The Poetical Works of William Lisle Bowles Volume Ii Part 22

Unhappy child! the path of pleasure leads To sorrow in this world, and in the next. 100

GRECIAN GIRL.

The next! the next! My father, I have heard 101 That thou dost wors.h.i.+p a new G.o.d--a G.o.d Who has no priestess. I can dance and sing Light as Euphrosyne, and I can weep For pity, and can sigh, how tenderly!

For love; and if thou wilt restore that youth To health and love, oh! I will kneel to thee, And offer sacrifice, morning and eve To thy great G.o.d, and weave a coronal, When I have culled the choicest flowers of Rhodes,[182] 110 Father, to crown those few white hairs of thine.

John answered, I will pray for him and thee; But leave me, child, now leave me to those prayers.

The man of loftier wisdom spoke again: How sing the thoughtless in their songs of joy, Our days of happiness, at best, are short[183]

And profitless, and in the death of man There is no remedy, for we are born, And we shall sleep hereafter in the dust, As we had never been; so all our days 120 Are vanity, our breath but as a smoke, A vapour, and we turn again to earth, And this high spirit vanishes in air-- Into thin air; our very name shall be Forgotten, and Oblivion on our works Sit silent, while our days have sped away As clouds that leave no trace, or as a mist Dispersed and scattered by the noonday sun!

Time is itself the shadow of a shade, Hurrying; and when our tale of days is told, 130 The tomb is sealed, and who ever rose, 131 To stand again beneath the light of day!

Then let us crown with rosebuds, ere they fade, Our brows, and pa.s.s no blooming flower of spring!

Such heartless sophistries have still deceived Earth's poor wayfarers, they who know not G.o.d, For G.o.d created man--oh! not to die Eternally, but live, for ever live (So he be found holy, and just, and pure), The image of himself! What dost thou see? 140 Thine eyes are fixed, and turned on vacancy.

John said, I see the dead, both great and small, Stand before G.o.d; the loud archangel's trump Hath ceased to thunder o'er the bursting graves; How deep, how dread the silence, as that book Is opened! Ah! there is another book.

STRANGER.

It is the Book of Life; the dead are judged According to their works.

JOHN.

Above the throne 150 Interminable s.p.a.ce of glorious light Is spread, and angel-troops and hierarchies, With golden harps, half-seen, into the depths Of that interminable light recede, Till the tired vision shrinks. The sea, the sea, Gives up its dead! and Death and h.e.l.l pour forth, All hushed and pale, their countless mult.i.tudes, s.h.i.+vering to meet the light; and millions pray, In silence: Hide us, hide us, earth, again!

A gulph, beneath them, black as tenfold night, 160 Glaring at times with intermittent flames, 161 Opens; and, hark! sad sounds, and shrieks of woe, Come through the darkness. At the dreadful voice, Depart from me, ye cursed! John, amazed, Looked 'round: he saw the blue aegean s.h.i.+ne, And the approaching sail white in the wind.

Then he who stood by him thus spoke: Awake; Let us toward the sea, for, look! the s.h.i.+p Approaches nearer to the eastern bay.

As near, and still more near, she speeds her course, 170 On this gray column, prostrate in the dust, Its tale unknown, the sole sad relic here Of perishable glory,[184] and, who knows, Perhaps a pillar of some marble fane, Raised to dark pagan idols, let us rest, And muse upon the change of mortal things.

The Apostle sat, and as he watched the sail, Leaned on his staff to hear.

The stranger spoke: Lo! the last fragment of departed days, 180 This shaft of a fallen column; and even so Shall all the monuments of human pride Be smitten to the desert dust, like those Who raised them, long to desert dust returned.

Where are the hundred gates of regal Thebes!

Let the clouds answer, and the silent sands.

Where is the Tower of Babel, proudly raised, As to defy the Lord, above the clouds!

He raised his arm, and, as a dream, it sank.

