The Judgement of the Flood by John A. Heraud. A New Edition. Revised and Re-Arranged |
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 | The Judgement of the Flood |  |
Entered within the porch of that great fane,
The Seven lingered not: whom to repeat
By name, for aid of memory, were these;
The Man of God, with Japhet, Shem, and Ham,
The Scribe, and young Zateel, and, finally,
Majestic Samiasa. He sublime,
His right hand perpendicularly raised,
Stood in commanding attitude, whose will
Was felt, not spoken; while they entered, one
By one, beneath the massy, and lofty arch
Of those huge gates idolatrous, designed
For giant worshippers to underpass
In their erect audacity. Anon,
Crouching, their pride proved false, degraded straight
Their bodies to the ground; their nature not
More prostrate than before, which could not feel
In personal aim, and man's collective force,
The littleness of individual mind.
—Oh, paradox, ill understood; now learn,
How fatal if ill understood, ill known.
—What they adored, i' the centre of the porch,
On its vast pedestal, appeared to fill
The illimitable expanse of that broad dome,
With its immense proportions; and pervade,
As with a presence supernatural,
The circumambient space, with the wide curve
Of each elaborate lineament, and limb.
Tremendous Idol; miracle of art;
When, like the body, mind gigantic was;
And of its genius the creations such.
The Seven lingered not: whom to repeat
By name, for aid of memory, were these;
The Man of God, with Japhet, Shem, and Ham,
The Scribe, and young Zateel, and, finally,
Majestic Samiasa. He sublime,
His right hand perpendicularly raised,
Stood in commanding attitude, whose will
Was felt, not spoken; while they entered, one
By one, beneath the massy, and lofty arch
Of those huge gates idolatrous, designed
For giant worshippers to underpass
In their erect audacity. Anon,
Crouching, their pride proved false, degraded straight
Their bodies to the ground; their nature not
265
In personal aim, and man's collective force,
The littleness of individual mind.
—Oh, paradox, ill understood; now learn,
How fatal if ill understood, ill known.
—What they adored, i' the centre of the porch,
On its vast pedestal, appeared to fill
The illimitable expanse of that broad dome,
With its immense proportions; and pervade,
As with a presence supernatural,
The circumambient space, with the wide curve
Of each elaborate lineament, and limb.
Tremendous Idol; miracle of art;
When, like the body, mind gigantic was;
And of its genius the creations such.
But they who enter now, degrade not thus
The temple of the soul. One only glance
(Of pity) on the monstrous image thrown,
They pass: but Samiasa hurries by,
With look averted; and, arrived within
The interiour of the temple—how he wept:
Yea, at the altar's foot he lay, and wept,
Even like a child; and wished the innocence
Might, with the weakness, of a child return.
The temple of the soul. One only glance
(Of pity) on the monstrous image thrown,
They pass: but Samiasa hurries by,
With look averted; and, arrived within
The interiour of the temple—how he wept:
Yea, at the altar's foot he lay, and wept,
Even like a child; and wished the innocence
Might, with the weakness, of a child return.
| The Judgement of the Flood | |