 | Sonnets and Other Poems Chiefly Religious |  |
35
MISCELLANEOUS POEMS.
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JOHN STUART MILL.
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[I have to thank Messrs. Macmillan and Co. for their kind permission to republish this poem, which originally appeared in Macmillan's Magazine. The first stanza of the original publication has been replaced by a new one, and the lines entitled “Afterthought” are also new.]
Would to our God thou hadst been ours!
We need you all, ye faithful few
Who consecrate to truth your powers,
And love it but for being true!
We need you all, ye faithful few
Who consecrate to truth your powers,
And love it but for being true!
I call thee happy; thou wast strong
In age with all the strength of youth;
With zeal for freedom, hate of wrong,
Reverence for man, and love of truth;
In age with all the strength of youth;
With zeal for freedom, hate of wrong,
Reverence for man, and love of truth;
And thou didst read, as in a scroll,
The laws of nature and of mind.
But wherefore is it, that thy soul
To higher things than these was blind?
The laws of nature and of mind.
But wherefore is it, that thy soul
To higher things than these was blind?
The world thy intellect descried
Was coloured with no heavenly glow;
Thy thought, a dwelling fair and wide,
Was lighted only from below.
Was coloured with no heavenly glow;
Thy thought, a dwelling fair and wide,
Was lighted only from below.
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And yet, if God is Light indeed,
Then surely, whether clear or dim
Our knowledge, all its rays proceed—
Though they be broken rays—from Him.
Then surely, whether clear or dim
Our knowledge, all its rays proceed—
Though they be broken rays—from Him.
And He, I know, will guide thee right.
The pure to Him shall see their way;
The just shall tread a path of light,
Increasing to the perfect day;
The pure to Him shall see their way;
The just shall tread a path of light,
Increasing to the perfect day;
And thou art such as these; and He
Who healed the blind, will touch thine eyes
To see the God thou didst not see,
The Christ thou didst not recognize;
Who healed the blind, will touch thine eyes
To see the God thou didst not see,
The Christ thou didst not recognize;
And that which seemed a Stygian shore
Will prove a land of knowledge, grown
From earthly germs yet more and more,
Till thou shalt know as thou art known.
Will prove a land of knowledge, grown
From earthly germs yet more and more,
Till thou shalt know as thou art known.
AFTERTHOUGHT.
Yet, when that second world is won,
And thou, in uncreated Light,
Hast learned how God's eternal Son
Guides all His universe aright,
And thou, in uncreated Light,
Hast learned how God's eternal Son
Guides all His universe aright,
Wilt not thou feel an underflow,
Beneath the joy, of chill regret,
To think that here thou didst not know
The Saviour thou at last hast met?
Beneath the joy, of chill regret,
To think that here thou didst not know
The Saviour thou at last hast met?
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A ROSE TRANSPLANTED.
“Rose, elle a vécu ce que vivent les roses,
L'espace d'un matin.”
L'espace d'un matin.”
“A rose, she has lived the lifetime of a rose,
One morning's space.”
O God, is this our last farewell to those
Whom death's embrace
Has borne away in silence? If a Rose
In earthly air such beauty can unclose,
Sweetness, and grace,
Oh what must be her glory when she grows
Planted where uncreated radiance glows,
And watered by the stream of life that flows
Before Thy face!
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FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL.
Death has not overtaken thee,
Although thy voice no more is heard.
Thy lovely spirit, soaring free
And ever singing, like the bird
That mounts in song the azure height,
Has vanished into heavenly light.
Although thy voice no more is heard.
Thy lovely spirit, soaring free
And ever singing, like the bird
That mounts in song the azure height,
Has vanished into heavenly light.
But I, who toil and cannot soar;
Who have not skill to speak; whose thought
Demands the written page, before
It can attain the form it sought;
Nor can, like thine, with music aid
The charm by words but half conveyed;
Who have not skill to speak; whose thought
Demands the written page, before
It can attain the form it sought;
Nor can, like thine, with music aid
The charm by words but half conveyed;
Whose soul is but as earth to fire,
Or night to morn, compared to thine;
Why do I feel such strong desire
In that high world of light divine
The music of thy voice to hear,
Which never charmed on earth my ear?
Or night to morn, compared to thine;
Why do I feel such strong desire
In that high world of light divine
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Which never charmed on earth my ear?
Thou couldst have been to me, I feel,
A sister and a friend, with voice
The discords of my life to heal,
And teach my spirit to rejoice.
And I to thee might well have taught
Lessons with equal blessings fraught;
A sister and a friend, with voice
The discords of my life to heal,
And teach my spirit to rejoice.
And I to thee might well have taught
Lessons with equal blessings fraught;
I would have taught thee to refrain
Thy thoughts' and words' too eager flow;
In perfectness to guide thy strain
Of holy poetry; to know
How “tasks in hours of insight willed
May be through hours of gloom fulfilled.”
