copyright Council - Duration of Copyright (January 2019).
This work is also in the public domain in the United States because it was in the public domain in Australia in 1996, and no copyright was registered in the U.S. (This is the combined effect of Australia having joined the Berne Convention in 1928, and of 17 USC 104A with its critical date of January 1, 1996.)
This work was published before January 1, 1927, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.