Italy and Other Poems By William Sotheby |
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| CONTINUATION AND CONCLUSION
OF
THE AIR—THE EARTH, AND OCEAN. |
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 | Italy and Other Poems |  |
297
CONTINUATION AND CONCLUSION OF THE AIR—THE EARTH, AND OCEAN.
Arise! nor longer turn to fond lament
The strain of adoration!
The strain of adoration!
Ye wing'd storms,
That sweep contagion off: ye clouds, that seek
The mountain's frozen brows, and down their range
Feed with perpetual lapse of winding floods
Earth's peopled realms! and ye, Etesian gales!
That know th' appointed times, and bearing on
Exultant Commerce o'er wide seas, in turn
Hold empire! ye, celestial ministers!
Accept my closing numbers.
That sweep contagion off: ye clouds, that seek
The mountain's frozen brows, and down their range
Feed with perpetual lapse of winding floods
Earth's peopled realms! and ye, Etesian gales!
That know th' appointed times, and bearing on
Exultant Commerce o'er wide seas, in turn
Hold empire! ye, celestial ministers!
Accept my closing numbers.
Oh! were mine
The harp of Sion, and the hand to sweep
Its thrilling wires, responsive to that voice
Which, in the visitation of the winds,
Speaks unto earth and ocean!
The harp of Sion, and the hand to sweep
298
Which, in the visitation of the winds,
Speaks unto earth and ocean!
“Roar, ye waves!
“And heave your mountain billows! and ye storms,
“Bear on your wings pure gales! and sweeping on
“Unwearied search the Deep, from sea to sea,
“If there corruption gender. Bow, ye woods,
“Till every leaf give answer. Earth, beneath,
“Has sickly taint, the spotted pest is sped
“On ravage; and where close throng'd cities send
“Their loud brawl madd'ning up, silently weaves
“For all the shroud of death. Lo, on the plains
“Mildew, and foul stagnation, and the fiend
“That to the sickle says, ‘Away! 'tis mine
“‘The harvest; mine the seed of swart decay.’
“These fly the tempest's sweep. Where now, oh earth,
“The locust, the wing'd host? I heard afar
“The hurtling of their pennons, as they rush'd
“Impatient to devour. And who, but thou,
“My north-east! with the breathing of thy blast
“Confus'd the dark array, and, warping, drave
“Their battle down to ocean? and the Deep
“Lay still beneath their tumult.”
“And heave your mountain billows! and ye storms,
“Bear on your wings pure gales! and sweeping on
“Unwearied search the Deep, from sea to sea,
“If there corruption gender. Bow, ye woods,
“Till every leaf give answer. Earth, beneath,
“Has sickly taint, the spotted pest is sped
“On ravage; and where close throng'd cities send
“Their loud brawl madd'ning up, silently weaves
“For all the shroud of death. Lo, on the plains
“Mildew, and foul stagnation, and the fiend
“That to the sickle says, ‘Away! 'tis mine
“‘The harvest; mine the seed of swart decay.’
“These fly the tempest's sweep. Where now, oh earth,
“The locust, the wing'd host? I heard afar
“The hurtling of their pennons, as they rush'd
“Impatient to devour. And who, but thou,
“My north-east! with the breathing of thy blast
“Confus'd the dark array, and, warping, drave
“Their battle down to ocean? and the Deep
“Lay still beneath their tumult.”