Thy thoughts' and words' too eager flow;
In perfectness to guide thy strain
Of holy poetry; to know
How “tasks in hours of insight willed
May be through hours of gloom fulfilled.”
Thy works were but thy smallest part,
Mere casual sparks that glanced and glowed;
Thou shouldst have mused, and kept thy heart
Burning in silence, till it flowed
Into a mould of verse sublime,
Meet to endure through agelong time.
Mere casual sparks that glanced and glowed;
Thou shouldst have mused, and kept thy heart
Burning in silence, till it flowed
Into a mould of verse sublime,
Meet to endure through agelong time.
Through time!—but what is time to those
For whom eternity is won?
Thou dwellest in the bright repose
That has no need of moon or sun,
Where all have light to know their own,
For all shall know as they are known.
For whom eternity is won?
Thou dwellest in the bright repose
That has no need of moon or sun,
Where all have light to know their own,
For all shall know as they are known.
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There, in the light of endless days,
A brother thou shalt find in me;
And all the rivers of our praise
Shall flow into the crystal sea,
From voices raised apart on earth,
But mingled in the second birth.
A brother thou shalt find in me;
And all the rivers of our praise
Shall flow into the crystal sea,
From voices raised apart on earth,
But mingled in the second birth.
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MARGUERITE.
Canst thou recall thy Marguerite so,
With tearless eye and tranquil breath,
Nor seek, nor greatly care, to know
Which may now hold her, life or death?
With tearless eye and tranquil breath,
Nor seek, nor greatly care, to know
Which may now hold her, life or death?
Would it were death! “the dead are well;”
The tears dry soon above a grave.
But is she in an earthly hell?
And couldst not thou have tried to save?
The tears dry soon above a grave.
But is she in an earthly hell?
And couldst not thou have tried to save?
But if her destiny to control
Who charmed thy youth was past thy power,
Thou shouldst not mourn a ruined soul
Thus lightly, like a withered flower!
Who charmed thy youth was past thy power,
Thou shouldst not mourn a ruined soul
Thus lightly, like a withered flower!
And has the stream of change and chance
Borne aught more precious yet to thee
Than her, thy blue-eyed flower of France,
Thy pearl of Leman's Alpine sea?
Borne aught more precious yet to thee
Than her, thy blue-eyed flower of France,
Thy pearl of Leman's Alpine sea?
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“Sweetness and light”—are these thy aim?
She taught thy spirit to be sweet.
Pause at the thought, and let it claim
A bitter tear for Marguerite.
She taught thy spirit to be sweet.
Pause at the thought, and let it claim
A bitter tear for Marguerite.
And light—the holy light of truth?
She was no star, thy course to guide;
But in the darkness of thy youth
We saw thee clinging to her side.
She was no star, thy course to guide;
But in the darkness of thy youth
We saw thee clinging to her side.
But darkness now for thee is past,
Forgotten with the vanished years.
Sweetness and light are thine at last,
And thou hast done with doubts and fears.
Forgotten with the vanished years.
Sweetness and light are thine at last,
And thou hast done with doubts and fears.
Sweetness, to charm away their woes
Who breathe hard breath, eat bitter bread;
Light, to become the life of those
Who dwell in darkness, like the dead.
Who breathe hard breath, eat bitter bread;
Light, to become the life of those
Who dwell in darkness, like the dead.
But whence thy sweetness? whence thy light?
Are they of Him whom sinners slew,
Who rose in God the Father's might,
And hailed the woman whom He knew?
Are they of Him whom sinners slew,
Who rose in God the Father's might,
And hailed the woman whom He knew?
No, these thou deemest old-world tales;
Things that in waking dreams have been.
To save thy Marguerite, nought avails
The Christ who saved the Magdalene.
Things that in waking dreams have been.
To save thy Marguerite, nought avails
The Christ who saved the Magdalene.
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These symbolize thy creed alone;—
A vacant cross, a sealed-up tomb;
An angel leaving fast the stone,
A light that makes more dense the gloom;
A vacant cross, a sealed-up tomb;
An angel leaving fast the stone,
A light that makes more dense the gloom;
And in the gloom a form is seen,
Kneeling, but at no Saviour's feet.
Is it the sorrowing Magdalene?
Is it thy once-loved Marguerite?
Kneeling, but at no Saviour's feet.
Is it the sorrowing Magdalene?
Is it thy once-loved Marguerite?
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THE MYSTERY AND THE GLORY.
He that ascends to Etna's highest height,
With nought around but rocks and fire and snow,
Shall see the stars more numerous and more bright,
While the blue depths of heaven still deeper grow.
They seem no nearer to the straining sight
Than when he gazed upon them from below;
But far more glorious in their light they shine,
And speak more clearly of the Power Divine.
With nought around but rocks and fire and snow,
Shall see the stars more numerous and more bright,
While the blue depths of heaven still deeper grow.
