 | The Fortunes of Faith |  |
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BOOK I.
“------Θνητοις γαρ γερα
πορων αναγκαις ταισδ' υπεζευγμαι ταλας.”
—PROM, VINC.
πορων αναγκαις ταισδ' υπεζευγμαι ταλας.”
—PROM, VINC.
“Yes, while bestowing the best gift on man,
Hapless I'm yoked 'neath these necessities.”
Amidst the world's wide waste there grows a Tree,
The shelter of woe-worn Mortality;
Where man may gather, nor despair of room,
And live upon the fruit, yet ne'er consume.
Here tempests, impotently fierce, forbear;
Nor seasons change, nor centuries impair;
It blooms of summer's endless smile secure,
Its leaf unfading, and its fruitage sure.
The Tree of Knowledge tempted, and we mourned;
The Tree of Life upsprang, and joy returned.
If man has harmed it with superfluous aid,
The fruit corrupted, and curtailed the shade,
Why judge the goodly Tree by blighted fruit?
The strength of heaven still vivifies the root,
Still, firm 'midst more than elemental strife,
Its shade is shelter and its fruit is life!
The shelter of woe-worn Mortality;
Where man may gather, nor despair of room,
And live upon the fruit, yet ne'er consume.
Here tempests, impotently fierce, forbear;
Nor seasons change, nor centuries impair;
It blooms of summer's endless smile secure,
Its leaf unfading, and its fruitage sure.
The Tree of Knowledge tempted, and we mourned;
The Tree of Life upsprang, and joy returned.
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The fruit corrupted, and curtailed the shade,
Why judge the goodly Tree by blighted fruit?
The strength of heaven still vivifies the root,
Still, firm 'midst more than elemental strife,
Its shade is shelter and its fruit is life!
Majestic Minister! Immortal Birth!
Surpassing Conqueror of oft-conquered earth!
Supreme Religion! why has Heaven allowed
Thy mighty sway, and why have mortals bowed?
What warfare tried the strength divinely given?
What conquest waited on the arms of Heaven?
Say, art thou not the Conqueror, whose fame
Was written in each Will thy words o'ercame?
The Potentate for whom each Soul's assent
Was glory peerless, sway pre-eminent?
The Sovereign honoured, yet the Subject free,
And fond and faithful through that liberty.
Yes! Man must smilingly embrace thy sway,
Delight to yield, and glory to obey,
With eyes of love thy terms of service read,
Mind seal the bond, and Heart attest the deed!
Surpassing Conqueror of oft-conquered earth!
Supreme Religion! why has Heaven allowed
Thy mighty sway, and why have mortals bowed?
What warfare tried the strength divinely given?
What conquest waited on the arms of Heaven?
Say, art thou not the Conqueror, whose fame
Was written in each Will thy words o'ercame?
The Potentate for whom each Soul's assent
Was glory peerless, sway pre-eminent?
The Sovereign honoured, yet the Subject free,
And fond and faithful through that liberty.
Yes! Man must smilingly embrace thy sway,
Delight to yield, and glory to obey,
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Mind seal the bond, and Heart attest the deed!
Yet ill at ease, though Sovereign of the Will,
Religion strangely felt ambition still;
Nor prized the power transmitted from on high,
Enamoured of inferior Sovereignty;
Embraced the offer mortal monarchs made,
Their throne ascended and their sceptre swayed.
Alas! ungrateful man had done her wrong,
Worn out the innocence that made her strong;
Imposed foul falsehood on her weakened sense,
And cursed her with degrading eminence!
Yes! poorly rich, and impotently great,
She sank her natural in her new estate,
Employed each weak device of human sense,
To rule the soul, and teach Omnipotence;
Controlled the spirit, as men sway the flesh,
And used their arms, and did their deeds afresh.
Her world-won children spoke their erring will,
Bade Conscience acquiesce and Thought be still;
Decreed the suffering, or constrained the lie,
Nor spared the immortal Soul a mortal penalty.
They called on princes to apply the rod;
Rude hands profaned the Holy Place of God;
The Child of Heaven became a thing of State,
Tool of its crimes, and partner of its fate.
