The Judgement of the Flood :: :: University of Virginia Library

How swift the years fly past, yet not as flies
The traceless arrow through the closing air.
Body, and soul, they do impress on man
The signs that they have been; for what are they
But motions of his own activity,
Whose very thoughts imperishable are,
Inscribed by God within his Book of Doom?

Upon the race of Seth, the words of Cain
Sank deeply, with the death of the Unborn,
The first-created man. Dispute ensued,
High argument; nor might assurance high
Of angels, visiting the sons of men,
Celestial testimony, to convince
The sceptic mind suffice; who'll not believe,
No satisfaction, even in knowledge, finds.
Nay, even to demon oracles recourse
Was had—of whom Cain's race enquiry made,
And oft received forged answer. Conference,
And intercourse succeeded. Then the Sons
Of God the Daughters saw of men, how fair,

249

How lovely, how adorned, how sweetly wise
And amiably accomplished, and they took
Them wives at their election. Pure alone
The children of the blood-devoted dead,
Abel, who all impurity abhorred,
And, in simplicity of faith, and deed,
Continued shepherds of the sacred flocks
For sacrifice appointed, whence the shame
Of man is covered, and his sin forgiven,
And man is reconciled unto his God.
Thus was the faith preserved—but not without
The martyr's peril; and thereon was one,
Enoch the Scribe, who looked with much concern.

Soon to the holy mountain he retired,
And fasted . . forty days; and, all that time,
Trances, and visions kept his soul alive,
Though weeping, and in sorrow. Him none saw,
His tears hid in the fountain of his heart.
But angels his companions were; by night,
Their sympathy was in the star-light shed,
By day in the thin clouds that veiled the sun,
Too garish for his grief; and He in heaven
Him saw in secret, and consoled with gleams,
Unspeakable, and therefore never told,
Of joys celestial. Abstinence hath charms,
Earnestly lovely . . such that ye would say,
The beautiful, and true were in her face,
So mingled that the fair were the unfading—
So gracefully severe, the enamoured heart
Might ne'er believe that it was changeable—
Nay, Faith of its eternity would dream.
Thus oft into the Eternal 'twould transport
Thought as he gazed, and in the ravished soul
Wake the prophetic faculty, whose pens
Climb heaven, entering that Other world to come,
Which yet now is, even here, and every where.

250

Then came the Word of God to Enoch's soul,
And Michael, prince of human virtue, stood
Before him in his martial majesty,
Warriour of heaven, and said:

‘Offence abounds,
Man doubts the life within him, God-inbreathed,
And fear with hope hath vanished from the earth;
Twin-sisters they, wings of the soul; and force
Rules dominant, till murther bid him pause.
Therefore go thou, and take thy Book with thee,
Which thou hast written with sacrific blood,
And to the Mount of Paradise repair,
Where, at the orient gate, the Cherubim
Entrance forbid; there, where I gave thee once
The Tablet of Creation; summon there
The people; they shall hear the voice of God,
And thou shalt prophesy as he shall prompt,
Sufficient for the time. Yet they shall scorn,
At length, thy sayings; nay, the voice of God
Reject, albeit now the sons of men
Be on this side of the baptizing flood,
That o'er the world shall spread the pall of death,
Redeeming so the earth from violence.
For though no veil the glorious throne obscure,
And from the presence of his God divide
Man, or from spiritual intercourse
Debar, with angels, or with demons; yet
Fail even Hope's present objects to secure
Faith in the promises. Hence, is it writ
In heaven—the decree is written there—
Death shall between man, and his hopes stand dark,
And faith come by the ear—nought by the eye:
Until the grave the Place of Hope expand,
Where, till the time of consummation, rest
Her spirits disincarnate, prisoners,
Region of vision, but itself unseen.’

251

And Enoch did appoint a solemn day,
And Eden was assembled there, before
The sacred hill, in presence of the Lord.
The mountain melted, and the Cherubim
Paled to the nothing of obscurity
Before Jehovah's shadow. Him the cloud
Hid, him the fire concealed, him round about
Thunder, and lightning girt; the mountain quaked
Beneath the footsteps of Omnipotence.
Unto the midst of heaven the mountain burned,
And fire, and darkness his pavilion were.
He rent the heavens, and came down; and man
Dissolved in fear before him, as in death.
The trumpet pealed between; and as it waxed
Louder, and longer, Enoch raised his voice
As on an eagle's wing, and, strong in faith,
Spake; and to him the Voice of God replied.
Thus summoned, Enoch entered up the mount
Into the darkness of excessive light,
And held mysterious commune for awhile.
Anon, returned to earth, his countenance
Dazzled the gaze of men, and awed them back;
Then he the Coming of the Lord proclaimed:

‘He cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
Judgement forthwith on all to execute,
And all that are ungodly to convince
Of their ungodly deeds, and their hard speech,
Which against him, Most Holy, they have dared.
Upon the living Tablets of your Hearts
His Laws are written; all have read them there;
And yet, as if unwritten, and unread,
Like beasts ye live whom God created men.
Hither, thou trembling Sinner. Stand thou forth,
And answer for thy sin. What God is thine?’