They seem no nearer to the straining sight
Than when he gazed upon them from below;
But far more glorious in their light they shine,
And speak more clearly of the Power Divine.
And so it is with those the height who climb
Of highest human knowledge; for the rays
Of the eternal glory most sublime
Seem to the eyes which from that summit gaze;
But all the mightiest mysteries of Time,
Existence, Freedom, Fate, that height displays
Not solved but deepened—an abyss of sky
Deepening and darkening as we mount on high.
Of highest human knowledge; for the rays
Of the eternal glory most sublime
Seem to the eyes which from that summit gaze;
But all the mightiest mysteries of Time,
Existence, Freedom, Fate, that height displays
Not solved but deepened—an abyss of sky
Deepening and darkening as we mount on high.
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COMMUNION WITH THE DEAD.
“How do they rest, the holy dead
Departed in the faith and fear
Of Him, their Saviour, who has led
Their spirits to the heavenly sphere?
Departed in the faith and fear
Of Him, their Saviour, who has led
Their spirits to the heavenly sphere?
“On them no evil may alight;
No thirst, nor hunger, fear, nor pain,
Nor withering heat, nor frosty blight,
Shall ever visit them again.
No thirst, nor hunger, fear, nor pain,
Nor withering heat, nor frosty blight,
Shall ever visit them again.
“But, where they rest in calm Divine,
Does silence take the place of speech?
No interchange of word or sign
Across the gulf of death may reach;
Does silence take the place of speech?
No interchange of word or sign
Across the gulf of death may reach;
“And do they wait in sleep profound
Of agelong rest from earthly strife,
Until they hear the trumpet sound
That wakes anew the dead to life;
Of agelong rest from earthly strife,
Until they hear the trumpet sound
That wakes anew the dead to life;
‘Or do they feel for human woes,
And frown in wrath on human sin,
And watch and bless the strife of those
Who strive a heavenly crown to win?
And frown in wrath on human sin,
And watch and bless the strife of those
Who strive a heavenly crown to win?
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“We know not. Would to God we knew!
What blessing on our life were shed,
Could we but pierce the shadows through,
And hold communion with the dead!”
What blessing on our life were shed,
Could we but pierce the shadows through,
And hold communion with the dead!”
Thus did I ponder, till I read
Words from beyond the western sea,
Echoing my yearning to the dead,
And giving answer back to me:—
Words from beyond the western sea,
Echoing my yearning to the dead,
And giving answer back to me:—
“We know the dead through Christ alone—
The Lord who vanquished death of old.
With Him, through all the dread unknown,
Our spirits may communion hold;
The Lord who vanquished death of old.
With Him, through all the dread unknown,
Our spirits may communion hold;
“And whether the departed wake
In light, or sleep in shadow dim,
God loves them for the Saviour's sake,
And they are bound to us through Him.
In light, or sleep in shadow dim,
God loves them for the Saviour's sake,
And they are bound to us through Him.
“Through Him from highest Heaven who came,
Whose human tears for Lazarus flowed,
Who bore the cross, endured the shame,
And died, and lay in death's abode;
Whose human tears for Lazarus flowed,
Who bore the cross, endured the shame,
And died, and lay in death's abode;
“Through Him who wields the Almighty's powers,
The Firstborn, and the Church's Head,
Through Him alone, their Lord and ours,
We hold communion with the dead.”
The Firstborn, and the Church's Head,
Through Him alone, their Lord and ours,
We hold communion with the dead.”
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A SUGGESTION FOR A PAINTER.
Paint us two pictures, which may represent
The sorrows and the hopes of humankind.
The first, our father Adam's banishment
From Eden, where the angel-guard behind,
And flaming sword on high, all access bar
To where the trees of life and knowledge are;
The sorrows and the hopes of humankind.
The first, our father Adam's banishment
From Eden, where the angel-guard behind,
And flaming sword on high, all access bar
To where the trees of life and knowledge are;
And Eve turns back to weep, and gaze once more
On her lost home; but Adam lifts his eye,
Serene, though sad, the regions to explore
Of that vast world where he must toil and die;
And Satan, like a serpent coiled, is near,
Exulting in a triumph mixed with fear.
On her lost home; but Adam lifts his eye,
Serene, though sad, the regions to explore
Of that vast world where he must toil and die;
And Satan, like a serpent coiled, is near,
Exulting in a triumph mixed with fear.
And let the other show the Lord ascending
Up to the heavens to meet His Father's love.
Below, His faithful followers attending,
The cloud of light awaiting Him above;
The cross, the grave, the stone rolled back, and lying
Below them all, the serpent crushed and dying.
Up to the heavens to meet His Father's love.
Below, His faithful followers attending,
The cloud of light awaiting Him above;
The cross, the grave, the stone rolled back, and lying
Below them all, the serpent crushed and dying.
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FIRST SORROW.
The days of childhood—were they golden?