299
Such his voice
Whose sound goes forth in tempest. Ye have heard,
'Mid summer seas, on islands of the sun,
Ye, too, have heard it, when th' infuriate gales
Rag'd, and rent earth reel'd on its central base
Beneath you? Oh, awhile forsake your haunts
On the green mountain slope, where now ye woo
The sea breeze, and the voice of murmuring rills,
Lapp'd in delightful day dreams, underneath
Cool arch of quivering foliage. Hang no more
O'er golden fruited groves, and plains that burst
With nectar harvests, whence the stir of men,
And pipe and song, immix'd with other sound
Of menace and lament. Away! unyoke
The slave: 'tis time: unyoke: foreboding signs
Give note. How! mark'd you not the conscious moon,
'Mid the dilated stars dimm'd in their sheen,
Crimson her silver crescent? and yon mounts
That shook their thick mists off, and stood confess'd,
As aw'd in unveil'd terror? Wherefore seen
Ere sun-set, in the depth of distant heav'ns,
Clouds behind clouds unrolling, whence pale fires
That faintly gleam'd, as if th' omnipotent arm
Had rent th' ethereal canopy, and show'd
Foreboding lightnings, ere yet launch'd to smite
The nether globe? That time, the earth beneath
Sent forth a sound as of a mighty wind:
Nor the deep wells kept silence, nor yet ceas'd
Ocean, when no gale stirr'd, to heave its strength,
And breathe foul taints. Fly, fly! the voice from earth
And sea is hush'd: o'er all, dead Silence reigns
Delusive. Hark! at once the tempest roars
Infuriate, wing'd with flame: the madd'ning winds
From every point, as in wild chaos old,
Immingle. To the bolt, launch'd down from heav'n,
Earth sends her lightnings up. And hark! the roar
Of ocean, and deep thunders, and prone floods
From flaming clouds, and hideous crash of woods
And fall of cities, tow'r and fort laid low,
As on the hurricane's outstretch'd pennons, Death
Shouts triumphing.—'Tis past: the beam of morn
Smiles, and from deep-delv'd caves steal slowly out
The bond slave and his lord, and to and fro
Stray in their fear, wide wreck and woe around:
Forgotten soon: for 'mid the storm rush'd down
The genial Pow'r, beneath whose sway the isle,
Ere long, exhaustless revels: as if earth
Had in the shaking of the blast thrown off
Her hoar decrepitude, and newly rob'd
In youth, and bloom of beauty, woo'd the sun.
[OMITTED]
[OMITTED]
Not at list
Whose sound goes forth in tempest. Ye have heard,
'Mid summer seas, on islands of the sun,
Ye, too, have heard it, when th' infuriate gales
Rag'd, and rent earth reel'd on its central base
Beneath you? Oh, awhile forsake your haunts
On the green mountain slope, where now ye woo
The sea breeze, and the voice of murmuring rills,
Lapp'd in delightful day dreams, underneath
Cool arch of quivering foliage. Hang no more
O'er golden fruited groves, and plains that burst
With nectar harvests, whence the stir of men,
And pipe and song, immix'd with other sound
Of menace and lament. Away! unyoke
The slave: 'tis time: unyoke: foreboding signs
Give note. How! mark'd you not the conscious moon,
'Mid the dilated stars dimm'd in their sheen,
Crimson her silver crescent? and yon mounts
That shook their thick mists off, and stood confess'd,
As aw'd in unveil'd terror? Wherefore seen
Ere sun-set, in the depth of distant heav'ns,
Clouds behind clouds unrolling, whence pale fires
That faintly gleam'd, as if th' omnipotent arm
Had rent th' ethereal canopy, and show'd
300
The nether globe? That time, the earth beneath
Sent forth a sound as of a mighty wind:
Nor the deep wells kept silence, nor yet ceas'd
Ocean, when no gale stirr'd, to heave its strength,
And breathe foul taints. Fly, fly! the voice from earth
And sea is hush'd: o'er all, dead Silence reigns
Delusive. Hark! at once the tempest roars
Infuriate, wing'd with flame: the madd'ning winds
From every point, as in wild chaos old,
Immingle. To the bolt, launch'd down from heav'n,
Earth sends her lightnings up. And hark! the roar
Of ocean, and deep thunders, and prone floods
From flaming clouds, and hideous crash of woods
And fall of cities, tow'r and fort laid low,
As on the hurricane's outstretch'd pennons, Death
Shouts triumphing.—'Tis past: the beam of morn
Smiles, and from deep-delv'd caves steal slowly out
The bond slave and his lord, and to and fro
Stray in their fear, wide wreck and woe around:
Forgotten soon: for 'mid the storm rush'd down
The genial Pow'r, beneath whose sway the isle,
Ere long, exhaustless revels: as if earth
Had in the shaking of the blast thrown off
301
In youth, and bloom of beauty, woo'd the sun.
[OMITTED]
[OMITTED]
The winds breathe light or boisterous; not at list
Wander capricious: each, call'd duly out,
Hears, and fulfils high mission. Does parch'd earth
Pant, and the cleaving glebe expose to light
The dry and wither'd root? Lo! from the west,
Clouds that show'r down abundance. Droops the plain
Deep-flooded? far, o'er land, the east-wind speeds
With dryness on his pennons. Claims the seed
Warmth of o'er-mantling snow? Comes not the north
With fleecy flakes thick-burden'd? and when Spring
Fears to unfold her blossoms, and hoar frost
Hangs, tinkling on the bud, how sweetly sounds
The south-wind from its pleasant place, and wakes
The flow'rets, and unchains the rills that shed
Soft dew-drops on the garland-tressed May.