And he who thus was called upon replied;
—‘I bow the knee unto the Teraphim,

252

And they have answered me, and made me rich
In herds, and wives, and numerous progeny.
Their glory is less terrible than Their's
That flash, and fulmine over Paradise.’
Then rolled the thunder louder, and the hill
More wrathfully cast out consuming flame,
And lightning smote the sinner to the earth.

Then came another, summoned to the bar.
‘What is that graven image in thy house?’

‘'Tis of my father, for he taught me much
Of knowledge, and my hand instructed so,
That, by its cunning, I can touch the harp,
And organ to such harmony as wraps
The soul in ecstacy. Divine his art,
And he adorable.’

Scarce had he said,
When rolled the thunder louder, and the hill
More wrathfully cast out consuming fire,
And lightning smote the sinner to the earth.

Then came another, summoned to the bar.
—‘Why callest thou upon the name of God?’

‘His name escaped my lips, for o'er my frame
Cold shudders crept, and so I uttered it,
As I am wont in terrour, or surprise.’

And then again the thunder louder rolled,
And wrathfully the hill blazed high in heaven,
And the just lightning smote the sinner dumb.

Another, summoned to his doom, advanced.
—‘Why, on this high and holy day, wherein
God rested from his work, that spade bearst thou?’

‘I was a-working in my field, when men
Told me of what was passing here of strange,
And wonderful; so from my work I came,
Who seldom, if at all, vacation know.’

Then rolled the thunder louder, and the hill
More wrathfully cast out consuming flame,

253

And lightning smote the sinner to the earth.

Then came another, summoned to the bar.
—‘Why with such scorn lookst thou upon that old
Woman, and man—thy mother, and thy sire?’

‘For they are old and feeble, and in age
Ridiculous, mere objects of contempt.’

Then rolled the thunder louder, and the hill
More wrathfully cast out consuming flame,
And lightning smote the sinner into dust.

Another, summoned to his doom, advanced.
—‘Why with such scowling brow gloatst thou on him?’

‘He is my enemy—I slew his sire,
And him will slay; for they have done me wrong.’

Even while he spake, the thunder rolled aloud,
Fierce burned the mount, and him the lightning slew.

Another, summoned to his doom, advanced.
—‘What woman she with those lascivious eyes,
Who hangs upon thee fearful, while yon man
Creeps close behind you, with desponding look?’

‘He is her sometime husband—I am now.’

Loud rolled the thunder, fierce the mountain burned,
And the just lightning smote the sinner blind.

Then came another, summoned to the bar.
—‘Whence gottest thou that staff?’

‘It lay beside
An aged man asleep, a useless thing;
I took it thence to help me on my way.’

Even while he spake, the thunder rolled aloud,
Fierce burned the mount, and him the lightning smote.

Then came another, summoned to the bar.
—‘Why doth that man upon thee thus exclaim?’

‘He is my neighbour, whom, before the judge,
I charged with deeds which ne'er, he saith, he did.’

Loud rolled the thunder; fierce the mountain burned,
And the just lightning smote the sinner dumb.

Then came another, summoned to the bar.

254

—‘Why lookest thou with such a stedfast gaze
Upon that ass whereon thy neighbour rides?’

‘I do affect it for its strength, and shape.’

Again the Mount of Paradise burned up,
Alive with the avenging Cherubim,
Into the midst of heaven, with thunderings,
And lightnings, and the noise of trumpet. Then
Spake Enoch, and the ungodly so convinced
Of their ungodly deeds; even while they feared,
And shrunk back from the radiance of his brow,
For their hard speeches them he thus reproved:

‘Ye murmurers against the ways of God,
O ye complainers for the doom of man;
Ye who prefer to feed upon the dust,
Like serpents, yet disdain the serpent's doom;
Who lose the sense of immortality,
No longer worthy even of transient life,
And therefore justly dread eternal death.
What proof ask ye? If ye have none in you,
None can be given—avails no miracle—
Nor such vouchsafed, but that the sensual man
May be without excuse. Yet, after death,
Know ye, is victory, or discomfiture—
Victory to him who's valiant to the end,
And overcometh. Wrath, and shame to him
Who fails with sin to war, and is subdued.
But that ye may have reason to believe,
I do ascend the sacred Mount of God,
And, without dying, enter Paradise.’

So saying, calmly, and in majesty,
He did ascend the cherub-guarded hill,
And passed the flaming sword. He walked with God,
And was not, for his God accepted him.

These are the words which Seth spake, in the day
When he received the Book that Enoch wrote,

255

Unto Jehovah, who created him.

Thou art Jehovah: terrible art thou
In mercy. On thy horses thou didst ride,
Thy chariots of salvation bore thee on.
From midst the myriads of the hosts of heaven,
The Holy One with glory clad the sky,
And fire consumed the mountain where he trod.