We see them through a golden haze
Of memory; but, when near beholden,
Were they indeed such golden days?
We see them through a golden haze
Of memory; but, when near beholden,
Were they indeed such golden days?
No, not of gold those early hours,
Although their passing pleased us well.
They were but lovely vernal flowers,
Fading and withering ere they fell.
Although their passing pleased us well.
They were but lovely vernal flowers,
Fading and withering ere they fell.
But when our earliest grief was blended
With trembling faith, our hearts to melt;
When childhood's careless joys were ended,
And life's reality was felt;
With trembling faith, our hearts to melt;
When childhood's careless joys were ended,
And life's reality was felt;
When first we cried to God alone;—
That was indeed the golden hour!
Then seed of heavenly life was sown
In weakness, to be raised in power.
That was indeed the golden hour!
Then seed of heavenly life was sown
In weakness, to be raised in power.
The richest store of heavenly gain
May spring from deepest earthly loss.
The holiest joy has roots in pain—
Eternal glory in the Cross.
May spring from deepest earthly loss.
The holiest joy has roots in pain—
Eternal glory in the Cross.
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THE PEACE OF CHRIST.
“I leave with thee My peace;
Not as the world might give, I give to thee.
It is a fount whose stream shall never cease,
But widen to a sea.”
Not as the world might give, I give to thee.
It is a fount whose stream shall never cease,
But widen to a sea.”
“No, my Redeemer! no!”
Thus in my restless youth I made reply;
“The streams of heavenly peace can never flow
For me, before I die.
Thus in my restless youth I made reply;
“The streams of heavenly peace can never flow
For me, before I die.
“Love I can understand,
Although it passeth knowledge; and Thy power
I can exult in. Saviour, from Thy hand
I seek that twofold dower:
Although it passeth knowledge; and Thy power
I can exult in. Saviour, from Thy hand
I seek that twofold dower:
“Let love and strength be mine;
And joy I can imagine, full and free;
And knowledge of Thy will and Thy design;
But peace is not for me.
And joy I can imagine, full and free;
And knowledge of Thy will and Thy design;
But peace is not for me.
“Our earthly life and breath
Are spent in deep unrest and hurrying haste;
A draught of peace would seem a draught of death;
I should not know the taste.”
Are spent in deep unrest and hurrying haste;
A draught of peace would seem a draught of death;
I should not know the taste.”
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Thus once I made reply,
And to the blast I turned my aching breast.
But when the storm was threatening yet more high,
I found unsought-for rest.
And to the blast I turned my aching breast.
But when the storm was threatening yet more high,
I found unsought-for rest.
The cloud that was so dark
Burst not in tempest, but in calming rain,
Which stilled the waves that surged around my bark;
And now, though clouds remain,
Burst not in tempest, but in calming rain,
Which stilled the waves that surged around my bark;
And now, though clouds remain,
And youthful joy is fled,
I feel the calm that follows on the strife;
And, by the star of Christ in safety led,
I find that peace is life.
I feel the calm that follows on the strife;
And, by the star of Christ in safety led,
I find that peace is life.
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WAITING FOR CHRIST.
The Kingdom of God is within us. God knoweth, it is not without;
The world without is a world of conflict, and sorrow, and sin,
Which darken its brightest joys with a cloud of misgiving and doubt;
But thanks be to Thee, our God, who hast set Thy Kingdom within;
The world without is a world of conflict, and sorrow, and sin,
Which darken its brightest joys with a cloud of misgiving and doubt;
But thanks be to Thee, our God, who hast set Thy Kingdom within;
For there Thy children in patience and hope shall ever be found,
Faithful even to death, a crown of life to gain;
Forming a circle of light in the midst of the gloom around,
A sphere of peace and joy in the midst of the strife and pain.
Faithful even to death, a crown of life to gain;
Forming a circle of light in the midst of the gloom around,
A sphere of peace and joy in the midst of the strife and pain.
But is it so, O God? is Thy Kingdom indeed within?
Is Thy Kingdom indeed among us, on earth? for since the hour
When the Saviour returned to heaven, it seems that the care and the sin
And the sorrow of earth combine, Thy Kingdom to overpower.
Is Thy Kingdom indeed among us, on earth? for since the hour
When the Saviour returned to heaven, it seems that the care and the sin
And the sorrow of earth combine, Thy Kingdom to overpower.
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And often our courage sinks, and our prayers seem unavailing,
And our faith and hope burn low like a lamp with oil unfed;
And the hands of those who fight the fight of faith are failing,
And many on sleep are fallen—are they asleep or dead?
And our faith and hope burn low like a lamp with oil unfed;
And the hands of those who fight the fight of faith are failing,
And many on sleep are fallen—are they asleep or dead?
Folly! thus to mistrust the Saviour who, dying, won us;
Slowness of heart! to doubt all that the prophets have said.
