Whom should I choose for my Judge? (fragment)

Portrait of Samuel Coleridge
Samuel Coleridge 1772–1834

Whom should I choose for my Judge? the earnest, impersonal reader, Who, in the work, forgets me and the world and himself!

Ye who have eyes to detect, and Gall to Chastise the imperfect, Have you the heart, too, that loves, feels and rewards the Compleat?

What is the meed of thy Song? 'Tis the ceaseless, the thousandfold Echo Which from the welcoming Hearts of the Pure repeats and prolongs it, Each with a different Tone, compleat or in musical fragments.

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