TCDE-Team at 21:17, 4 April 2026

2026-04-04T21:17:04Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:17, 4 April 2026
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	''Darkness'' is a poem written by [[Arthur Conan Doyle]] first published in the collected volume [[Songs of the Road]] on 16 march 1911.		''Darkness'' is a poem written by [[Arthur Conan Doyle]] first published in the collected volume [[Songs of the Road]] on 16 march 1911.


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	== Darkness ==		== Darkness ==

	A gentleman of wit and charm,~~<br />~~		<poem>
	A kindly heart, a cleanly mind,~~<br />~~		A gentleman of wit and charm,
	One who was quick with hand or purse,~~<br />~~		A kindly heart, a cleanly mind,
	To lift the burden of his kind.~~<br />~~		One who was quick with hand or purse,
	A brain well balanced and mature,~~<br />~~		To lift the burden of his kind.
	A soul that shrank from all things base,~~<br />~~		A brain well balanced and mature,
	So rode he forth that winter day,~~<br />~~		A soul that shrank from all things base,
			So rode he forth that winter day,
	Complete in every mortal grace.		Complete in every mortal grace.

			And then — the blunder of a horse,
	And then — the blunder of a horse,~~<br />~~		The crash upon the frozen clods,
	The crash upon the frozen clods,~~<br />~~		And — Death? Ah! no such dignity,
	And — Death? Ah! no such dignity,~~<br />~~		But Life, all twisted and at odds!
	But Life, all twisted and at odds!~~<br />~~		At odds in body and in soul,
	At odds in body and in soul,~~<br />~~		Degraded to some brutish state,
	Degraded to some brutish state,~~<br />~~		A being loathsome and malign,
	A being loathsome and malign,~~<br />~~
	Debased, obscene, degenerate.		Debased, obscene, degenerate.

			Pathology? The case is clear,
			The diagnosis is exact;
			A bone depressed, a haemorrhage,
			The pressure on a nervous tract.
			Theology? Ah, there's the rub!
			Since brain and soul together fade,
			Then when the brain is dead — enough!
			Lord help us, for we need Thine aid!
			</poem>

	~~Pathology? The case is clear,<br />~~
	~~The diagnosis is exact;<br />~~
	~~A bone depressed, a haemorrhage,<br />~~
	~~The pressure on a nervous tract.<br />~~
	~~Theology? Ah, there's the rub!<br />~~
	~~Since brain and soul together fade,<br />~~
	~~Then when the brain is dead — enough!<br />~~
	~~Lord help us, for we need Thine aid!~~

TCDE-Team at 11:34, 22 July 2016

2016-07-22T11:34:20Z

New page

''Darkness'' is a poem written by [[Arthur Conan Doyle]] first published in the collected volume [[Songs of the Road]] on 16 march 1911.

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== Editions ==

* in ''[[Songs of the Road]]'' (16 march 1911, [[Smith, Elder & Co.]] [UK])
* in ''[[Songs of the Road]]'' (october 1911, [[Doubleday & McClure Co.|Doubleday, Page & Co.]] [US])
* in ''[[Songs of the Road]]'' (27 january 1920, [[John Murray]] [UK])
* in ''[[Songs of the Road]]'' (february 1920, [[John Murray]] [UK])
* in ''[[The Poems of Arthur Conan Doyle]]'' (21 september 1922, [[John Murray]] [UK])
* in ''[[The Poems of Arthur Conan Doyle]]'' (14 september 1928, [[John Murray]]'s ''Fiction Library'' [UK])

== Darkness ==

A gentleman of wit and charm, 
A kindly heart, a cleanly mind, 
One who was quick with hand or purse, 
To lift the burden of his kind. 
A brain well balanced and mature, 
A soul that shrank from all things base, 
So rode he forth that winter day, 
Complete in every mortal grace.

And then — the blunder of a horse, 
The crash upon the frozen clods, 
And — Death? Ah! no such dignity, 
But Life, all twisted and at odds! 
At odds in body and in soul, 
Degraded to some brutish state, 
A being loathsome and malign, 
Debased, obscene, degenerate.

Pathology? The case is clear, 
The diagnosis is exact; 
A bone depressed, a haemorrhage, 
The pressure on a nervous tract. 
Theology? Ah, there's the rub! 
Since brain and soul together fade, 
Then when the brain is dead — enough! 
Lord help us, for we need Thine aid!

----
* [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle:Complete Works|Back to Complete Works]]
* [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle|Back to Conan Doyle]]

Darkness - Revision history

TCDE-Team at 21:17, 4 April 2026

TCDE-Team at 11:34, 22 July 2016