Israel in Egypt A Poem. By Edwin Atherstone |
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 | Israel in Egypt |  |
“Vile juggle all! O, Splendor of the Sun,
Heed not this paltry fellow. The poor trick
Of boy-magician is it he hath done;
First lesson in the art.”
Heed not this paltry fellow. The poor trick
Of boy-magician is it he hath done;
First lesson in the art.”
While yet he spake,
Cried other sorcerers also, a like note
Of mockery sounding: and, their words to prove,
At once they cast their staffs upon the floor;
And lo! a serpent every staff became,
Writhing and hissing. Then went up a laugh
Of triumph; and the priests on Pharaoh called,
Emboldening him; and for swift punishment
On Aaron and on Moses, crying out.
But, with cadaverous hue gazed now the king
On sight more strange; for, fearful to behold!
Aaron's huge dragon on the serpents fell,
And swallowed them. Speechless awhile he looked
On the vast scaly monster, quiet now,
As snake full gorged: and, with much troubled thoughts,
Then all the assembly looked; silent and awed;
So great the marvel.
Cried other sorcerers also, a like note
Of mockery sounding: and, their words to prove,
At once they cast their staffs upon the floor;
And lo! a serpent every staff became,
Writhing and hissing. Then went up a laugh
Of triumph; and the priests on Pharaoh called,
Emboldening him; and for swift punishment
On Aaron and on Moses, crying out.
But, with cadaverous hue gazed now the king
On sight more strange; for, fearful to behold!
Aaron's huge dragon on the serpents fell,
And swallowed them. Speechless awhile he looked
On the vast scaly monster, quiet now,
As snake full gorged: and, with much troubled thoughts,
Then all the assembly looked; silent and awed;
So great the marvel.
But in Pharaoh's heart
The arch fiend entered,—body, sense, and soul,
Possessing fully,—so by Power Supreme,
For its own ends, permitted,—and, his tongue
Controlling, proudly thus.
The arch fiend entered,—body, sense, and soul,
Possessing fully,—so by Power Supreme,
For its own ends, permitted,—and, his tongue
Controlling, proudly thus.
“More cunning skill,
Aaron, hast thou, than have my sorcerers:
Since they, snakes only from their staffs have brought,
Thou, yon huge dragon: yet the same your art;
Thine but the more accomplished: and like power,
Doubtless, could they, as practised, have attained:
No sign, then, may we hold this magic feat,
That, God-instructed, or from God ye come.
Take hence your dragon, therefore, and be gone:
For, while the sun lights Egypt, shall your race,
Be servants to us: ye shall not go forth
To worship in the desert. If true God,
Your God Jehovah,—nigh the city as well
May he be found, as in the wilderness.
The slaves are idle, and would leave their work.
Look to it; for I warn you that their toils
Shall yet be harder, and the whips more keen,
If all their tasks they do not, day by day,
As they are bidden. Hence then; and speak not;
For now my heart is hardened as a stone
Against you; and your words would all be vain.”
Aaron, hast thou, than have my sorcerers:
Since they, snakes only from their staffs have brought,
Thou, yon huge dragon: yet the same your art;
Thine but the more accomplished: and like power,
Doubtless, could they, as practised, have attained:
No sign, then, may we hold this magic feat,
That, God-instructed, or from God ye come.
Take hence your dragon, therefore, and be gone:
For, while the sun lights Egypt, shall your race,
Be servants to us: ye shall not go forth
70
Your God Jehovah,—nigh the city as well
May he be found, as in the wilderness.
The slaves are idle, and would leave their work.
Look to it; for I warn you that their toils
Shall yet be harder, and the whips more keen,
If all their tasks they do not, day by day,
As they are bidden. Hence then; and speak not;
For now my heart is hardened as a stone
Against you; and your words would all be vain.”
| Israel in Egypt | |