The glory of Christ shall shine from heaven and rest upon us;
Awaken, thou who sleepest, and arise, thou who art dead!
Slowness of heart! to doubt all that the prophets have said.
The glory of Christ shall shine from heaven and rest upon us;
Awaken, thou who sleepest, and arise, thou who art dead!
And what if the night be dark? and what if our sight be dim?
If we be weary, shall time pause in its onward flow?
Christ will remember the world though the world forgetteth Him;
And while the sower sleepeth, the corn-blades spring and grow.
If we be weary, shall time pause in its onward flow?
Christ will remember the world though the world forgetteth Him;
And while the sower sleepeth, the corn-blades spring and grow.
Like a sightless child that sits and plays on his father's knee,
Like a weary child that leans and sleeps on his mother's breast,
We yield and trust ourselves to a God that we cannot see,
And wait, if not in joy, yet in thankfulness and rest;
Like a weary child that leans and sleeps on his mother's breast,
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And wait, if not in joy, yet in thankfulness and rest;
In the quiet confidence that can trust our God for all;
Though the fig-tree bear no fruit, nor grapes grow ripe on the vine,
Though the flock be cut off from the fold, and no herd be found in the stall,
And the barley fail, and the wheat.—But guard the oil and the wine!
Though the fig-tree bear no fruit, nor grapes grow ripe on the vine,
Though the flock be cut off from the fold, and no herd be found in the stall,
And the barley fail, and the wheat.—But guard the oil and the wine!
Guard the wine of Christ, which is His life, outpoured
For the saving of the world, for the life and health of men;
Guard the oil of the Spirit, which Christ has left to us, stored
To keep our lamps alight till the Bridegroom come again.
For the saving of the world, for the life and health of men;
Guard the oil of the Spirit, which Christ has left to us, stored
To keep our lamps alight till the Bridegroom come again.
Yea, in the Lord our God we will evermore rejoice;
Knowing the Kingdom within shall be at last revealed,
When the Lord shall return in the clouds of heaven with the trumpet's voice,
And shine as a Sun on those who no longer need a Shield.
Knowing the Kingdom within shall be at last revealed,
When the Lord shall return in the clouds of heaven with the trumpet's voice,
And shine as a Sun on those who no longer need a Shield.
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Then every foe shall be crushed like a vessel made of clay,
Every idol shall bow, and into fragments fall;
Pain and sorrow and sighing shall flee for ever away,
And death shall be destroyed, and God shall be all in all.
Every idol shall bow, and into fragments fall;
Pain and sorrow and sighing shall flee for ever away,
And death shall be destroyed, and God shall be all in all.
THE END OF THE JUST.
When worthy life its end has met,And goodness back to Heaven is gone,
Oh say not that a star is set,
But say, a star is lost in dawn.
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SUMMER.
How glorious are the summer days
When heaven is clear and air is calm!
Earth basks beneath the noontide blaze,
And every breath is balm.
When heaven is clear and air is calm!
Earth basks beneath the noontide blaze,
And every breath is balm.
And how delightful, underneath
Some tree's dense foliage to repose,
And feel the summer's fragrant breath
As through the boughs it blows;
Some tree's dense foliage to repose,
And feel the summer's fragrant breath
As through the boughs it blows;
Or from the glare too hot and bright
To hide beneath some bowered arcade,
And bathe the eyes in soft green light
Mingled with mellow shade;
To hide beneath some bowered arcade,
And bathe the eyes in soft green light
Mingled with mellow shade;
To watch the play of light and dark
Among the clustered leaves on high,
And sometimes, through the foliage, mark
The azure of the sky!
Among the clustered leaves on high,
And sometimes, through the foliage, mark
The azure of the sky!
And when the sultry atmosphere
Cools at the welcome dawn of even,
And dark blue hills are pictured clear
Against a sunset heaven,
Cools at the welcome dawn of even,
And dark blue hills are pictured clear
Against a sunset heaven,
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How sweet to watch while stars have birth,
With twilight calm our souls to fill,
And feel the evening shades o'er earth
Grow yet more dim and still;
With twilight calm our souls to fill,
And feel the evening shades o'er earth
Grow yet more dim and still;
While all is vague as in a dream;
And roses pale and lilies white
Against the foliage faintly gleam,
Like phosphorescent light.
And roses pale and lilies white
Against the foliage faintly gleam,
Like phosphorescent light.
Oh, glorious are the evenings fair
That end the sultry summer days;
'Tis pleasant but to breathe the air,
And joyful but to gaze.
That end the sultry summer days;
'Tis pleasant but to breathe the air,
And joyful but to gaze.
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A VISION OF THE PRESENT.
I dreamed I lived in ages long ago—
The time I recollect not, nor the place—
Among a people in whose veins did flow
Blood of the heaven-besieging Titan race,
Though human were their mothers: in the glow
Of their bright eyes I could discern the trace
Of their high ancestry and glorious dower
Of magic knowledge and gigantic power.
