 | Jones Very : The Complete Poems |  |
The Mission Of The Friends To The Emperor Nicholas
Bold in their cause they stood before the Czar,Careless alike of splendor and of power;
To bear their witness 'gainst the coming war,
Which over Europe darkly 'gan to lower:
Of Love, Forgiveness, and of Peace they spoke,
The laws which Christ unto the nations gave;
Which king, nor people never can revoke,
And which alone can king, or people save.
They pleaded, in behalf of suffering man,
The countless evils, which from war must flow;
Moved, deeply moved, ere yet the strife began,
By thought of human agony and woe;
And fearless spake the threatening of the Lord,
“Who take the sword shall perish by the sword!”
Poem No. 73; January 1856
| Jones Very : The Complete Poems | |