Nor less, vast winds that sway the waters, hear
Like gracious charge celestial. Launch, then, forth
Adventurous, and behold how God has spread
The ocean out, and bad the gales there ope
The high-way of the nations.
Like gracious charge celestial. Launch, then, forth
302
The ocean out, and bad the gales there ope
The high-way of the nations.
Boasts, then, Earth
Her fixed state? and, gazing, proudly round
On the eternal hills, exclaims, “Oh, Man!
“Here rest: on my stability repose!
“Fulfil thy destiny here, where sleep thy sires,
“Each in his native soil! Oh, stay: Content,
“That met thee yester-morn, and to still vales
“Led thee at eve, shall it not greet with smiles
“Thy morrow as this day, and link in one,
“Age and the stripling prime? Rest here, nor dread
“The coming hour: enough, that God has fix'd
“Seed-time, and harvest. Let the mariner,
“At night-watch, with the many-shadow'd clouds,
“Hold question of the obscure and doubtful sign:
“And hear them, as endow'd with many tongues,
“Give answer. Let him commune with each star
“That cast its beam on th' billow, or pale moon
“That toils thro' sullen skies, or streaks of fire,
“Which, when sad eve the clouded welkin cross'd,
“Spake of near tempest. Recks it thee, what Night
“Says of the Morn? if fair, tell out thy flock
“On th' upland brow, and number their increase;
“Or hie to rural work, in sun or shade,
“Green forest, or the bean-field breathing sweats:
“Or, of thy toil make pastime, in the press
“Of labour thro' the sultry harvest moon.
“If tempests threaten, let the bleak storm burst:
“Holds not thy cot firm station upon earth?
“Falls not the slumberous rain-drop from thy eaves,
“While on the breast of love the brow of toil
“Lies sweetly pillow'd. There repose in peace
“Unquestion'd, while the song that lulls thy rest
“Dwells on the distant shipwreck, and vex'd men
“That with mad seas wage warfare.”
Her fixed state? and, gazing, proudly round
On the eternal hills, exclaims, “Oh, Man!
“Here rest: on my stability repose!
“Fulfil thy destiny here, where sleep thy sires,
“Each in his native soil! Oh, stay: Content,
“That met thee yester-morn, and to still vales
“Led thee at eve, shall it not greet with smiles
“Thy morrow as this day, and link in one,
“Age and the stripling prime? Rest here, nor dread
“The coming hour: enough, that God has fix'd
“Seed-time, and harvest. Let the mariner,
“At night-watch, with the many-shadow'd clouds,
“Hold question of the obscure and doubtful sign:
“And hear them, as endow'd with many tongues,
“Give answer. Let him commune with each star
“That cast its beam on th' billow, or pale moon
“That toils thro' sullen skies, or streaks of fire,
“Which, when sad eve the clouded welkin cross'd,
“Spake of near tempest. Recks it thee, what Night
303
“On th' upland brow, and number their increase;
“Or hie to rural work, in sun or shade,
“Green forest, or the bean-field breathing sweats:
“Or, of thy toil make pastime, in the press
“Of labour thro' the sultry harvest moon.
“If tempests threaten, let the bleak storm burst:
“Holds not thy cot firm station upon earth?
“Falls not the slumberous rain-drop from thy eaves,
“While on the breast of love the brow of toil
“Lies sweetly pillow'd. There repose in peace
“Unquestion'd, while the song that lulls thy rest
“Dwells on the distant shipwreck, and vex'd men
“That with mad seas wage warfare.”
Cease!—Have heart,
Brave mariner! and let their night-song close
On shipwreck and sea-farers! Steer thou on!