Religion strangely felt ambition still;
Nor prized the power transmitted from on high,
Enamoured of inferior Sovereignty;
Embraced the offer mortal monarchs made,
Their throne ascended and their sceptre swayed.
Alas! ungrateful man had done her wrong,
Worn out the innocence that made her strong;
Imposed foul falsehood on her weakened sense,
And cursed her with degrading eminence!
Yes! poorly rich, and impotently great,
She sank her natural in her new estate,
Employed each weak device of human sense,
To rule the soul, and teach Omnipotence;
Controlled the spirit, as men sway the flesh,
And used their arms, and did their deeds afresh.
Her world-won children spoke their erring will,
Bade Conscience acquiesce and Thought be still;
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Nor spared the immortal Soul a mortal penalty.
They called on princes to apply the rod;
Rude hands profaned the Holy Place of God;
The Child of Heaven became a thing of State,
Tool of its crimes, and partner of its fate.
Yes, world-abused Religion lent her name,
To strengthen tyranny, and blazon shame,
Possessed the passions and inspired the tongue,
To awe the weak and pander to the strong,
Taught different lessons in her crowded school;
Those learned the lore of fear, and these of rule;
Tamed to her yoke, one trembling wretch obeyed,
Girt with her spoils, his fellow mortal swayed.
O yes! the common treasury of earth,
Where Soul at will laid up, at will drew forth,
Became degraded to a secret hoard,
Where priests monopolized what man had stored,
With counterfeited coin, essayed to cheat,
And punished murmurs, and enforced deceit!
To every lie corrupt Religion swore,
Kings smiled assent, and bade their slaves adore;
Whatever part capricious despots played,
She chose to conquer only by their aid;
Contemned the bloodless triumphs of the Word,
Nor tried the temper of the Gospel sword,
Nor laid soft siege where Thought and Reason dwell,
Nor cheered by Mercy, pressed the citadel,
Nor won surrender by the force of Grace,
Nor clasped the captive in a friend's embrace.
She wrote Earth's warriors on her muster roll,
With fleshly arms assailed the struggling soul,
To shake the will Earth's red artillery brought,
In warrior-fashion, stormed the hold of Thought,
Made conquering way o'er martyr-teeming graves,
And cursed her captives with the lot of slaves.
To strengthen tyranny, and blazon shame,
Possessed the passions and inspired the tongue,
To awe the weak and pander to the strong,
Taught different lessons in her crowded school;
Those learned the lore of fear, and these of rule;
Tamed to her yoke, one trembling wretch obeyed,
Girt with her spoils, his fellow mortal swayed.
O yes! the common treasury of earth,
Where Soul at will laid up, at will drew forth,
Became degraded to a secret hoard,
Where priests monopolized what man had stored,
With counterfeited coin, essayed to cheat,
And punished murmurs, and enforced deceit!
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Kings smiled assent, and bade their slaves adore;
Whatever part capricious despots played,
She chose to conquer only by their aid;
Contemned the bloodless triumphs of the Word,
Nor tried the temper of the Gospel sword,
Nor laid soft siege where Thought and Reason dwell,
Nor cheered by Mercy, pressed the citadel,
Nor won surrender by the force of Grace,
Nor clasped the captive in a friend's embrace.
She wrote Earth's warriors on her muster roll,
With fleshly arms assailed the struggling soul,
To shake the will Earth's red artillery brought,
In warrior-fashion, stormed the hold of Thought,
Made conquering way o'er martyr-teeming graves,
And cursed her captives with the lot of slaves.
When slavery stung, when Mortals would be Men,
And look to Heaven with Spirit in their ken;
When Thought rebelled against the priestly reign,
And Faith and Reason knew a smile again,
That righteous Rebel still had cause to fear,
That smile returned but not without the tear.
Nor wonder at Religion's tearful eye,
The Priest and King still smiled in company,
The adulterous tie was loosened, not destroyed,
The sin and shame were still too well enjoyed!
And look to Heaven with Spirit in their ken;
When Thought rebelled against the priestly reign,
And Faith and Reason knew a smile again,
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That smile returned but not without the tear.
