 | Studies from the Antique and Sketches from Nature |  |
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THE GREAT OVERTHROW.
“There's not a Builder in the World
Can build as well as I—
So high and strong; so broad and long;
So shapely and so high;
With domes, and minarets, and towers,
Defiant of the sky!”
Can build as well as I—
So high and strong; so broad and long;
So shapely and so high;
With domes, and minarets, and towers,
Defiant of the sky!”
The giant spake; and Earth and men
Looked on with bated breath;—
A giant, manifold as Life,
And terrible as Death.
He grasped the mountains in his arms,
And strewed them on the plain;
He scooped new channels for the flood;
He dyked the raging main;
He dug into the pits of hell,
And cried, “I reign! I reign!”
Looked on with bated breath;—
A giant, manifold as Life,
And terrible as Death.
He grasped the mountains in his arms,
And strewed them on the plain;
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He dyked the raging main;
He dug into the pits of hell,
And cried, “I reign! I reign!”
Deep 'mid the ribs of Earth he laid
His firm foundations all;
And fire, and storm, and lightning-proof,
He raised each lofty wall.
Granite were tower and battlement,
And marble, shaft and spire;
With crystal domes above them all,
Red in the morning's fire;
Shining and shimmering, up to heaven,
Higher, and ever higher!
His firm foundations all;
And fire, and storm, and lightning-proof,
He raised each lofty wall.
Granite were tower and battlement,
And marble, shaft and spire;
With crystal domes above them all,
Red in the morning's fire;
Shining and shimmering, up to heaven,
Higher, and ever higher!
“Come hither! hither!”;the giant said,
“Ye priests and kings sublime;
Hither, ye peoples of the earth,
From every realm and clime!
And see how deftly I can weave
Iron and stone and lime.
Come hither! and as ye pass, confess,
Low bending, every one,
There never was Builder such as I,
Since Time his course begun;—
Never a Building like to this,
Under the pleasant sun.”
“Ye priests and kings sublime;
Hither, ye peoples of the earth,
From every realm and clime!
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Iron and stone and lime.
Come hither! and as ye pass, confess,
Low bending, every one,
There never was Builder such as I,
Since Time his course begun;—
Never a Building like to this,
Under the pleasant sun.”
Thus spake the Giant, superb and strong.
The people surged and roared—
“He is the Master; he is the King,
Acknowledged and adored!
His buildings reach from Earth to Heaven—
He is the God and Lord!”
The people surged and roared—
“He is the Master; he is the King,
Acknowledged and adored!
His buildings reach from Earth to Heaven—
He is the God and Lord!”
Forth from the crowd a champion stepped—
A little child seemed he;
His outstretched hand could barely reach
The bend of the giant's knee;
But his look was like the light of Heaven,
When it streams on the stormy sea.
A little child seemed he;
His outstretched hand could barely reach
The bend of the giant's knee;
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When it streams on the stormy sea.
And he said, “O boaster, and profane!
'Tis true thy hands are skilled,
And great the towers and palaces,
And temples thou canst build!
But I can cast them to the earth;
I can topple them down,
By wave of my hand, by word of my mouth,
By darkness of my frown,
Turret and tower, and battlement,
Down to the deep Earth—down!”
'Tis true thy hands are skilled,
And great the towers and palaces,
And temples thou canst build!
But I can cast them to the earth;
I can topple them down,
By wave of my hand, by word of my mouth,
By darkness of my frown,
Turret and tower, and battlement,
Down to the deep Earth—down!”
He raised a bugle to his lips,
And blew, nor loud nor shrill,
But softly as the breeze of noon,
That waves on the grassy hill;—
Softly and low as Pity's voice,
That sighs to Grief “Be still!”
Or a bride's when she kneels at the altar foot,
And says to the priest, “I will.”
And blew, nor loud nor shrill,
But softly as the breeze of noon,
That waves on the grassy hill;—
Softly and low as Pity's voice,
That sighs to Grief “Be still!”
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And says to the priest, “I will.”
Gently and slowly;—soft and low;—
But all the people heard;—
'Twas a light in their souls—a thought in their hearts—
A light—a thought—a word;—
And they listened and listened, and listened on,
But never spake or stirred.
But all the people heard;—
'Twas a light in their souls—a thought in their hearts—
A light—a thought—a word;—
And they listened and listened, and listened on,
But never spake or stirred.
They listened and listened, and listened on,
Till the notes so soft and low,
Rose ever higher, and higher yet,
As a wave when the wild winds blow;
And rolled—and rolling—gathered strength,
Like an avalanche of snow.
Till the notes so soft and low,
Rose ever higher, and higher yet,
As a wave when the wild winds blow;
And rolled—and rolling—gathered strength,
Like an avalanche of snow.
They echoed in the people's heart;
They smote on the giant's ear;
The Earth was troubled where he stood;
And his lips grew pale with fear;
For he heard a rumbling underground,
And saw his topmost towers
Shake like the leaves of the clustering trees,
When the cold wind bodeth showers,
And the conscious forests feel the storm
That gathers in the bowers.
They smote on the giant's ear;
The Earth was troubled where he stood;
And his lips grew pale with fear;
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And saw his topmost towers
Shake like the leaves of the clustering trees,
When the cold wind bodeth showers,
And the conscious forests feel the storm
That gathers in the bowers.
Was it of marble and porphyry,
With all its rare device?
Was it of iron and stone and gold?
Or was it glittering ice?
The turrets seemed to melt in the sun;
The pinnacles fell in hail;
And the solid walls rocked to and fro,
Like ships in a stormy gale.
With all its rare device?
Was it of iron and stone and gold?
Or was it glittering ice?
The turrets seemed to melt in the sun;
The pinnacles fell in hail;
And the solid walls rocked to and fro,
Like ships in a stormy gale.
And down, down, down on the Earth,
The stately structure lay;
And the Child upon the ruins stood,
An Angel, bright as day;
And cried with voice that shook the spheres—
“Thus fall, and pass away,
Builder and building—liar and lie;—
Time shall restore them never!
They were but shadows in the stream;
They were but fancies in a dream;—
But I endure for ever!”
The stately structure lay;
And the Child upon the ruins stood,
An Angel, bright as day;
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“Thus fall, and pass away,
Builder and building—liar and lie;—
Time shall restore them never!
They were but shadows in the stream;
They were but fancies in a dream;—
But I endure for ever!”
| Studies from the Antique and Sketches from Nature | |