noon
Release me , I pray thee , from the duties that I scorn ; or , if thou wilt that the lowlier race of men be my charge , give unto me the charge not of many , but of one , and suffer me to breathe into him the desire that spurns the valleys of life , and ascends its steeps . If the humble are given to me , let there be amongst them one whom I may lead on the mission that shall abase the proud ; for , behold , O Appointer of the Stars , as I have sat for uncounted years upon my solitary throne , brooding over the things beneath , my spirit hath gathered wisdom from the changes that shift below . Looking upon the tribes of earth , I have seen how the multitude are swayed , and tracked the steps that lead weakness into power ; and fain would I be the ruler of one who , if abased , shall aspire to rule . '' As a sudden cloud over the face of noon was the change on the brow of the archangel . `` Proud and melancholy star , '' said the herald , `` thy wish would war with the courses of the invisible DESTINY , that , throned far above , sways and harmonizes all , -- the source from which the lesser rivers of fate are eternally gushing through the heart of the universe of things . Thinkest thou that thy wisdom , of itself , can lead the peasant to become a king ? '' And the crowned star gazed undauntedly on the face of the archangel , and answered , -- `` Yea !