Nor wonder at Religion's tearful eye,
The Priest and King still smiled in company,
The adulterous tie was loosened, not destroyed,
The sin and shame were still too well enjoyed!
E'en now the guilty Pair pursue their plan,
E'en now they gamble with the Rights of Man;
But not so fondly as they did of yore,
Nor crazed by winning, madly risk the more;
Each chance well weighed, each die discreetly tossed,
They play with caution for they late have lost.
But caution cannot mend each marring cast,
To Faith and Freedom has the fortune past.
The losing partners reck not of their fate;
The Church yet stakes her substance with the State!
Unthinking gamblers! stay while yet you can,
Nor hope to get his winnnings back from Man;
Forego your partnership, resign the game,
Ere wealth and pride are turned to want and shame—
Ere thronging losses urge the mad intent—
Ere your last chance is tried, and your last treasure spent!
E'en now they gamble with the Rights of Man;
But not so fondly as they did of yore,
Nor crazed by winning, madly risk the more;
Each chance well weighed, each die discreetly tossed,
They play with caution for they late have lost.
But caution cannot mend each marring cast,
To Faith and Freedom has the fortune past.
The losing partners reck not of their fate;
The Church yet stakes her substance with the State!
Unthinking gamblers! stay while yet you can,
Nor hope to get his winnnings back from Man;
Forego your partnership, resign the game,
Ere wealth and pride are turned to want and shame—
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Ere your last chance is tried, and your last treasure spent!
In each low gain Religion makes her own
The failing treasure, the uncertain throne,—
The power to show her face where monarchs meet,
Tread on their necks or grovel at their feet—
In all the nothingness which courts contain,
That mock her presence while they bear her train,
She blindly sought her weal to find her woe,
And smiled upon the friend to weep the foe,
In Earth-wrought robes her nakedness displayed,
In State-forged mail her want of strength betrayed;
Seemed passing slow to speed the word of God,
Yet swift to hurl the bolt, and deal the rod;
Weak to repair the soul that sin had rent,
Yet strong to break its fleshly tenement.
The failing treasure, the uncertain throne,—
The power to show her face where monarchs meet,
Tread on their necks or grovel at their feet—
In all the nothingness which courts contain,
That mock her presence while they bear her train,
She blindly sought her weal to find her woe,
And smiled upon the friend to weep the foe,
In Earth-wrought robes her nakedness displayed,
In State-forged mail her want of strength betrayed;
Seemed passing slow to speed the word of God,
Yet swift to hurl the bolt, and deal the rod;
Weak to repair the soul that sin had rent,
Yet strong to break its fleshly tenement.
Her native strength, her proper health were gone,
The vital fire from heaven but faintly shone;
Faith dwindled, Charity forbore to bloom,
Diseased Religion trembled o'er the tomb.
She fled the parent bosom of her God,
The approving smile, the love-inflicted rod,
To hang about an earthly nurse, and win
Pernicious leave to revel in each sin;
Forsook the glorious diet of the sky,
For the vile garbage of mortality;
And left her native exercise and air,
For sickly sloth and tainted atmosphere.
The vital fire from heaven but faintly shone;
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Diseased Religion trembled o'er the tomb.
She fled the parent bosom of her God,
The approving smile, the love-inflicted rod,
To hang about an earthly nurse, and win
Pernicious leave to revel in each sin;
Forsook the glorious diet of the sky,
For the vile garbage of mortality;
And left her native exercise and air,
For sickly sloth and tainted atmosphere.
Each function quite forgot its proper use,
And paid the penalty of long abuse.
How could her Heaven-created form dilate
When cramped by fondling in the lap of State?
How could she speak with free and fearless tongue,
If princes deemed her speech too loud and long,
And gave their creature the ungracious choice,
To quit their presence, or suppress her voice?
How could she strike a sin-destroying blow
When Earth impelled her on another foe,
And nerved that arm, for holier strife designed,
To smite the conscience and o'erthrow the mind?
And paid the penalty of long abuse.
How could her Heaven-created form dilate
When cramped by fondling in the lap of State?
How could she speak with free and fearless tongue,
If princes deemed her speech too loud and long,
And gave their creature the ungracious choice,
To quit their presence, or suppress her voice?
