Lays and Legends of Ancient Greece, with Other Poems By John Stuart Blackie |
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HIGH MASS IN THE CATHEDRAL OF COLOGNE. |
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 | Lays and Legends of Ancient Greece, with Other Poems |  |
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HIGH MASS IN THE CATHEDRAL OF COLOGNE.
O heavens! so fair a fane, and such a crewOf swine-faced mummers, fleshy, fat, and red,
Tricked out in antic robes of every hue,
And in a round of graceless movements led,
And this they call the Mass!—Thank Heaven that I
Was born a Protestant, and so released
From spell and charm, and strange soul-slavery
Of book and bell and candle, picture and priest!
O mighty God, how long shall millions breathe,
Age after age, this priest-infected air,
And to the pining centuries bequeathe
The deep heart-plague to which themselves were heir?
Thou knowest. Above all human hopes and fears
He reigns, who moves the churches and the spheres.
| Lays and Legends of Ancient Greece, with Other Poems | |