The Ladder of St. Augustine
Addressing Saint Augustine, the speaker compares conquered vices and daily experiences to rungs of a ladder toward moral improvement. The speaker urges gradual, persistent effort, arguing that even past failures can support the attainment of something nobler.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · Genre: Didactic Poetry, Inspirational Poetry · 458 words
First lines
Saint Augustine! well hast thou said, / That of our vices we can frame / A ladder, if we will but tread / Beneath our feet each deed of shame!
All common things, each day's events, / That with the hour begin and end, / Our pleasures and our discontents, / Are rounds by which we may ascend.
Genres
- Didactic Poetry — The rhymed quatrains instruct readers to overcome envy, excess, and harmful thoughts through disciplined effort.
- Inspirational Poetry — The speaker presents gradual progress as attainable and encourages readers to build something nobler upon past failures.
Tags
perseverance · self-discipline · moral improvement · vice · ambition · past failures
What this Textopian page supports
The Ladder of St. Augustine is listed on Textopian as a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, dated Date unknown.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Didactic Poetry, Inspirational Poetry
- Length: 458 words
- Structure: 1 section, 12 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
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