How could she strike a sin-destroying blow
When Earth impelled her on another foe,
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To smite the conscience and o'erthrow the mind?
Yet rash conceit assured her she was whole,
She styled herself Physician of the Soul,
In wilful blindness bragged where she should quake,
And gave the medicine she ought to take.
What potent spell could charm away disease
When remedies disgust, and torments please?
How could her ministers redeem their trust,
When half their faith was plighted to the dust?
How could they do the business of the sky,
And undertake a mortal ministry?
In worldly lusts and bigot wrath agree,
And emulate the men of Galilee?
Direct a court intrigue—a state affair,
And win a sinner by reproof and prayer?
Run earth's low race, by mad ambition driven,
And urge the spirit on its flight to heaven?
Or swell the thousands sealed with Mammon's seal,
And serve Jehovah with an equal zeal?
She styled herself Physician of the Soul,
In wilful blindness bragged where she should quake,
And gave the medicine she ought to take.
What potent spell could charm away disease
When remedies disgust, and torments please?
How could her ministers redeem their trust,
When half their faith was plighted to the dust?
How could they do the business of the sky,
And undertake a mortal ministry?
In worldly lusts and bigot wrath agree,
And emulate the men of Galilee?
Direct a court intrigue—a state affair,
And win a sinner by reproof and prayer?
Run earth's low race, by mad ambition driven,
And urge the spirit on its flight to heaven?
Or swell the thousands sealed with Mammon's seal,
And serve Jehovah with an equal zeal?
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Oh! fatal error, doomed to work our woe,
With deadlier strength than every other foe;
Writ in red letters on each martyr's tomb,
And dreadly glaring through each nation's gloom!
Seen in the blindness of Egyptian slaves,
Felt in the death each widowed Hindoo braves;
Forced on the kingdom of our Saviour Lord,
And blent in blasting union with his Word!
Stamped with the thunder and the fire of Rome,
And graved in blotted characters at home!
We trace thy presence by the lack of mind,
By goads that torture, and false lights that blind.
We see the Priest familiar with the King,
Behold the dungeon yawn, the pile upspring;
Compassionate the fool, to brand the knave,
And curse the tyrant, to excuse the slave.
With deadlier strength than every other foe;
Writ in red letters on each martyr's tomb,
And dreadly glaring through each nation's gloom!
Seen in the blindness of Egyptian slaves,
Felt in the death each widowed Hindoo braves;
Forced on the kingdom of our Saviour Lord,
And blent in blasting union with his Word!
Stamped with the thunder and the fire of Rome,
And graved in blotted characters at home!
We trace thy presence by the lack of mind,
By goads that torture, and false lights that blind.
We see the Priest familiar with the King,
Behold the dungeon yawn, the pile upspring;
Compassionate the fool, to brand the knave,
And curse the tyrant, to excuse the slave.
Where mystic Nile in annual deluge driven,
Bestows the harvests else denied by heaven;
There Priest and King in closest league appeared,
In proudest show their dreadful trophies reared,
Unquestioned, uncontrolled, enforced their will,
And scourged and blinded with peculiar skill.
Strong in the arm of flesh, the might of mind,
The priestly sovereigns trod upon mankind;
They courted knowledge with no common love,
In patient search with toil and trouble strove,
Hung on her looks, and glorified her name,
Yet wooed their mistress with a lustful flame.
Their love was mixed with avarice and pride,
They courted to abuse, and won to hide.
No soul might beg or borrow of their store,
Nor share their mental wealth to make it more;
They hoarded all the gold, secure of loss,
And bade the multitude collect the dross.
Bestows the harvests else denied by heaven;
There Priest and King in closest league appeared,
In proudest show their dreadful trophies reared,
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And scourged and blinded with peculiar skill.
Strong in the arm of flesh, the might of mind,
The priestly sovereigns trod upon mankind;
They courted knowledge with no common love,
In patient search with toil and trouble strove,
Hung on her looks, and glorified her name,
Yet wooed their mistress with a lustful flame.
Their love was mixed with avarice and pride,
They courted to abuse, and won to hide.