The time I recollect not, nor the place—
Among a people in whose veins did flow
Blood of the heaven-besieging Titan race,
Though human were their mothers: in the glow
Of their bright eyes I could discern the trace
Of their high ancestry and glorious dower
Of magic knowledge and gigantic power.
The elements to vassalage they brought,
And made them toil as slaves, by ceaseless war;
Even fire himself, with daring hands, they caught
And tamed, and yoked him to the flying car;
The lightning's flash with line and bait they sought,
And, like the genie in the copper jar,
They held it under bolts and bars restrained,
Or, when they pleased, its violence unchained.
And made them toil as slaves, by ceaseless war;
Even fire himself, with daring hands, they caught
And tamed, and yoked him to the flying car;
The lightning's flash with line and bait they sought,
And, like the genie in the copper jar,
They held it under bolts and bars restrained,
Or, when they pleased, its violence unchained.
They weighed the Sun against the Moon; they cast
The plummet into heaven's abyss profound,
Sounding its depths; the fleetness of the blast
They measured, and the speed of light and sound;
They searched through plains and mountains, and at last
Creation's history graved in rock they found,
And learned to read the wondrous tales it told
Of monstrous forms that haunted earth of old.
The plummet into heaven's abyss profound,
Sounding its depths; the fleetness of the blast
They measured, and the speed of light and sound;
They searched through plains and mountains, and at last
Creation's history graved in rock they found,
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Of monstrous forms that haunted earth of old.
They built a magic chamber, wherein all
That ever did before its window stand,
Unerringly upon the enchanted wall
Was painted by a spirit's viewless hand.
And ships they had that calms could ne'er enthral,
That still obeyed the mariner's command,
And, by an innate power of life, defied
The adverse struggling force of wind and tide.
That ever did before its window stand,
Unerringly upon the enchanted wall
Was painted by a spirit's viewless hand.
And ships they had that calms could ne'er enthral,
That still obeyed the mariner's command,
And, by an innate power of life, defied
The adverse struggling force of wind and tide.
And slaves they had with arms of iron made,
Strong as a thousand men, who tireless bore
The heaviest loads, and toiled at every trade:
Some blew the forge, some drew to light the ore,
Some ploughed, some spun and wove; one, with a head
Of steel and brass, could calculate far more
From sunrise to the fall of eve, than man
Could calculate in half a lifetime's span.
Strong as a thousand men, who tireless bore
The heaviest loads, and toiled at every trade:
Some blew the forge, some drew to light the ore,
Some ploughed, some spun and wove; one, with a head
Of steel and brass, could calculate far more
From sunrise to the fall of eve, than man
Could calculate in half a lifetime's span.
And heralds these magicians had, that spoke
With voice of lightning and magnetic tongue
Across the world.
With voice of lightning and magnetic tongue
Across the world.
At last my slumber broke—
I think it was a railway bell that rung.
Before me rose a steamboat's cloud of smoke,
A telegraphic wire above me hung;
And, starting from my wonder-dream, I found
All I had fancied, in the world around.
I think it was a railway bell that rung.
Before me rose a steamboat's cloud of smoke,
A telegraphic wire above me hung;
And, starting from my wonder-dream, I found
All I had fancied, in the world around.
60
WESTMINSTER ABBEY.
Through twilight aisles and arches flows
A flood of rich and solemn sound.
Here England's mightiest men repose,
Here England's kings are crowned.
A flood of rich and solemn sound.
Here England's mightiest men repose,
Here England's kings are crowned.
Oh, who can say death levels all?
Death sets the great of earth sublime
Each on his own just pedestal,
A landmark of the time.
Death sets the great of earth sublime
Each on his own just pedestal,
A landmark of the time.
And clearer, purer, seems their fame
Out of the silent past to glow,
Than when the people mixed their name
With daily joy and woe.
Out of the silent past to glow,
Than when the people mixed their name
With daily joy and woe.
It is because we thus revere
The mighty dead, the glorious past,
We hope that many a future year
May reap the seed they cast
The mighty dead, the glorious past,
We hope that many a future year
May reap the seed they cast
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Into the earth, which often gives
Back what we thought for ever gone.
A thousand years—and Alfred lives
Again, in Washington.
Back what we thought for ever gone.
A thousand years—and Alfred lives
Again, in Washington.
Through slow and silent length of time
The rain and sunshine of the sky
Nourish the cedar to its prime,
And spread its boughs on high.
The rain and sunshine of the sky
Nourish the cedar to its prime,
And spread its boughs on high.
And thus did our forefathers build;
Year following year, stone following stone.
The founder's purpose was fulfilled
By labour not his own.
Year following year, stone following stone.
The founder's purpose was fulfilled
By labour not his own.
The father left the walls begun;
His child, obeying his desire,
Still at the sacred work went on;
His grandson crowned the spire.
