Read it through once

“If he rejoin, ‘But this was all the while A trick; the fault was, first of all, in thee, {515} Thy story of the places, names and dates, Where, when, and how the ultimate truth had rise, --Thy prior truth, at last discovered none, Whence now the second suffers detriment. What good of giving knowledge if, because {520} O’ the manner of the gift, its profit fail? And why refuse what modicum of help Had stopped the after-doubt, impossible I’ the face of truth--truth absolute, uniform? Why must I hit of this and miss of that, {525} Distinguish just as I be weak or strong, And not ask of thee and have answer prompt, Was this once, was it not once?--then and now And evermore, plain truth from man to man. Is John’s procedure just the heathen bard’s? {530} Put question of his famous play again How for the ephemerals’ sake, Jove’s fire was filched, And carried in a cane and brought to earth: THE FACT IS IN THE FABLE, cry the wise, MORTALS OBTAINED THE BOON, SO MUCH IS FACT, {535} THOUGH FIRE BE SPIRIT AND PRODUCED ON EARTH. As with the Titan’s, so now with thy tale: Why breed in us perplexity, mistake, Nor tell the whole truth in the proper words?’