Traverse the watery world! from clime to clime
Pour forth on each the gifts of all, and link
Mankind in bonds of love: diffuse the light
Of science, teach the savage arts unknown,
And o'er the nations and lone isles bring down
The day-spring of Salvation.—Therefore, God
Spake to the winds an ordinance, and gave
The sun his station. Does the orb of day
Light up the eastern flood? the sea-breeze knows
Its harbinger, and ocean flows beneath
His beam, on progress: other winds, meantime,
Each in due season, slope from either pole
Their currents sunward. Lo! the Lord of Day
Drives up the northern signs: earth gladly drinks
His radiance, and the Pole that long lay hid
In gloom, unvisited of gladsome beam,
Forgets the darkness, while the broad bright disc,
Month after month, day ever without night,
Rolls round his brow reposeless. And the wings
Of mighty winds that bear his chariot, range
Beyond their former bounds: and sweeping on
South-eastward, half the year, athwart the sea
Of Araby, to shores where Gama found
Enthron'd the Zamorin; or round the Cape
By Taprobana, guide the vessel on
To Ganges, and the golden Chersonese:—
Or, further, past Sumatra, and the gulf
Of Siam, turn the prow, where foreign masts
Crowd in the Bocca-Tigris.—In old times
When they of Ishmael, who, on journey, came
From Gilead with their camels, bearing spice
To Egypt, balm and myrrh, and bought him, slave,
Whom visions of the Almighty preordain'd
For glory: and, in later times, o'erland,
When traffickers, 'mid deserts, drave their march
To Tadmor, and beheld, o'er pillar'd heights
That tow'r'd afar, like high-embowed woods,
The sun's proud temple soaring, serv'd not then,
As now, th' Etesian gale, and one its voice
Delightful heard on ocean?
Brave mariner! and let their night-song close
On shipwreck and sea-farers! Steer thou on!
Traverse the watery world! from clime to clime
Pour forth on each the gifts of all, and link
Mankind in bonds of love: diffuse the light
Of science, teach the savage arts unknown,
And o'er the nations and lone isles bring down
The day-spring of Salvation.—Therefore, God
Spake to the winds an ordinance, and gave
The sun his station. Does the orb of day
304
Its harbinger, and ocean flows beneath
His beam, on progress: other winds, meantime,
Each in due season, slope from either pole
Their currents sunward. Lo! the Lord of Day
Drives up the northern signs: earth gladly drinks
His radiance, and the Pole that long lay hid
In gloom, unvisited of gladsome beam,
Forgets the darkness, while the broad bright disc,
Month after month, day ever without night,
Rolls round his brow reposeless. And the wings
Of mighty winds that bear his chariot, range
Beyond their former bounds: and sweeping on
South-eastward, half the year, athwart the sea
Of Araby, to shores where Gama found
Enthron'd the Zamorin; or round the Cape
By Taprobana, guide the vessel on
To Ganges, and the golden Chersonese:—
Or, further, past Sumatra, and the gulf
Of Siam, turn the prow, where foreign masts
Crowd in the Bocca-Tigris.—In old times
When they of Ishmael, who, on journey, came
From Gilead with their camels, bearing spice
To Egypt, balm and myrrh, and bought him, slave,
Whom visions of the Almighty preordain'd
For glory: and, in later times, o'erland,
305
To Tadmor, and beheld, o'er pillar'd heights
That tow'r'd afar, like high-embowed woods,
The sun's proud temple soaring, serv'd not then,
As now, th' Etesian gale, and one its voice
Delightful heard on ocean?
“Hither come,
“Ye nations! for your fleets the billow flows
“Expectant: leave the land, 'tis tedious toil,
“Rude is the pathless mountain, and yon wastes
“Unfreshen'd by a rill: fly the wing'd sands
“That wait you, and wild Arab, eagle-ey'd,
“Loose from the bond, and brotherhood of Man!
“Ye nations! for your fleets the billow flows
“Expectant: leave the land, 'tis tedious toil,
“Rude is the pathless mountain, and yon wastes
“Unfreshen'd by a rill: fly the wing'd sands
“That wait you, and wild Arab, eagle-ey'd,
“Loose from the bond, and brotherhood of Man!
“Hither, ye nations! to your fleets I call.
“I lead to realms where show'r and sunshine strive
“In emulous contest, genial both, which best
“Shall fertilise the soil, and gift its birth
“With grandeur, grace, and beauty. Nature, here,
“Knows not repose; on tendril, tree, and blade,
“Harvest succeeds to harvest: and the fruit
“That falls from the full branch, looks on the bud,
“Gay opening on the sunbeam. Bear from hence
“Your ivory palaces, and dow'r your brides
“With diamonds and rare gems. Behold yon woods
“Gigantic: they, in triumph, o'er the main
“Shall float your treasures, when the northern oak
“Droops, mouldering, on the sea-beach. Steersman! hence!
“Lo! down the southern signs the Lord of Day
“Speeds his slope car.—Away: the wind and wave
“Flow, favouring thy departure: loose each sail,
“And shout along the main, “Yon world of waves,
“‘Jehovah, the Creator, spread it forth,
“‘Connecting every clime.’”