No soul might beg or borrow of their store,
Nor share their mental wealth to make it more;
They hoarded all the gold, secure of loss,
And bade the multitude collect the dross.
The sire bequeathed his priesthood to the son,
No virtue wooed it, and no merit won;
Such lineal Knowledge lost each speeding chance,
And Fraud waxed fouler by inheritance.
O! mingled vice and woe that blight and blast,
When man is sunk and shackled in the caste;
Each fettered to the craft his sires pursued,
And starved upon the bitter bread they chewed!
No joy in past, no hope for future time,
No pride in virtue, no contempt of crime,
Chains on the conscience, folly in the will,
Each grovelling lust alive, each nobler passion still!
No virtue wooed it, and no merit won;
Such lineal Knowledge lost each speeding chance,
And Fraud waxed fouler by inheritance.
O! mingled vice and woe that blight and blast,
When man is sunk and shackled in the caste;
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And starved upon the bitter bread they chewed!
No joy in past, no hope for future time,
No pride in virtue, no contempt of crime,
Chains on the conscience, folly in the will,
Each grovelling lust alive, each nobler passion still!
The Hindoo, too, has withered 'neath the curse,
Has borne it longer, and has felt it worse;
The Brahmin triumphed, and the Pariah groaned;
The people knelt enthralled, the priesthood sate enthroned
Darkness and Light in strict succession run,
And scorn and honour passed from sire to son.
Has borne it longer, and has felt it worse;
The Brahmin triumphed, and the Pariah groaned;
The people knelt enthralled, the priesthood sate enthroned
Darkness and Light in strict succession run,
And scorn and honour passed from sire to son.
But turn from realms by taint of caste defiled,
To shores o'er which the star of Freedom smiled,
Where Valour gloried in the patriot war,
And Genius nobly paid the conqueror.
No regular descent of wrong and right,
No fixed inheritance of gloom and light,
No sullen impotence, no dull despair
Were felt to gender vice and weakness there.
Mind grew by freedom—Spirit teemed with life,
Thoughts, feelings, passions mixed in noble strife;
Surpassing Genius glorified the whole,
With various eloquence addressed the soul,
Warned the dull marble, thundered from the tongue,
Glowed on the canvass, and inspired the song.
Its field was watered by a thousand streams;
Its noon was brightened by contending beams;
Not like the ray that broke Egyptian gloom,
Just caught and cherished to adorn a tomb,
In mystic words, on mouldering parchment hid,
And buried 'neath the fane or pyramid!
No, Greece a higher glory wooed and won;—
Her Mind was universal as her Sun!
It warmed the world—allowed no partial day,
(Commingling power and beauty in each ray;)
And constant to its ministry of light,
Shines on to set in time's eternal night.
To shores o'er which the star of Freedom smiled,
Where Valour gloried in the patriot war,
And Genius nobly paid the conqueror.
No regular descent of wrong and right,
No fixed inheritance of gloom and light,
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Were felt to gender vice and weakness there.
Mind grew by freedom—Spirit teemed with life,
Thoughts, feelings, passions mixed in noble strife;
Surpassing Genius glorified the whole,
With various eloquence addressed the soul,
Warned the dull marble, thundered from the tongue,
Glowed on the canvass, and inspired the song.
Its field was watered by a thousand streams;
Its noon was brightened by contending beams;
Not like the ray that broke Egyptian gloom,
Just caught and cherished to adorn a tomb,
In mystic words, on mouldering parchment hid,
And buried 'neath the fane or pyramid!
No, Greece a higher glory wooed and won;—
Her Mind was universal as her Sun!
It warmed the world—allowed no partial day,
(Commingling power and beauty in each ray;)
And constant to its ministry of light,
Shines on to set in time's eternal night.
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Bright though it be, a brighter sun has lent
Superior glory to the firmament,
Predestined in undying strength to burn,
When Time is gathered to his funeral urn.
A planet lighted at the lamp of heaven,
That takes no lustre save what God has given,
Requires no world-won priest with care unmeet,
To trim its light, and regulate its heat;
Nor asks a king to limit its career,
Control its movement and contract its sphere!
Superior glory to the firmament,
Predestined in undying strength to burn,
When Time is gathered to his funeral urn.
