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HYMN FOR THE HOLY DAY OF ST. CATHERINE OF ALEXANDRIA
Queen upon earth! Ah, more, our queen in heaven!
What may men bring for gifts before thy throne?
What praise for thee, to whom God's praise is given?
O ruler of ten cities! what wrought zone
Of gold of earthly poesy, starred round
With flaming rubicels of love that yearns,
Is meet for thee whom God girds as a queen
With glory of archangels and the sound
Of sacred trumpets and the light that burns
On all the altars of thy wide demesne?
Shed thou thy grace on us
Whom the four angels
Bare through the air
To the marvellous tomb!
Turn thy fair face on us!
Teach us evangels
Newer and truer!
Lighten the gloom,
That our eyes may see clear!
Though the darkness be drear!
O Queen and Teacher, we besech thee, hear!
What may men bring for gifts before thy throne?
What praise for thee, to whom God's praise is given?
O ruler of ten cities! what wrought zone
Of gold of earthly poesy, starred round
With flaming rubicels of love that yearns,
Is meet for thee whom God girds as a queen
With glory of archangels and the sound
Of sacred trumpets and the light that burns
On all the altars of thy wide demesne?
Shed thou thy grace on us
Whom the four angels
Bare through the air
To the marvellous tomb!
87
Teach us evangels
Newer and truer!
Lighten the gloom,
That our eyes may see clear!
Though the darkness be drear!
O Queen and Teacher, we besech thee, hear!
O thou wise Lady, whose illumined eyes
Beheld not only Moses on the Mount,
Saw not alone before thy vision rise
The royal sage whose wisdom learned to count
All world's-ways vanity that led him not
To Him who holds all worlds within His palm,
Nor the great Twain on whom Death worked no wrong!
Thou hast trodden the Stagirite's straight ways of thought
And walked with Plato on the heights of calm
And learned the strange lore of the Sibyl's song.
Each was God's voice with thee—
Hebrew or Hellen—
Light for thy sight
To discover thy Lord.
Now they rejoice with thee,
Chosen to dwell in
Aidenn, a maiden
Crowned and adored.
And we too would draw near
To salute and revere
O wise and radiant and benign one, hear!
Beheld not only Moses on the Mount,
Saw not alone before thy vision rise
The royal sage whose wisdom learned to count
All world's-ways vanity that led him not
To Him who holds all worlds within His palm,
Nor the great Twain on whom Death worked no wrong!
Thou hast trodden the Stagirite's straight ways of thought
And walked with Plato on the heights of calm
And learned the strange lore of the Sibyl's song.
Each was God's voice with thee—
Hebrew or Hellen—
Light for thy sight
To discover thy Lord.
Now they rejoice with thee,
Chosen to dwell in
Aidenn, a maiden
Crowned and adored.
88
To salute and revere
O wise and radiant and benign one, hear!
Not only unto thee that prince of yore,
Whose psalms still girdle earth with chains of praise,
Nor he who sang the song of him who bore
God's utmost patiently, unlocked their lays;
Nor even God's poet-mother held alone
High discourse with thee. Homer also spread
On thy soul's sea the singing of his sails.
Thou hast heard devout Euripides' sweet moan
And Pindar trumpeting with uplifted head
And Sappho thrilling with the nightingales—
Sunless but glorious
Beacons unnumbered,
Bright in the night
With God's luminous breath,
Star-souls victorious
Though the dawn slumbered,
Bringing with singing
Forewords God saith.
All a-stagger we tread
In the ways where they led.
Strengthen our steps, O victress garlanded!
Whose psalms still girdle earth with chains of praise,
Nor he who sang the song of him who bore
God's utmost patiently, unlocked their lays;
Nor even God's poet-mother held alone
High discourse with thee. Homer also spread
On thy soul's sea the singing of his sails.
Thou hast heard devout Euripides' sweet moan
And Pindar trumpeting with uplifted head
And Sappho thrilling with the nightingales—
Sunless but glorious
Beacons unnumbered,
Bright in the night
With God's luminous breath,
Star-souls victorious
Though the dawn slumbered,
Bringing with singing
Forewords God saith.
All a-stagger we tread
In the ways where they led.
