 | At Sunset |  |
32
HYMN FOR THE FOURTH OF JULY
Our fathers built the house of God;
Rough-hewn, with haste its slabs they laid,
The savage man in ambush trod,
And still they worshiped undismayed.
Rough-hewn, with haste its slabs they laid,
The savage man in ambush trod,
And still they worshiped undismayed.
They wrought like stalwart men of war,
Who wrung the state from heathen hands;
Who bore their faith's high banner far,
And in its name possessed the lands.
Who wrung the state from heathen hands;
Who bore their faith's high banner far,
And in its name possessed the lands.
The skill of strife to peaceful arts,
Their perils over, glad gave way;
The bond of freedom joined men's hearts
More near than meaner compact may.
Their perils over, glad gave way;
The bond of freedom joined men's hearts
More near than meaner compact may.
We, followers of their task and toil,
Inherited their dangers too;
Drove bloody rapine from our soil,
Th' oppressor dared, the murderer slew.
Inherited their dangers too;
Drove bloody rapine from our soil,
Th' oppressor dared, the murderer slew.
Our heavy work, like theirs, at end;
Returning from the death-won field,
Brother with brother, friend with friend
Again the house of God we build.
Returning from the death-won field,
Brother with brother, friend with friend
Again the house of God we build.
33
Oh! may our ransomed freedom dwell
In truth's own citadel secure;
And blameless guardians foster well
The mystic flame that must endure.
In truth's own citadel secure;
And blameless guardians foster well
The mystic flame that must endure.
The flame of holy human love,
That makes our liberties divine;
Let each strong arm its champion prove,
And each true heart its deathless shrine.
That makes our liberties divine;
Let each strong arm its champion prove,
And each true heart its deathless shrine.
1865.
| At Sunset | |