His child, obeying his desire,
Still at the sacred work went on;
His grandson crowned the spire.
They toiled like faithful men and true,
Whose works on earth deserve to last;
Men of a reverent heart, that knew
How deeply in the past
Whose works on earth deserve to last;
Men of a reverent heart, that knew
How deeply in the past
The living present has its root;
And in the future age must bear
Such wholesome or such deadly fruit
As best rewards our care.
And in the future age must bear
Such wholesome or such deadly fruit
As best rewards our care.
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That which we reap we have not sown,
And what we sow we shall not reap,
Nor watch it till its fruit is grown;
It groweth while we sleep.
And what we sow we shall not reap,
Nor watch it till its fruit is grown;
It groweth while we sleep.
Yet what would all that's here be worth,
And wherefore all our toil and strife,
Were graves our final homes on earth,
And death the end of life;
And wherefore all our toil and strife,
Were graves our final homes on earth,
And death the end of life;
If God our Father did not keep
A mansion in the heavenly dome,
Where all that sow and all that reap
Shall join in harvest home?
A mansion in the heavenly dome,
Where all that sow and all that reap
Shall join in harvest home?
63
THE YEWS OF BORROWDALE.
I stood beneath the yews of Borrowdale,
Renowned in Wordsworth's poem. Fifty years
Have added fifty circles to the grain
Of younger trees, since Wordsworth wrote those lines:
But these are what they were when he described
Their gloomy shade and wild contorted boughs.
Renowned in Wordsworth's poem. Fifty years
Have added fifty circles to the grain
Of younger trees, since Wordsworth wrote those lines:
But these are what they were when he described
Their gloomy shade and wild contorted boughs.
To Grasmere's churchyard then my thoughts returned,
Where Wordsworth waits the rising of the dead.
For there four yews were planted by his hand,
And shadow now his low but honoured grave.
Young are they yet, and slender; but a time
May be, long after these of Borrowdale
Into their parent dust have mouldered back,
When those of Grasmere, too, shall in their turn
Be gnarled with age, and verging to decay;
When men shall come to visit Wordsworth's grave,
Speaking our language, but from distant lands
Where the magnolia blossoms, and from heights
Of Himalaya, clothed with deodars;
And spell the lichen-stained and time-worn name
Upon the stone that marks his place of rest;
And muse beneath the yew-trees' twilight shade,
Beside the Rotha's clear and quiet pools,
With thoughts too deep for pleasure; then survey
With more than common love and thankfulness,
The lakes and streams and mountains Wordsworth loved,
And call the place their spirits' fatherland.
Where Wordsworth waits the rising of the dead.
For there four yews were planted by his hand,
And shadow now his low but honoured grave.
Young are they yet, and slender; but a time
May be, long after these of Borrowdale
Into their parent dust have mouldered back,
When those of Grasmere, too, shall in their turn
Be gnarled with age, and verging to decay;
When men shall come to visit Wordsworth's grave,
Speaking our language, but from distant lands
Where the magnolia blossoms, and from heights
Of Himalaya, clothed with deodars;
And spell the lichen-stained and time-worn name
Upon the stone that marks his place of rest;
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Beside the Rotha's clear and quiet pools,
With thoughts too deep for pleasure; then survey
With more than common love and thankfulness,
The lakes and streams and mountains Wordsworth loved,
And call the place their spirits' fatherland.
65
PYGMALION.
The sculptor's task is ended:
He casts his tools aside,
To gaze upon his perfect work
In all an artist's pride.
He casts his tools aside,
To gaze upon his perfect work
In all an artist's pride.
For many a year his spirit,
In visioned solitude,
O'er bright creations of his brain
Would, like a lover, brood;
In visioned solitude,
O'er bright creations of his brain
Would, like a lover, brood;
For many a year he laboured
To give his haunting thought
Of pure ideal loveliness,
A form in sculpture wrought;
To give his haunting thought
Of pure ideal loveliness,
A form in sculpture wrought;
And now it smiles upon him,
Serene in marble rest;
Lovelier than aught of earth—a shape
For islands of the blest.
Serene in marble rest;
Lovelier than aught of earth—a shape
For islands of the blest.
And he, who never sighed for
Nor wooed a living maid,
But pondered on unreal charms
In heavenly light arrayed,
Nor wooed a living maid,
But pondered on unreal charms
In heavenly light arrayed,
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Gazing on this creation
Of his own raptured mind,
Where every charm of form and soul
Appears in one combined—
Of his own raptured mind,
Where every charm of form and soul
Appears in one combined—
The purity of childhood,
A flower's soft bending grace,
The glory of a muse inspired,
A dovelike gentleness,
A flower's soft bending grace,
The glory of a muse inspired,
A dovelike gentleness,
A sibyl's holy grandeur—
All mingling in the gleam
Of vague delight that overcomes
A maid in love's first dream,
All mingling in the gleam
Of vague delight that overcomes
A maid in love's first dream,
Now feels his bosom burning
With all-unwonted fires,
And to the Powers that rule in Heaven
His soul in prayer aspires;—
With all-unwonted fires,
And to the Powers that rule in Heaven
His soul in prayer aspires;—
“Oh, hear me, ye immortals
Enthroned above, if e'er
Your steadfast counsels may be moved
By human wish or prayer!
