University of Virginia Library

Then, prostrate in Jehovah's presence, spake
Noah, and said:—

‘O Lord, my God: now, hear,
And answer; for the press of thoughts, and things,
And men perplexes, now, thy servant sore.
Hast thou determined to destroy, indeed,
Earth, with her offspring? Should I then assume
Patriarch authority, paternal rule,
Over the people? And wherefore? seeing now,
In name, and not in substance, of long time,
And powerless, the station hath been held;
An ordinance obsolete, that hath lost its hold
On popular opinion, and repute?
Or, if I take on me the robe of power,
Oh, wilt thou pardon, thou Almighty God,
And rescue the doomed world, redeem, and save?
Rescue, redeem, and save, Omnipotent:
In mercy save, even for thy servant's sake,
If once I favour found, and still retain.’

Then spake Jehovah. ‘Thou hast favour found;
Nor mayst thou rightful Ordinance resign.
If they accept thee, well; if not, retire,
And make thee ready; for the Judgement sits.’

Such was God's answer unto Noah's prayer.
So he arose; and, on the morrow, called
The people to the Sacrifice. But not
For worship, but debate, they came: the wise,
And ignorant; the cunning, and unapt;
Claiming alike free speech; philosophists,
And oratours; Palal, and Rumel: For
These twain had forces joined; and in the minds
Of men had made them empire; and, with power,
The democratic temper could persuade,
Combine, and wield its elements at will:
And Hherem who, with secret influence,
Directed all to slavery, while they
Of Freedom talked, and Rights unreasoning,
That owned no Duty, or to God, or man:
And wild Azaziel who, in nature's wrath,
Saw Liberty—the licence to destroy,
Which pleased him best; and Satan, who would rear,
On ruins of creation, a high throne,
That o'er against the visionary Mount
Might tower, audacious, opposite to God's.

Now, on the Altar-tomb had Noah placed
The sacred Book, to Seth by Enoch given;
And, kneeling, would have prayed; but Palal then
Began the wordy war.

‘Pardon,’ said he,
‘Intrusion out of course; but time has changed
Old channels, and the spirit of the age,
Would it be heard, must violate, where needs,
Old forms, and institutions, and make new,
That Law grow not save of the will of all,
Hold of existing circumstance, and fit
Accumulated knowledge widely spread.
Men know their rights, and to assert them now—
To will, and think, and speak as of themselves,
And to appoint what rules they will obey,
If any, and how. Well was it in old times,
The sire should teach the son, and children learn
From their forefathers, and believe: but now,
Change has accrued; and sons are who might lord
O'er parents, if in wisdom be the right,
More capable to teach than they to learn.
Then, why should they be subject, and succumb
To authority inferiour, knowledge less?
Herein deem not, I Noah's wisdom doubt,
Knowing his worth, and eloquence; but this
I well may question, when he credit claims
For inspiration, whereof know I nought,
Nor may. For whence is knowledge? From the sense.
What we perceive by eye, and ear, taste, touch,
And smell, become ideas, and compose
Reason, and understanding; nor are they
Of other objects sentient. What is deemed
Of infinite, and eternal is made up
Of times, and spaces added without end;
And so some notion formed, how vague at best.
But Noah would of other knowledge vaunt,
Caught from some other state, or world, or age,
Discerned but by the Spirit, and on faith,
The credit of his word, to be believed—
Or haply of power miraculous, whereof
Was told me yesterday, and partly felt
And seen, though but in part, because afar
I stood, and saw, and felt imperfectly,
At distance. Earthquake—Gulph—and Fire!
Why, what's in these that Nature tells not of?
These rumblings of the earth are ordinary;
And, without wrath, may swallow whom they please:
Why not Methuselah?—And for the flame,
'Twas the volcanic blaze that ever tends
On Earthquake, and announces, and succeeds,
Cherubic guardians deemed of Eden lost.
Vain terrours; which the light of science, seen
In the horizon only, soon will chase—
Like shades before the sun at morning-rise.
Thus futile these pretensions; others may
Be proved, perchance, as fond. Behoves it, then,
His claims be tested; and to all be given
Free opportunity merit to sift,
And chuse the wisest, and the best to rule.’

He ended, and was followed with applause
Unanimous.—Straight, from amidst the throng,
Rose, unexpected, Samiasa then;
And awe imposed, and silence.

‘Friends;’ he cried:
‘Patient I've heard, like patience shew to me.
'Tis said, no inner vision hath the soul,
But all its knowledge is derived from earth;
Yet 'tis confessed there is a power within,
Which from the finite argues infinite—
What is that power? O surely not of earth,
For earthly things fail it to satisfy,
And cannot shew the Object that it wants.
Is then that Object nothing? Nay, the soul
Perceives of it impression, with that eye,
Which, being spiritual, spiritually beholds;
As with a fleshly orb it apprehends
Material forms, intelligently seen.
And this Idea, or creative Word,
Reports of Law; of which the shadows be,
By symbols, shewn in nature, and the rule
Of government. But its high fountain is
Thy bosom, God! whose Being is the Law
Unto thy working; authour to itself;
Beginning all things for a worthy end,
And operation limiting thereby,
In measure, number, weight, according to
The counsel of thy Will; that Wisdom old,
More antient than the hills, co-mate with thee,
Eternal: Order, hence, appoints to all
His creatures, and creation, duties fit:
Celestial, natural; human, or divine;
Fatal, or voluntary. Nature thus,
To Law obedient, Being to produce,
Generates forms, to be the souls of things.
Thus Angels love, adore, and imitate
The purity, the glory, and the beauty
Of him who placed their armies, and their hosts
In order, and degree, the ministers
Of virtue unto men. Thus men themselves,
Aiming at goodness, covet to be like
God in continuance, and creation both;
And seek to propagate, and to their works
Give constancy, and excellence like his;
And rise, by reason, to the knowledge pure
Of things, not sensible; and, by the power
Of will, the spirit of the mind,—of heaven.
Knowledge, and Will; whence Choice. Of these discoursed
Palal even now, and argued Noah false:
His premises proved false, prove Noah true.
Chuse ye the good, avoid the evil now;
And to the Laws by Reason given to Man,
For social rule, and peaceful fellowship,
And to old ordinance, old authority,
Bow as of right, that Order be not broke;
Knowing that intellect may not usurp
On moral power, and either damage 'scape.’

