 | Studies from the Antique and Sketches from Nature |  |
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IPHIANASSA IN DODONA.
Away! freed soul, away!
And to the body linked
By fine invisible chord
Stretching from Earth to Heaven,
Mount through the circling air
Up to the starry roof
Where stands the Eternal Throne!
And to the body linked
By fine invisible chord
Stretching from Earth to Heaven,
Mount through the circling air
Up to the starry roof
Where stands the Eternal Throne!
Away! freed soul, away!
The world is but a grief,
Impediment, and pain!
Shake off the heavy load,
And rustle from thy wing
Earth and its vanities,
Time and its balances,
Space and its nothingness,
And soar! soar! soar!
Up to the azure floor,
There to chant prophetic anthems, free for evermore.
The world is but a grief,
Impediment, and pain!
Shake off the heavy load,
And rustle from thy wing
Earth and its vanities,
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Space and its nothingness,
And soar! soar! soar!
Up to the azure floor,
There to chant prophetic anthems, free for evermore.
Behold! the Earth-born sleeps,
The Heaven-born seeks its source;
The mortal eyes are dim,
Th' immortal sight grows clear;
The human tongue, that spoke
Of nought but human cares,
And little foolish joys,
And vanities inane,
Receives the gift divine,
To speak the speech of God.
Hush, rustling robe! hush, breath!
Hear what the Spirit saith:
The mysteries, and prophecies, the things of Life and Death.
The Heaven-born seeks its source;
The mortal eyes are dim,
Th' immortal sight grows clear;
The human tongue, that spoke
Of nought but human cares,
And little foolish joys,
And vanities inane,
Receives the gift divine,
To speak the speech of God.
Hush, rustling robe! hush, breath!
Hear what the Spirit saith:
The mysteries, and prophecies, the things of Life and Death.
82
“Behold, a vision of the days to be,
Curtained in agony and gloom and terror;
The clash of Truth with ever desperate Error—
Error, a wide, unknown, and stormy sea;
And Truth, a little white-sailed bark,
Gleaming and glancing in the dark,
The wild winds raging o'er it,
The deep depths yawning under,
Defiant of the waves to drown,
Or rocks to rend asunder.
Curtained in agony and gloom and terror;
The clash of Truth with ever desperate Error—
Error, a wide, unknown, and stormy sea;
And Truth, a little white-sailed bark,
Gleaming and glancing in the dark,
The wild winds raging o'er it,
The deep depths yawning under,
Defiant of the waves to drown,
Or rocks to rend asunder.
“Behold, a vision of the days to be!—
The angry shock of javelin and sword,
The groan of Death, the shout of Victory,
And red rills purling o'er the trampled sward;
And then a low, long, melancholy sound,
As of commotion under ground,
Approaching nearer, ever nearer,
Till all the cities of the plain
Quake in their temples, towers, and palaces,
And fall to Earth in stony rain,
And Empire leaves them, leaves them, leaves them,
Never to return again.
The angry shock of javelin and sword,
The groan of Death, the shout of Victory,
And red rills purling o'er the trampled sward;
And then a low, long, melancholy sound,
As of commotion under ground,
Approaching nearer, ever nearer,
Till all the cities of the plain
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And fall to Earth in stony rain,
And Empire leaves them, leaves them, leaves them,
Never to return again.
“Behold, a vision of the days to be!
Behold the God, the woman's Child,
So patient and so undefiled,
Led bleeding from the judgment-seat,
And nailed upon the shameful tree!
Blush, outraged Heaven! weep, Earth! for at His feet
The kingdoms of the world must fall;
And He, and every Truth he taught,
Shall rule—the Lords of Life and Thought—
Triumphant over all!
Behold the God, the woman's Child,
So patient and so undefiled,
Led bleeding from the judgment-seat,
And nailed upon the shameful tree!