Enthroned above, if e'er
Your steadfast counsels may be moved
By human wish or prayer!
“Oh, breathe a living spirit
Into the ice-cold stone;
Grant it a human voice and heart
To answer to my own!”
Into the ice-cold stone;
Grant it a human voice and heart
To answer to my own!”
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And at his prayer the marble
Begins with life to glow:
The cheeks, like rose-leaves, gently blush;
The locks turn dark, and flow
Begins with life to glow:
The cheeks, like rose-leaves, gently blush;
The locks turn dark, and flow
In waves of raven blackness
Like clouds of lingering night,
O'ershadowing a forehead fair
And clear as morning's light;
Like clouds of lingering night,
O'ershadowing a forehead fair
And clear as morning's light;
And large dark eyes, as brilliant
And pure as starry rays,
Reveal a living woman's soul
To his enraptured gaze.
And pure as starry rays,
Reveal a living woman's soul
To his enraptured gaze.
Sunlike, she shines upon him
With radiant smiling face,
And gives him back the kiss of love,
And answers his embrace.
With radiant smiling face,
And gives him back the kiss of love,
And answers his embrace.
Their hearts together beating
With joy and love and pride,
She from her pedestal descends,
To be the sculptor's bride.
With joy and love and pride,
She from her pedestal descends,
To be the sculptor's bride.
68
THORWALDSEN'S LAST WORK.
[_]
It is said that Thorwaldsen, on finishing his last work, wept because he could see no fault in it.
In flawless, faultless perfection the statue before me stands;
Is this your cause of rejoicing? I turn aside in tears,
To think, in this last and most laboured work of my brain and my hands,
No sign of error, no trace of imperfection, appears.
Is this your cause of rejoicing? I turn aside in tears,
To think, in this last and most laboured work of my brain and my hands,
No sign of error, no trace of imperfection, appears.
Small things only are perfect—the pearl and the heather-flower,
And the insect that passes away when its life is well begun.
The dewdrop is perfect and pure in the light of the morning hour,
But spots of darkness darken the face of the moon and the sun.
And the insect that passes away when its life is well begun.
The dewdrop is perfect and pure in the light of the morning hour,
But spots of darkness darken the face of the moon and the sun.
Greatness is imperfection. In toil and in strife our powers
Are nourished;—the strife that matures is one with the hindrance that mars.
Whether is greater, the child that laughs as he plays among flowers,
Or the man that sighs as he turns a furrowed brow to the stars?
Are nourished;—the strife that matures is one with the hindrance that mars.
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Or the man that sighs as he turns a furrowed brow to the stars?
All that is noble aspires. To the heavens aspires the tree,
And the river's volume swells till it loses itself in the deep.
Aspiration and growth—these have been life to me;
Level perfection is death; I bow the head and weep.
And the river's volume swells till it loses itself in the deep.
Aspiration and growth—these have been life to me;
Level perfection is death; I bow the head and weep.
Or is it that I am blind, and see no more the faults
Which with my finished work have ever been wont to blend?
I know not; I only know that my genius creeps and halts;
I have gained the height of the pass, and my path must now descend.
Which with my finished work have ever been wont to blend?
I know not; I only know that my genius creeps and halts;
I have gained the height of the pass, and my path must now descend.
And yet I thank my God that not in vain I have lived.
I have seized and used and adorned the hours as they passed me by;
I have learned, I have toiled, I have striven; exulted, despaired, and achieved;
Now take me home, O Father! I feel it is time to die.
I have seized and used and adorned the hours as they passed me by;
I have learned, I have toiled, I have striven; exulted, despaired, and achieved;
Now take me home, O Father! I feel it is time to die.
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IMMORTAL LOVE.
Marriage, though holy, is for earth;
But Love, matured on earth, remains
To those who, in the second birth,
Rise free from earthly stains.
But Love, matured on earth, remains
To those who, in the second birth,
Rise free from earthly stains.
Beyond the rocks and shoals of Time,
The shoreless and unfathomed sea
Extends, unchangeably sublime,
Of God's Eternity;
The shoreless and unfathomed sea
Extends, unchangeably sublime,
Of God's Eternity;
And far beyond our mortal gaze
Extends, and high as Heaven above
Life's drifting clouds and fleeting haze,
Unchanged, immortal Love.
Extends, and high as Heaven above
Life's drifting clouds and fleeting haze,
Unchanged, immortal Love.
| Sonnets and Other Poems Chiefly Religious | |