The Descent into Hell Second Edition, Revised and Re-arranged, with an Analysis and Notes: To which are added, Uriel, a Fragment and Three Odes. By John A. Heraud |
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 | The Descent into Hell |  |
I.1.
O Spirit of the Universe! whereby
Things have intelligible entity,
And are arrayed in glory to man's eye,
Things have intelligible entity,
And are arrayed in glory to man's eye,
And Nature is, because perceived to be;
O thou, unto sad Earth as soul to sense,
Life-giving Light! her graves even yearn for thee...
O thou, unto sad Earth as soul to sense,
Life-giving Light! her graves even yearn for thee...
Strange echoes in the dreamy gloom commence,
Ancestral ages are unsepulchred,
Old oracles awaken from suspense.
Ancestral ages are unsepulchred,
Old oracles awaken from suspense.
The Life—the Light of men is darkened—
Dark is the lustre of the Seraphim—
The Word is silent,—lo, the heavens are dead.
Dark is the lustre of the Seraphim—
The Word is silent,—lo, the heavens are dead.
95
In mere nihility inane and dim,
This wreck of elements anon subsides;
Man hath slain God,—Creation dies with Him;
This wreck of elements anon subsides;
Man hath slain God,—Creation dies with Him;
Time travels not—and Space no more abides.
Inquire of Night and Chaos. Can ye be,
If God be not? Adore him,—Deicides!
Inquire of Night and Chaos. Can ye be,
If God be not? Adore him,—Deicides!
—May man survive his Maker? or, Light! thee?
If thou wert quenched, earth would be formless, void,
And darkness o'er the deep brood silently.
If thou wert quenched, earth would be formless, void,
And darkness o'er the deep brood silently.
I.2.
Thou art not quenched, where Thought is still enjoyed—
Created Light of uncreated Light!
But even thou wert not, were Mind destroyed;
Created Light of uncreated Light!
But even thou wert not, were Mind destroyed;
Thy heavenly radiance thou dost reunite
Unto its origin, in the obscure
Of the Eternal Being hidden quite.
Unto its origin, in the obscure
Of the Eternal Being hidden quite.
—Let the Almighty only sleep, no more
Motion and Time revolve. Their sweet concents
Both Heaven and Earth suspend; all tasks are o'er:
Motion and Time revolve. Their sweet concents
Both Heaven and Earth suspend; all tasks are o'er:
The Watchers languish in their guardian tents;
Nature's heart pauseth, in whose pulse we live;
And Man doth slumber with the Elements.
Nature's heart pauseth, in whose pulse we live;
And Man doth slumber with the Elements.
Should he wax weary or old; the land would rive,
In arid clefts, and yawning gulphs disclose
Tartarean mysteries for the sky to shrive,
In arid clefts, and yawning gulphs disclose
Tartarean mysteries for the sky to shrive,
But that th' unconscious stars, in blind repose,
Like some fair scroll's illumined characters,
Wrinkled with eld, were darkling ere they rose.
Like some fair scroll's illumined characters,
Wrinkled with eld, were darkling ere they rose.
96
And lo, the once Almighty Voice deters
Ocean no more, far spooming, huge and wild;
But his dull weeds stagnate our Sepulchres.
Ocean no more, far spooming, huge and wild;
But his dull weeds stagnate our Sepulchres.
—And might He die;..would He die like a child
Of Earth, and perish from his Universe?
Nay, it from him would perish first; exiled.—
Of Earth, and perish from his Universe?
Nay, it from him would perish first; exiled.—
I.3.
With the great Sun and Moon and rolling Spheres,
Swifter than a god's thought, precipitate,
Loosed from his Providence, it would disperse
Swifter than a god's thought, precipitate,
Loosed from his Providence, it would disperse
Into the abyss of Chaos, ruinate:
And Chaos'-self be not. Not on the wreck
Of the demolished Earths, the expiring state
And Chaos'-self be not. Not on the wreck
Of the demolished Earths, the expiring state
Of the Heaven of heavens, as from a courser's neck
Elanced, sheer o'er destruction's brink, shall He,
With his sublime despair, haste on, and deck
Elanced, sheer o'er destruction's brink, shall He,
With his sublime despair, haste on, and deck
The End of All. Time, Space, Eternity,
Shall pass away, Darkness and Death be gone;
They perish from his presence utterly,
Shall pass away, Darkness and Death be gone;
They perish from his presence utterly,
They leave him in his solitude alone;
'Till unimaginable doom obscure,
Delete, annihilate, the Essential One.
'Till unimaginable doom obscure,
Delete, annihilate, the Essential One.
Thou art, oh man; they are;—He is, be sure.
Great God! for ever and for aye, dost Thou,
Sole Dweller of Eternity, endure.
Great God! for ever and for aye, dost Thou,
Sole Dweller of Eternity, endure.
Thou only dost the Earth and Heavens endow—
From thee her seasons hath the appointed Moon,
And the bright Stars thy handy work avow!
From thee her seasons hath the appointed Moon,
And the bright Stars thy handy work avow!
| The Descent into Hell | |