Perfect in beauty, and in wisdom full,
Anointed Cherub: who, in Paradise,
Garden of God, his new-created Man
Didst cover with unshamèd innocence,
Within the Holy Mountain; till, profane,
Thou wert cast out from 'mong the Thrones of Light.
Thine heart was for thy beauty lifted up,
Thy wisdom was corrupted, verily,
By reason of thy brightness. Thou art now
Brought to the dust, O thou who hast defiled
Thy sanctuaries with iniquities.
Therefore will God bring forth, from thee amidst,
A fire that shall devour thee. Thou shalt be
A terrour, and shalt perish utterly.

Jehovah is in judgment terrible.
When him I heard, my bowels shook, . . my lips
Quivered, and rottenness was in my bones;
They trembled under me, and for the day
Of tribulation groaned my inmost soul.

O terrible in judgements; thou in wrath
Rememberest mercy. Wherefore waxst thou hot
'Gainst Man seduced? Ah—wherefore should the Foe
Say, that for mischief thou revealedst him?
Jehovah: thou art God, and thou wilt be
Gracious to whom thou wilt, to whom thou wilt
Be merciful. Jehovah, God of gods,
Gracious, and merciful—long-suffering—
Bounteous of truth, and goodness, laying up
Mercy for thousands, and forgiving all

256

Iniquity, transgression, sin; and thou
Wilt not excuse the sinner, visiting
The sire's iniquity upon the child,
Unto the generation third, and fourth.

I ever in Jehovah will rejoice,
In God, my Saviour, ever will exult—
Jehovah, the Almighty, is my strength,
And I will trust in him for evermore.
For of his Bounty he created man.

And Enoch left a Widow, and her name
Was Edna, and she dwelt in Armon with
Seth's household. Calm was Edna in her grief,
If grief it were that, in the certitude
Of Enoch's immortality, rejoiced.
Nor was she lonely. With her Son was she,
Methuselah; and many Sons, and Daughters
Beside surrounded her, a numerous tribe—
Ay, and beneath her heart she bare a Babe
Unborn, and when her days of travail closed,
The Mother in her Infant's face beheld
The shadow of her smile. Then on her heart
She pressed the Child, and named her from herself—
She called her Edna. And the Daughter grew,
As like to her in nature as in name,
In every feature like, in stature like,
Gesture, and act, and attitude of grace.
And so her heart was cheered for Enoch gone,
By this the living Pledge he left behind,
His Testament to her, as was his Book
Unto the Race of Men . . . a Word, not dead
As that is unto many, but with life
Still breathing, glowing, beautiful and fair.
And Seth did build two Pillars by the tomb
Of Adam—by that altar-tomb he built them,

257

And them inscribed with old tradition true.

Stern Cain spake to his Mother, while she wept;
‘Sin was of thy conception, Death of mine.’
For Cain had smitten Abel as they worshipped;
Since God accepted Abel's sacrifice,
And Cain's rejected. Firstlings of the flock
Meek Abel offered, first-fruits of the ground
Cain. For Cain said: ‘The Lord of life was Lord
Of earth—one God breathed spirit into man,
And brooded o'er the void of formless earth.
Sent he not cold, and heat, and stubborn soil
Of culture difficult, and pain of toil,
Sickness, and sorrow, and infirmity
Of flesh, whence evil, and remorse, and fear?’
—So to appease vindictive Deity,
He offered of his works, that he might heal
In them what needed labour, and caused grief.
But Abel's prayer was to the God of Love,
Who chastened thus the creature, that the soul
Might be made perfect, and the will renewed;
Which else would die of ire, by God consumed
In mercy, lest worse evil all destroy.
Willing, life offered he to him who gave,
Submitting to the Chastener, even to death,
So he might be redeemed, and manhood saved.
Such the discourse they held; but Cain was wroth,
And rose against his brother, smote, and slew.

Then spake to Cain Jehovah—‘Where is Abel,
Thy brother?’ And he answered, ‘I know not:
Am I my brother's keeper?’—Then God said:
‘What hast thou done? Voice of thy brother's blood
Cries from the ground to me. Accursed of earth:
Whose mouth has opened to receive his blood . .
Thy brother's blood from thy unrighteous hand;
Now when the ground thou tillest, it henceforth

258

Shall not yield of her strength to thee; become
A fugitive, and wanderer in the earth.’
Then Cain Jehovah answered: ‘Punishment
Like this is mightier far than I can bear;
Exiled from face of human earth, and thine,
A fugitive, and wanderer, whoso
Shall find will slay me.’ But Jehovah said:
‘Vengeance seven-fold on him that slayeth Cain.’
And of his will in this straightway a sign
Miraculous appointed. From the wild
The savage Steed he called, and on its mane
Laid his almighty hand, and it was tamed;
Then on its shoulders placed the fugitive:
In fear he crouched upon the horse's neck;
But the Compassionate raised then his head,
And, touching thus his brow, left there a trace
Of wonderous power, the fingers of a God.
So, from the presence of the Cherubim,
Went forth sad Cain, and in the land of Naid
Dwelt, east of Eden; father of a race.

And Adam knew again his Wife, who bare
A Son, and called him Seth; for God to her
Another had appointed in the stead
Of Abel, whom Cain slew. And this is he
On whom the Book of Enoch was bestowed,
Who built these Pillars, and these Words inscribed.