Waters of Babylon, by thy sad sh.o.r.es 190 The children of captivity sat down, Sat down and wept, when they remembered thee, O Sion! But the trump and cornet bray; 193 It is Belshazzar's midnight feast! He sits A G.o.d among his lords and concubines.

A thousand torches flame aloof; the songs Of wantonness and blasphemy go up!

And are those golden vessels, from the shrine And temple of the living G.o.d, brought forth, In impious derision? Does the hymn 200 Resound to Baal, and the G.o.ds of gold?

And at this hour, do all the princes rise?

Is the wine poured from vessels which the Lord Had consecrated? Do they drink, and cry, The King shall live for ever? Ah! how changed His countenance! he trembles, and his knees, Smite one against the other! Look, how changed!

G.o.d of eternal justice, what is that?

The fingers of a man, against the wall, Moving in shadow, and inscribing words 210 Of dreadful import, but which none may read.

Call the Chaldeans and Astrologers!

Are they all mute? Call the poor captive slave, Daniel, the prophet of the Lord! The crowd All turn their looks in silence, with their breath Hushed by their terrors. Has he spoken? Yes!

Thy sceptre is departed! Hear, O King!

He hears and trembles; and that very night, He who blasphemed is gone to meet his Judge!

Proclaim the conquering Persian; it was G.o.d 220 Who led his armies forth, who called his name Cyrus;[185] and under him again shall rise The temple at Jerusalem, shall rise In beauty and in glory, till the day Of tribulation smite it to the earth, As we have seen! Weep for Jerusalem; 226 But in the light of heaven, the Church of Christ Shall lift its battlements, till He shall come, With all his jubilant, acclaiming hosts, Amid the clouds!

The old man raised his eyes, And on his forehead placed his withered hand, A moment musing; then he turned his look Again to his companion at his side.

Ah! he is gone; but, hark! a rustling sound Is heard, and, bright above the eastern cliffs, Behold, a glorious angel's pennons spread.

Look! he ascends into the azure depth Of light; he still ascends, till the blue sky Is only interrupted by some clouds 240 Of lightest brede and beauty, o'er the sea Transparent hung. John gazed with hands outspread, But nothing in the airy track was seen, Save those small clouds. Then pensive he sat down, His withered hands extending as in prayer.

But, lo! the vessel drops its sail; a boat Is hurrying, smooth and rapid, through the spray-- The sounds of men are heard--see, they approach!

Yes, they are messengers of peace! they come With tidings to the lonely habitant. 250 Two elders of the Church of Ephesus Greet him with salutations from the s.h.i.+p Whose banner streams--the banner of the Cross-- Beneath the rocks of Patmos: from the beach The elders slow advanced, and one thus spoke: Hail, father! Caesar is no more! Thy Church At Ephesus again, by us, implores Thy presence and thy guidance; and, behold!

The bark now waits to bear thee o'er the deep, For Nerva has reversed the stern decree 200 Pa.s.sed for thy banishment: arise, return, Return; for now the light of heaven again Gleams on the temple of our infant faith; The radiance of the "golden candlestick,"

That shone in the deep darkness of the earth, Shall flame more bright. Arise--arise--return!

John took their hands, and, blessing them, gave thanks To G.o.d who rules above; then cried, I go-- With many thronging thoughts--back to the world, To wait how Heaven may yet dispose my lot, 270 Till the grave close upon my pilgrimage.

Yet would I stay a while, to bid farewell To that, my cave,[186] where I have seen strange things, And heard strange voices, and have pa.s.sed five years In loneliness and watching, and in prayer.

Let me not part till I have said farewell!

Hereafter I shall tell what I have seen.

But now, O Lord and Saviour! strengthen me, A poor old man, returning to the world; Oh! look and let me feel thy presence now, 280 Whom I have served so long I shall not see Again thy glorious form upon the earth, But I have lived to see thy Church arise, Now in its infancy, and gathering power From day to day; and thou shalt be adored Till the remotest isles, and every land, Shall praise and magnify thy glorious name!