Thus ended he; and thought profound held mute
The assembly—soon by Rumel called to hear.
—‘Freemen;’ exclaimed the Oratour: ‘men free
By Nature; wherefore should ye to old saws
Yield, whom new prospects to new fields invite
Of great endeavour? At whose voice? At his,
Who by inheritance possessed a throne,
And was a king, and straight must ape the god,
And rather than in city, dwelt in wild?
Now, from his sway released, in the same line
Resides authority: how graced with virtue,
Both in Azaradel, and Amazarah;
With what allegiance unto antient law,
Or modern, well appears to all, and each:
Yet little need be cared for, if it brought
Oppression not on subjects, scourging oft
The sins of other men, and taxing them
For maintenance of their own. The hour is come,
When Earth must throw off rule: and lawless Man
Be as at first; self-governed, or quite free;
Each waging his own right, or his own wrong
Avenging; following his own desires;
Self-arbiter of evil, and of good.’

At this was uproar, scarce by Noah stilled,
Who hardly audience found, though speaking there
The words of the Most High.

‘That man is free,
Who is not held in bondage of his lusts,
No servant to corruption; only he.
And all must be such slaves whom law rules not,
For those of Nature are, law of the Mind:
Hence parents check their children, and forbid
Indulgence, ruinous to health, or heart;
Thus God, the Father of the Universe,
Gave Law to Adam; and, above the flesh,
Enthroned in state the spirit; nor repealed,
Nor a jot bated its validity,
For his transgression. Adam to his Sons
Such government extended; how to live
In fellowship, though violated oft,
Yet ne'er annulled. And so, from race to race,
Each father was a king to his own house;
And, o'er the numerous households, one was set,
In right of Adam's rule, hereditary
Dominion to exhibit, and enforce.
Yet Life was before Law: the Maker, hence,
For Adam made provision, ere he tasked
Obedience. And when Cain sought Naid afar,
Natural impediment, and penury
Were first assuaged, and many arts discerned,
Though but mechanical, ere he might rear
A city, and a state. Valour, and wit,
With conjoint effort, then relation fixed
Of Right, and Duty; but had to contend
With envy, strife, contention, violence—
Used both for good, and evil. Heed ye now.
The days are evil, justice is dethroned;
Fathers are scorned, and order set at nought,
Private, or social: all it doth behove
To take away all mutual grievances,
All injuries, and wrongs; and to appoint
Public agreement, social government—
Whereto yield ye submissive; and to whom
Ye grant authority, may peace, and bliss,
And to the rest, by them be still procured.—
Peace to the righteous: to the oppressor, woe.
Nor has the bounteous Maker left ye void
Of supernatural aid; but in his law,
The Testament of Enoch, taught to Man
The way of duty, and the gate of bliss.’

Thus Noah. But loud clamour rose, and scorn,
And laughter, and opprobrium, and the cries
Of insolent rejection; tumult soon,
And strife, and bloodshed. Veiled within a cloud,
God rescued from the outrageous multitude
His Prophet; and rage died, its victim gone.
—Died with the Rephaim, those giant twins,
Who sometime smote, by Adam's sepulchre,
Noah while preaching . . whereof hath been told.
And now, again, the demon Brethren sought
To smite him as he spake: but either deemed
It honour to strike first; and, for the fame,
One with the other strove, until escaped
Their victim.—Then, upon his Brother each
His anger turned; wrath deadly—murtherous—
Wrestling in contest, gladiatorial strife:
Emulous of victory, seeking it as balm
To disappointment; neither wishing yet
To live thereafter, fired by frenzy so,
As if such loss bore no surviving, or,
After such gain, life worthless were, and stale.
High skill they shewed in combat; to assault
Or to defend, both equal; both unmatched
By any else; right artists in their kind,
Of all acknowledged, theme of saw, and song.
Long time, was either by the other held
At bay: their weapons clashed, but to protect,
And not to wound; until at length—at length—
Dagger of each was close at heart of each,
Mutually crossed; then, each in other's face
Looked, and laughed loud—and, as they laughed, they plunged
The poniards in; laughed, as they plunged them in—
And, laughing, drew them out; and, as they fell
Backward, laughed dying: laughing, so they died
In ecstasy, both victors, both death-crowned.
—Thus died the Born of Spirit, and of Flesh;
Apostate Spirit; (not apostate, guilt
Had then been none;) and thus on earth were they
Demons as giants, evil energies
In strength incarnate; errours masculine
Enshrined in clouds, yet not of Glory named,
But Hades—dark, oppressive, and corrupt,
Louring o'er earth, in battailous array,
Contending, bursting, falling but to bruise.

Thus died they, and more terrible the laugh,
That, from the hell-mouth of their gushing heart,
In that death-transport brake, than were the fiends
To mock a mourner from some cave's deep rift—
Soft-hearted mourner for a doomèd world,
With exultation of the coming wreck;
Greedy of ruin, angels of mischance:
More terrible, and more oracular.