The Vision of Prophecy and Other Poems :: :: University of Virginia Library

“Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them.”—St. Matthew iv. 8.

Alone, beneath the vaulted sky,
And side by side they stood,
Where rose a mountain-peak in high
And awful solitude,—
One with his cold bright eye of guile,
And on his lips a hollow smile,
An aching heart within;
The other, watching calm and grave,
With the wan look that sorrow gave
To Him that knew not sin.

Strange that upon one common spot
Their feet should once have trod,
And Time have there together brought
Man's tempter and his God;
And strange the mighty ends to tell
That stirred so deeply Heaven and Hell

Thus face to face opposed—
The stake was man's immortal life,
And this the prelude to the strife
On Calvary that closed.

They gazed in silence on the scene,
Outspreading far below,—
Hill, purple wood, and valley green,
All bathed in sunlight's glow;
Luxuriant plains and lonely cots
Sprinkled among the pleasant spots,
Where blue-veined rivers ran;
And smoke from cities far apart,
High-piled with wealth, enriched by art
And noblest works of man.

He gazed, who o'er earth's face had cast
Even there a look of gloom,
Whose withering shadow, as it passed,
Reft Eden of its bloom.
But for the ruin he had wrought,
No pity moved a gentler thought
Within that spirit dark;
And with a deadlier hate he longs
To strike the Avenger of its wrongs,—
His last and proudest mark!

He raised his hand, and through the air
A wildering vapour breathed,
And fast arose a vision fair
By false enchantment wreathed,—
Rich masques, and radiant phantoms, blent
Within a luminous element,
A shifting splendour cast,
Till, from its heaped and mingling spoils,
Unwinding all its glittering coils,
Slow moved the pageant past.

There all earth's lands and kingdoms seem
Assembled as in strife,
To cast a soft and witching gleam
Around the pride of life;
All that could tempt the sensual eye
Of wealth, and pomp, and luxury,
Was bright-reflected there;
All guerdons which, on honour's height,
May tempt Ambition's loftiest flight,
Tricked out the shining snare.

There laurels veiled the blood that stained
The trophied pride of war,
And haughty Rome dragged princes chained
To her imperial car.

And all their rifled treasuries
With sumless wealth and merchandise
Came dazzling in her train:
Barbaric pearl and diamond shone
From lands far east of Babylon,
And sunny Taprobane.

Fair Greece unlocked her finer store
Of all immortal arts,
Slow camel-files from Syria bore
The spoil that chokes her marts;
And palm-plumed Araby was there,
With ivory, silk, and tissues rare
Wrought in the looms of Ind;
And lucid gums from isle of bloom,
Where groves of spice with faint perfume
Enrich the evening wind.

There warriors marched in gleaming arms
Where Fame's loud trumpet blared,
And, lured by Glory's tempting charms,
All bloody perils dared;
There banners waved to victory's shout,
And softer instruments spoke out,
And passioned minstrels sung,
While princes held high festival,

And on their guests the lighted hall
Its gorgeous splendour flung.

He showed Him in a jewelled wreath
All crowns that earth bestows,
But not the rankling thorns beneath
That pierce the wearer's brows.
He showed Him every specious prize
That sparkles in Ambition's eyes,
But not the pale-eyed Care
That in the height of honour dwells,
And whispers mournful oracles
Behind the princely chair.

But who may trace each saddening thought
That thrilled the Saviour's heart,
While gazing on the pageant wrought
By that false spirit's art?
He, through its rich and lustrous folds,
The dark reality beholds,—
The violence and guilt
Through which these stately empires grew,
And all the groans their glory drew,
And all the blood it spilt.

He turned his eye from royal state
Beneath high arching domes,

And saw the poor and desolate
Within a thousand homes;
The outcast wandering for his bread,
Who had not where to lay his head,
Until he found the grave;
For them his tears of pity ran,
And all who were despised by man
His spirit yearned to save.

He turned him from the empty glare
That crowned Oppression wore,
And saw the broken hearts of care
Its heavy load that bore.
He heard the withering captive's moan,
The poor defrauded labourer's groan,
Whose wrongs no law redressed;
Their sorrows on his heart were borne,
To all the weary and forlorn
He came to offer rest.

He looked, and, lo! Sin's blighting shade
Crept o'er the airy show,
And from it fast the flush decayed
Like evening's rosy glow;
The enchanter's wand in fragments fell,
Dissolved, like mist, the subtle spell,

The loaded air was cleared;
And, through the blank against the sky,
Distinct and dark, low Calvary
His naked cross upreared.

“And shall the crowns of earth,” he cried,
“False fiend! have charms for me,
Who laid the crown of heaven aside
Thy fettered slaves to free?
Away with all thy glittering dross,—
Mine eye is full upon the cross,
And speeds the fateful hour,
When I, the woman's seed, shall tread
In death on thy discrownèd head,
And crush thy hated power.

“Away! thy evil star is dim,
Look up and see the sign,—
My knee bends never but to Him
Who is my God and thine!
Away! and triumph for a time,
But I will track thee by thy slime,
Foul serpent! and expel
All evil from this groaning world,
And, as before, behold thee hurled
To the abyss of hell!”