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ADAM.
“And God created Man in His own image.”
The Mind is victor over Time;
The dial of the brain
Points not to hours, but years sublime,
That o'er oblivion reign!
Immortal as its primal source,
It scatters centuries in its course—
Explores the worlds of thought;
Nor folds its heav'n-enfranchised wing,
Till reach'd that intellectual spring
Which crowns the shore it sought!
The dial of the brain
Points not to hours, but years sublime,
That o'er oblivion reign!
Immortal as its primal source,
It scatters centuries in its course—
Explores the worlds of thought;
Nor folds its heav'n-enfranchised wing,
Till reach'd that intellectual spring
Which crowns the shore it sought!
The Spirit of the Past appears—
The Present fades—is gone!
The feelings of unnumber'd years
Are centred into one!
A radiance o'er my vision glows,
While spreads that Eden of repose
Ere Sorrow's sway began;
I see that morn, whose light unfurl'd,
Woke the first Sabbath of the world
Upon the soul of man!
The Present fades—is gone!
The feelings of unnumber'd years
Are centred into one!
A radiance o'er my vision glows,
While spreads that Eden of repose
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I see that morn, whose light unfurl'd,
Woke the first Sabbath of the world
Upon the soul of man!
No cloud hangs o'er the far serene,
Earth smiles amidst her flowers,
As though that moment God had been
In her Elysian bowers!
Yet holier than the earth or sky,
A presence born of Deity,
With grace-illumined brow,
Glorious, as from Jehovah's hands,
The parent of earth's millions stands
Before my vision now.
Earth smiles amidst her flowers,
As though that moment God had been
In her Elysian bowers!
Yet holier than the earth or sky,
A presence born of Deity,
With grace-illumined brow,
Glorious, as from Jehovah's hands,
The parent of earth's millions stands
Before my vision now.
Erect—ere sin had bow'd his frame,
And struck his forehead dim;
Ere, exiled to eternal shame
By swords of cherubim,
He heard the voice of God complain—
Saw branded on the brow of Cain
The mark with murder red;
Knew all the horrors guilt must know,
Which, like an avalanche of woe,
Swept ruin on his head!
And struck his forehead dim;
Ere, exiled to eternal shame
By swords of cherubim,
He heard the voice of God complain—
Saw branded on the brow of Cain
The mark with murder red;
Knew all the horrors guilt must know,
Which, like an avalanche of woe,
Swept ruin on his head!
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I mark those lineaments divine,
In their immortal bloom;
Unmarr'd by one degrading line
Prophetic of their doom;
I gaze—and back the steeds of thought,
Midst years of blood one act had wrought;
Then trace the steps of time
Through all that sad mortality—
The universe of graves to be—
From flood, disease, and crime!
In their immortal bloom;
Unmarr'd by one degrading line
Prophetic of their doom;
I gaze—and back the steeds of thought,
Midst years of blood one act had wrought;
Then trace the steps of time
Through all that sad mortality—
The universe of graves to be—
From flood, disease, and crime!
The cities of the earth display
Their toil-oppressed race;
Merit neglected on her way,
Whilst Pride usurps her place:
There lies the plague-polluted corse,—
Envy, and Hatred, and Remorse,
The Passions' burning flow;
There lurks Revenge with poinard bare—
Terror that darkens to despair—
And Infamy, and Woe!
Their toil-oppressed race;
Merit neglected on her way,
Whilst Pride usurps her place:
There lies the plague-polluted corse,—
Envy, and Hatred, and Remorse,
The Passions' burning flow;
There lurks Revenge with poinard bare—
Terror that darkens to despair—
And Infamy, and Woe!
Where now is that imperial form,
That majesty of glance,
That brow o'er which the soul's wild storm
Of passions ne'er advance?—
Alas for Sin!—Through ages past
Mark Adam's seed in sorrow cast,
Still mourners upon earth:—
Then, on the Cross of Calvary,
Thy crucified Redeemer see,
And learn Man's second birth.
That majesty of glance,
That brow o'er which the soul's wild storm
Of passions ne'er advance?—
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Mark Adam's seed in sorrow cast,
Still mourners upon earth:—
Then, on the Cross of Calvary,
Thy crucified Redeemer see,
And learn Man's second birth.
Rise! rise! ye everlasting spheres,
And wake the hymn of life!
Praise Him, ye Eighteen Hundred Years
With man's salvation rife!
Though sin, and woe, and death prevail,
The Rock of Ages shall not fail
Whilst Faith on earth may dwell;
The soul baptised in Christ shall rise
Triumphant to its native skies,
Despite the powers of hell!
And wake the hymn of life!
Praise Him, ye Eighteen Hundred Years
With man's salvation rife!
Though sin, and woe, and death prevail,
The Rock of Ages shall not fail
Whilst Faith on earth may dwell;
The soul baptised in Christ shall rise
Triumphant to its native skies,
Despite the powers of hell!
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