“I lead to realms where show'r and sunshine strive
“In emulous contest, genial both, which best
“Shall fertilise the soil, and gift its birth
“With grandeur, grace, and beauty. Nature, here,
“Knows not repose; on tendril, tree, and blade,
“Harvest succeeds to harvest: and the fruit
“That falls from the full branch, looks on the bud,
“Gay opening on the sunbeam. Bear from hence
“Your ivory palaces, and dow'r your brides
“With diamonds and rare gems. Behold yon woods
306
“Shall float your treasures, when the northern oak
“Droops, mouldering, on the sea-beach. Steersman! hence!
“Lo! down the southern signs the Lord of Day
“Speeds his slope car.—Away: the wind and wave
“Flow, favouring thy departure: loose each sail,
“And shout along the main, “Yon world of waves,
“‘Jehovah, the Creator, spread it forth,
“‘Connecting every clime.’”
Hence Commerce speeds
Her fleets proud tilting o'er the brine, and sweeps
From shore to shore; or, lock'd in marble ports,
Emporiums of the world, in festive joy,
With flute and trumpet, and symphonious voice,
'Mid banners, and beneath the painted shade
Of pennants and gay streamers, bids the main
Keep holiday, and the still wave give back
The brightness of their bravery.
Her fleets proud tilting o'er the brine, and sweeps
From shore to shore; or, lock'd in marble ports,
Emporiums of the world, in festive joy,
With flute and trumpet, and symphonious voice,
'Mid banners, and beneath the painted shade
Of pennants and gay streamers, bids the main
Keep holiday, and the still wave give back
The brightness of their bravery.
'Twas not thus
Of old, and time has been, on that wide sea
'Twas vacant all: all vacant: save amid
Th' expanse, one ark roll'd lonely; lonely roll'd
'Mid that wide sea. Voice then in human lip
None was, save heard of those within, whose pray'r
Was mingled with lament: of those within,
Sole remnant of a race, swept in their guilt
From being, and the earth which bore them, gone
With all its heritage. O'er these the wave
Had clos'd; and for the cry and confus'd stir
When nation after nation perish'd whole,
Silence and Solitude.—And on the Ark
Roll'd restless: and the tossing of that Deep
Was terrible, and terrible the roar
Of clashing elements: nor yet rent heav'n
Had ceas'd to pour down rain, nor yet the abyss
From every broken fountain to heave up
The Deluge: and the face of things was one—
A world of waters tempested. Oh, ye!
Who in the great Deep traffic, and implore
Its mercy, when the troubled ocean views
God in his sore displeasure, call to mind
The Patriarch, him, who o'er that delug'd world,
When the day saw no sun, the night no star,
Pass'd fearless, God his guide. On rolls the Ark:
And lo! from forth the multitude of clouds
The Angel of Omnipotence descends
In glory: underneath his foot, the world
Of waters peaceful lies, and o'er his brow
Radiant in opening heav'n th' ethereal arch,
Whose basis rests on ocean, brightly beams,
While, to adoring man, and earth restor'd,
The Angel, with uplifted arm, displays
The everlasting covenant, and shows
On that bright sign, that visible vow between
God and the world, the Maker and his works,
Justice and Mercy join'd.
Of old, and time has been, on that wide sea
'Twas vacant all: all vacant: save amid
Th' expanse, one ark roll'd lonely; lonely roll'd
'Mid that wide sea. Voice then in human lip
307
Was mingled with lament: of those within,
Sole remnant of a race, swept in their guilt
From being, and the earth which bore them, gone
With all its heritage. O'er these the wave
Had clos'd; and for the cry and confus'd stir
When nation after nation perish'd whole,
Silence and Solitude.—And on the Ark
Roll'd restless: and the tossing of that Deep
Was terrible, and terrible the roar
Of clashing elements: nor yet rent heav'n
Had ceas'd to pour down rain, nor yet the abyss
From every broken fountain to heave up
The Deluge: and the face of things was one—
A world of waters tempested. Oh, ye!
Who in the great Deep traffic, and implore
Its mercy, when the troubled ocean views
God in his sore displeasure, call to mind
The Patriarch, him, who o'er that delug'd world,
When the day saw no sun, the night no star,
Pass'd fearless, God his guide. On rolls the Ark:
And lo! from forth the multitude of clouds
The Angel of Omnipotence descends
In glory: underneath his foot, the world
Of waters peaceful lies, and o'er his brow
Radiant in opening heav'n th' ethereal arch,
308
While, to adoring man, and earth restor'd,
The Angel, with uplifted arm, displays
The everlasting covenant, and shows
On that bright sign, that visible vow between
God and the world, the Maker and his works,
Justice and Mercy join'd.
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