A planet lighted at the lamp of heaven,
That takes no lustre save what God has given,
Requires no world-won priest with care unmeet,
To trim its light, and regulate its heat;
Nor asks a king to limit its career,
Control its movement and contract its sphere!
Who drew the lustre down upon mankind,
And held a heaven-lit torch to each dark mind?
The lowly Prince of Life! he stooped to win!
No earthly pomp disguised the Heaven within;
With sin and death in holy strength he strove,
His arms were words of life and deeds of love;
Leagued fraud and force maintained a counter war,
The Cross and Grave confessed him Conqueror.
A vassal people, a world-hated race,
Won the first visit from descending grace;
He shunned the path where priests and princes ran,
And threw his mantle o'er the fisherman;
The people loved, the Pharisee abhorred;
This doomed as felon, that revered as Lord.
The banded guardians of their church and state
Repelled undying love with quenchless hate.
And why this hate?—redeeming grace was free,
They could not brook such glorious liberty!
Did statutes aggravate, and tasks oppress?
His statute was to love, his task to bless!
Did priest and ritual point the way to God?
He led the soul along a straighter road.
And held a heaven-lit torch to each dark mind?
The lowly Prince of Life! he stooped to win!
No earthly pomp disguised the Heaven within;
With sin and death in holy strength he strove,
His arms were words of life and deeds of love;
Leagued fraud and force maintained a counter war,
The Cross and Grave confessed him Conqueror.
A vassal people, a world-hated race,
Won the first visit from descending grace;
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And threw his mantle o'er the fisherman;
The people loved, the Pharisee abhorred;
This doomed as felon, that revered as Lord.
The banded guardians of their church and state
Repelled undying love with quenchless hate.
And why this hate?—redeeming grace was free,
They could not brook such glorious liberty!
Did statutes aggravate, and tasks oppress?
His statute was to love, his task to bless!
Did priest and ritual point the way to God?
He led the soul along a straighter road.
Their law was uttered in the thunder tone,
Wrapped in the flame and graved upon the stone.
Their Church and State confessed one common spring;
They knew Jehovah as their God and King.
On them the Father beamed his special smile;
With them the Sovereign used his loftiest style;
The temple splendours imaged forth his court;
Exulting liegemen thronged the high resort;
Appointed priests his ministry fulfilled,
Came when he called, and published what he willed,
And took the tithe and sacrificial due
Jehovah deigned to call his revenue.
To fix the gaze of idol-cheated eyes,
Omnipotence was dressed in earthly guise;
To give the Father to his children's view,
The Crucified each borrowed robe withdrew,
Proclaimed each soul a place of praise and prayer,
'And reared a Throne, and built a Temple there.
Wrapped in the flame and graved upon the stone.
Their Church and State confessed one common spring;
They knew Jehovah as their God and King.
On them the Father beamed his special smile;
With them the Sovereign used his loftiest style;
The temple splendours imaged forth his court;
Exulting liegemen thronged the high resort;
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Came when he called, and published what he willed,
And took the tithe and sacrificial due
Jehovah deigned to call his revenue.
To fix the gaze of idol-cheated eyes,
Omnipotence was dressed in earthly guise;
To give the Father to his children's view,
The Crucified each borrowed robe withdrew,
Proclaimed each soul a place of praise and prayer,
'And reared a Throne, and built a Temple there.
'Twas this the Priest and Scribe agreed to spurn;
'Twas this the poor disciples could not learn;
They, too, would rank him with the worldly great,
And yoke his gospel to the car of State;
They wished the Prince of Peace a man of war,
Required him to assume the Conqueror,
Turn Heaven's own strength against the heathen lord,
And bless the strife and sanctify the sword,
O'er years of shame a veil of glory cast,
And recreate the consecrated past,
Where deeds of peace and war were greatly done,
And Solomon enjoyed what David won.
'Twas this the poor disciples could not learn;
They, too, would rank him with the worldly great,
And yoke his gospel to the car of State;
They wished the Prince of Peace a man of war,
Required him to assume the Conqueror,
Turn Heaven's own strength against the heathen lord,
And bless the strife and sanctify the sword,
O'er years of shame a veil of glory cast,
And recreate the consecrated past,
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And Solomon enjoyed what David won.
