Fifty of the Protestant Ballads and " The Anti-Ritualistic Directorium, " of Martin F. Tupper ... New; and reprinted |
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| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
| VIII. |
| IX. |
| X. |
| XI. |
| XII. |
| XIII. |
| XIV. |
| XV. |
| XVI. |
| XVII. |
| XVIII. |
| XIX. |
| XX. |
| XXI. | XXI.
PRIEST AND LAY. |
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 | Fifty of the Protestant Ballads |  |
95
XXI. PRIEST AND LAY.
They have dared to malign the dear martyrs of Jesus,
Their patience to mock, and their pangs to disclaim,
To sneer at the tortures that shock us and freeze us,—
The rack with its throes, and the stake with its flame!
They smoothly excuse those Dominican devils
Whom orthodox Rome set apart for such crimes,
And gladly would mix in the murderous revels
Achieved by such Catholic zeal in old times.
Their patience to mock, and their pangs to disclaim,
To sneer at the tortures that shock us and freeze us,—
The rack with its throes, and the stake with its flame!
They smoothly excuse those Dominican devils
Whom orthodox Rome set apart for such crimes,
And gladly would mix in the murderous revels
Achieved by such Catholic zeal in old times.
They say that the stupefied fanatics felt not,
That obstinate infidels chose their own course,
That heretics who contumaciously knelt not
Must clearly be dragged to the altar by force;
They vow that the State, not the Church, was the slayer,
A barbarous people, and not the meek priest,—
The age was in fault, not the preacher and pray-er,
The laymen, but clericals? not in the least.
That obstinate infidels chose their own course,
That heretics who contumaciously knelt not
Must clearly be dragged to the altar by force;
They vow that the State, not the Church, was the slayer,
A barbarous people, and not the meek priest,—
The age was in fault, not the preacher and pray-er,
The laymen, but clericals? not in the least.
And yet, were the laity leaders and preachers?
Or a strong church in the pride of high place?
Were the weak flocks or their tyrannous teachers
Zealots in crime, God and man to disgrace?
Not the dull laymen, but scholarly churchmen,
These were the burners for bigotry's sake;
Search out all history, Protestants, search, men!
You'll still find the priest at the root of the stake.
Or a strong church in the pride of high place?
Were the weak flocks or their tyrannous teachers
Zealots in crime, God and man to disgrace?
Not the dull laymen, but scholarly churchmen,
These were the burners for bigotry's sake;
Search out all history, Protestants, search, men!
You'll still find the priest at the root of the stake.
96
Who taught the world to be piously cruel,
With horrors that none but a monk could contrive?
What but grim priestcraft invented the fuel
To burn soul and body together alive?
Seed of the True Church! Blood of the martyrs!
Strangely you conquered the priest in the saint,
When to high heaven your flaming avatars
Rose to the glory no fancy can paint!
With horrors that none but a monk could contrive?
What but grim priestcraft invented the fuel
To burn soul and body together alive?
Seed of the True Church! Blood of the martyrs!
Strangely you conquered the priest in the saint,
When to high heaven your flaming avatars
Rose to the glory no fancy can paint!
Ay; all ye Druids, ye Brahmins, ye Pagans,
And African Obis, and priests of all creeds,
From Mary's the Blest, to Astarte's and Dagon's,
Through priestcraft in chief poor humanity bleeds:
And more; when a day of redemption has brightened,
It never was priest bade the dayspring to burst,—
France, Italy, Spain! if your fetters are lightened,
They fall to the layman,—the last is the first!
And African Obis, and priests of all creeds,
From Mary's the Blest, to Astarte's and Dagon's,
Through priestcraft in chief poor humanity bleeds:
And more; when a day of redemption has brightened,
It never was priest bade the dayspring to burst,—
France, Italy, Spain! if your fetters are lightened,
They fall to the layman,—the last is the first!
| Fifty of the Protestant Ballads | |