Strengthen our steps, O victress garlanded!
89
Now night and twilight for thine eyes are ended
In the diviner noonday of the place
When God's white sunlight makes the city splendid
With glory from the shining of His face;
Yet are the stars not lightless in that flood
Of radiance, brightening forth with steadier glow,
Their angel forms the clearlier outlined there—
The Powers and Principalities that stood
Undaunted when Heaven warred with the great Foe,
And the clear-sighted ones who made earth fair.
Thou, whom they reverence
(Thrones and dominions),
Save from the grave
Of unknowledge and night!
Face us forever hence
Dawnward, whose pinions
Weary in dreary
Doubt of the light!
Be a lamp in our way,
That our feet may not stray!
Sainted and sweet, have rue on us, we pray!
In the diviner noonday of the place
When God's white sunlight makes the city splendid
With glory from the shining of His face;
Yet are the stars not lightless in that flood
Of radiance, brightening forth with steadier glow,
Their angel forms the clearlier outlined there—
The Powers and Principalities that stood
Undaunted when Heaven warred with the great Foe,
And the clear-sighted ones who made earth fair.
Thou, whom they reverence
(Thrones and dominions),
Save from the grave
Of unknowledge and night!
Face us forever hence
Dawnward, whose pinions
Weary in dreary
Doubt of the light!
Be a lamp in our way,
That our feet may not stray!
Sainted and sweet, have rue on us, we pray!
O thou who sittest ever at her feet
Whom God wrought of all creatures holiest
That she might be as spotless raiment meet
To clothe the Eternal Word with! Fair sky's-guest,
With whom the high arch-regents of the spheres
Hold interchange of sweet Olympian words—
Apollo and lute-hearted Israfel
And clear-limbed Artemis, splendid with her spears,
Uranian Aphrodite and her birds,
Serene Athene, sword-eyed Uriel!
Thou who didst seek on high
Love such as breast shall
Pour nevermore
For a mortal man's mirth!
Thou who from beacon eye,
Flaming, celestial,
Lightest our brightest
Torches of earth!
O refulgent and fair,
With the stars in thy hair!
Holy and blessed, hearken to our prayer!
Whom God wrought of all creatures holiest
That she might be as spotless raiment meet
To clothe the Eternal Word with! Fair sky's-guest,
90
Hold interchange of sweet Olympian words—
Apollo and lute-hearted Israfel
And clear-limbed Artemis, splendid with her spears,
Uranian Aphrodite and her birds,
Serene Athene, sword-eyed Uriel!
Thou who didst seek on high
Love such as breast shall
Pour nevermore
For a mortal man's mirth!
Thou who from beacon eye,
Flaming, celestial,
Lightest our brightest
Torches of earth!
O refulgent and fair,
With the stars in thy hair!
Holy and blessed, hearken to our prayer!
Grant us thine aid that, as our footsteps wander
Down the long years, still searching for the Sign,
With no love-ruining pride our weak thoughts ponder
The deep sweet undertones of the Thought divine,
The mystery of the grasses of the field,
And the green crown of sunset in the west,
And the wind's ways that no man's feet have trod,
Till each new glory to the mind revealed
Kindle new love beneath the yearning breast
And the head's wisdom lead the heart to God—
Till, in Heaven's unity,
Loving and learning
Meet and, complete,
Are as one word, not twain,
Weak importunity
Yields to soul's spurning
And, risen from prison,
Love shakes off Time's chain.
O royal and wise!
Dædal-throned in the skies!
O crowned of God! O rose of Paradise!
Down the long years, still searching for the Sign,
With no love-ruining pride our weak thoughts ponder
The deep sweet undertones of the Thought divine,
The mystery of the grasses of the field,
And the green crown of sunset in the west,
And the wind's ways that no man's feet have trod,
91
Kindle new love beneath the yearning breast
And the head's wisdom lead the heart to God—
Till, in Heaven's unity,
Loving and learning
Meet and, complete,
Are as one word, not twain,
Weak importunity
Yields to soul's spurning
And, risen from prison,
Love shakes off Time's chain.
O royal and wise!
Dædal-throned in the skies!
O crowned of God! O rose of Paradise!
November, 1887
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