He sought to rouse them from the idle dream,
And light their souls with Truth's awakening beam;
His voice upon their empty converse broke,
The kind reproof, the gentle warning spoke,
And told the worldlings as they vainly strove,
The greatest here might be the least above.
When the fond mother asked for each vain son,
Superior glory round his fancied throne;
He promised them the fortune of their chief,
Assured their souls the fellowship of grief,—
The trial here, the triumph in the skies,
A kindred warfare, and a kindred prize.
Before the Roman he pursued the strain,
Disclaimed the world, and yet professed to reign,
Required the Soul to take him for her king,
Nor wished a subject save whom Truth might bring.
And light their souls with Truth's awakening beam;
His voice upon their empty converse broke,
The kind reproof, the gentle warning spoke,
And told the worldlings as they vainly strove,
The greatest here might be the least above.
When the fond mother asked for each vain son,
Superior glory round his fancied throne;
He promised them the fortune of their chief,
Assured their souls the fellowship of grief,—
The trial here, the triumph in the skies,
A kindred warfare, and a kindred prize.
Before the Roman he pursued the strain,
Disclaimed the world, and yet professed to reign,
Required the Soul to take him for her king,
Nor wished a subject save whom Truth might bring.
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Nor only words proscribed an earthly throne,
Deeds vivified each monitory tone;
He died, and laid the vain ambition low!
He died, and left the worldlings to their woe!
He rose unseen, unhonoured, unembraced,
Save by the few his former smile had graced;
To set his proper sway supremely forth,
Withdraw his gospel from the taint of earth,
Reveal his kingdom in the opening sky,
And bid the vanquished grave express his victory.
Deeds vivified each monitory tone;
He died, and laid the vain ambition low!
He died, and left the worldlings to their woe!
He rose unseen, unhonoured, unembraced,
Save by the few his former smile had graced;
To set his proper sway supremely forth,
Withdraw his gospel from the taint of earth,
Reveal his kingdom in the opening sky,
And bid the vanquished grave express his victory.
Had the Redeemer leagued but once with earth—
Put but one ray of worldly glory forth,
Lent but a partial sanction to abuse,
And left degenerate Faith but one excuse,
That act had won a nation's bended knee,
And tamed the Priest and gained the Pharisee.
He shrank from grandeur, they repelled his claim;
He brought them liberty, they deemed it shame.
Put but one ray of worldly glory forth,
Lent but a partial sanction to abuse,
And left degenerate Faith but one excuse,
That act had won a nation's bended knee,
And tamed the Priest and gained the Pharisee.
He shrank from grandeur, they repelled his claim;
He brought them liberty, they deemed it shame.
21
We, too, have borne the burden he removed,
The tithe, the priest, the ritual re-approved,
Resumed the yoke, though Christ has set us free,
And crouched, though Paul has preached our liberty,
Condemned the Saviour in our damning creeds,
And madly impious half undone his deeds.
He met temptation, felt its various might:
A feast was offered to each appetite;
Earth vainly tried each Heaven-exalted sense;
His soul was set on holy abstinence.
The early Church was mighty by his might,
Through weal and woe, she kept her Lord in sight,
To blind her eyes the Tempter strove and failed;
With later Faith he struggled and prevailed.
Yes! partial conquest lay in store for Hell;
The Saviour triumphed, but his followers fell!
The tithe, the priest, the ritual re-approved,
Resumed the yoke, though Christ has set us free,
And crouched, though Paul has preached our liberty,
Condemned the Saviour in our damning creeds,
And madly impious half undone his deeds.
He met temptation, felt its various might:
A feast was offered to each appetite;
Earth vainly tried each Heaven-exalted sense;
His soul was set on holy abstinence.
The early Church was mighty by his might,
Through weal and woe, she kept her Lord in sight,
To blind her eyes the Tempter strove and failed;
With later Faith he struggled and prevailed.
Yes! partial conquest lay in store for Hell;
The Saviour triumphed, but his followers fell!
| The Fortunes of Faith | |