I am—I’m happy to repeat—
A man exclusively self-taught.
My studies have had no discipline;
But fed by thought and speculation
And random reading, my mind has grown.
I started rather late in life;
And then, as you know, it’s heavy stuff
Plowing your way from page to page
And prodding your memory to gorge.
History I picked up in scraps;
Never had the time for more.
And then, of course, for the evil days
One needs a faith in something sure—
So I took religion, in little sips;
It goes down easier that way.
Study should not be omnivorous,
But strictly with an eye to use——