Blush, outraged Heaven! weep, Earth! for at His feet
The kingdoms of the world must fall;
And He, and every Truth he taught,
Shall rule—the Lords of Life and Thought—
Triumphant over all!
“Behold, a vision of the days to be!—
Cruel and eager of dominion,
The mighty Eagle lies with bleeding pinion,
And shrieks in the death-agony,
That no one pities—and that no one can—
Not Fate herself, nor god, nor man.
Behold the ravens gathering ere he dies,
Pitiless war to pitiless foe delivering,
To dig their beaks into his closing eyes,
And rend his heart, to share it out, still quivering.
Cruel and eager of dominion,
The mighty Eagle lies with bleeding pinion,
And shrieks in the death-agony,
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Not Fate herself, nor god, nor man.
Behold the ravens gathering ere he dies,
Pitiless war to pitiless foe delivering,
To dig their beaks into his closing eyes,
And rend his heart, to share it out, still quivering.
“Behold, a vision of the days to be!—
A pilgrim preaching in the market-place,
Moving men's hearts as tempests move the sea,
And with the madness of his eloquent face
Making them mad.—I hear their frantic shout,
With terrible words unknown.—I see the rout,
Mail-clad and armed with spear and lance,
Burst like as a pent-up torrent, and advance
To guard a Sepulchre and Holy Hill,
Surging and roaring o'er the Eastern lands—
Murder and rapine in their hands—
Bearing a book to save, a sword to kill.
A pilgrim preaching in the market-place,
Moving men's hearts as tempests move the sea,
And with the madness of his eloquent face
Making them mad.—I hear their frantic shout,
With terrible words unknown.—I see the rout,
Mail-clad and armed with spear and lance,
Burst like as a pent-up torrent, and advance
To guard a Sepulchre and Holy Hill,
Surging and roaring o'er the Eastern lands—
Murder and rapine in their hands—
Bearing a book to save, a sword to kill.
85
“Behold, a vision of the days to be!—
A lonely ship upon a lonely sea,
Sailing forlorn, upon forlornest quest,
To seize the secrets of the West,
And wrench the bolted doors of worlds unknown—
The due completion of the Zone.
He, chief of men, who leads the mutinous host—
Forlorn, and most forlorn—
Laments the hour that he was born,
And strains his eyes towards the unseen coast.
Go, find it, mariner! nor furl thy sail
Till the spice odours of the land come laden on the gale.
A lonely ship upon a lonely sea,
Sailing forlorn, upon forlornest quest,
To seize the secrets of the West,
And wrench the bolted doors of worlds unknown—
The due completion of the Zone.
He, chief of men, who leads the mutinous host—
Forlorn, and most forlorn—
Laments the hour that he was born,
And strains his eyes towards the unseen coast.
Go, find it, mariner! nor furl thy sail
Till the spice odours of the land come laden on the gale.
“My wearied eyes grow dim: I cannot see,
Amid the gathering gloom of days to be,
Aught save the lightning flashing o'er dark skies;
But I can hear faint shrieks and piteous cries,
And loud tumultuous roar,
Rolling and surging evermore.
And 'mid the fitful pauses of the storm
I hear a voice—I see a form—
The form of one who bears a book,
The voice of one who whispers, ‘Look!
Here is the path of Truth and Right;
Here is the Law of Life and Light!’
The whispered words sound ever faint and low—
But Truth shall reign. Woe to the nations, woe!”
Amid the gathering gloom of days to be,
Aught save the lightning flashing o'er dark skies;
But I can hear faint shrieks and piteous cries,
And loud tumultuous roar,
Rolling and surging evermore.
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I hear a voice—I see a form—
The form of one who bears a book,
The voice of one who whispers, ‘Look!
Here is the path of Truth and Right;
Here is the Law of Life and Light!’
The whispered words sound ever faint and low—
But Truth shall reign. Woe to the nations, woe!”
| Studies from the Antique and Sketches from Nature | |