My days are well-nigh told, and few remain, But I shall live, protected, to record, O Lord and Saviour! all which I have seen, 290 High and mysterious; as I declared, In the beginning was the Word; the Word, 292 In the beginning, was with G.o.d; the Word Was G.o.d!

And now farewell! Oh! may I pa.s.s What yet remains of life in faith and hope, Till Christ shall call me in his mercy hence, And lead me gently to my last repose.

Then may his Church, which he has raised on earth, Stand, though the tempest shake its battlements, 300 Stand, till the trumpet, the last trumpet sound, And He shall come in clouds who founded it!

As thus he spoke, his stature seemed to grow More lofty, with a step more firm he trod; Whilst a mild radiance, lambent on his face, Shone, as the radiance from the mercy-seat.

He held his way, oft looking back to mark The cave where he had lived, when, lo! the dove, So often fed from his pale hand, has left The cliff, and flies, faint-murmuring, round his hair. 310 And now he turns his eyes upon the deep; Yet scarce had reached the margin, when he saw The sullen dwellers on these rugged sh.o.r.es, Led on by him who had confessed his sins-- The robber of Mount Carmel, in his chains-- Kneel at his feet. They blessed him, sorrowing That they should see his face on earth no more.

The stern centurion hid a starting tear; The poor emaciate youth knelt down, and she Who tended him with love and tenderness, 320 Wept, as he faintly sank, and breathed his last, His hands extending feebly, as he sunk, To John, in fervent prayer! The Grecian girl Fell, desolate and sobbing, on his breast.

But, lo! the wind has veered, and, streaming out, The red cross pennant points to Asia, 326 As heaven-directed. Speed, ye mariners!

The sails are swelling, and the widening deep Is all before you, surging to the gale.

So they kept on their course to Ephesus, And o'er the aegean waves beheld, far off, The cave, the lonely sands and lessening capes Of dreary Patmos sink to rise no more.

APOCALYPTIC HORSES.

WHITE HORSE, RED HORSE, BLACK HORSE, PALE HORSE.

BLACK HORSE.--The period of the "black horse and rider with the balance" is generally referred to the reign of Severus. But here the commentators are at a loss. "The balance" sometimes betokens justice; sometimes is considered as indicative of a season of scarcity. The "black horse" is always a.s.sociated with calamity. I humbly differ from all commentators. The "horse is black," say some, to show the "severity of the nature" of this emperor. But his nature was generally the reverse of severity. Now I shall give reasons for considering that "the balance" is the balance of Justice, and the "bread for a penny, and oil and wine," indicative of plenty, not scarcity--of plenty owing entirely to the prudent provisions of this emperor; and in proof of this, as well as what I shall say further on the subject, I adduce, not the testimony of professed Christian commentators, but the _undesigned_ testimony--the stronger for that reason--of one of the most astute adversaries of Christianity--Gibbon.

Now, Christian reader, mark his _undesigned_ corroboration of the veracity of this prophecy, as applied to Severus.

_Scripture_--"Balances in his hand."

What says Gibbon? "Salutary laws were executed with inflexible firmness." "In the administration of justice, the judgments of the emperor were characterised by attention, discernment, and impartiality;[187] and whenever he deviated from the strict line of equity, it was generally in favour of the poor and oppressed."--_Gibbon_.

_Scripture_.--"A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine."

_Gibbon_.--"He left in the public granaries a provision of corn for seven years, at the rate of 2500 quarters a day."

But the "black horse." Does this colour seem suitable to a period of general equity and justice? How simple is one explanation, at least so it appears to me, the first, I believe, who ever remarked the circ.u.mstance, and how minutely does the singular fact tend to attest the awful truth of the prophecy--"Severus was an African!"--_Gibbon_. And the "horse is black," not as indicative of calamity, but of the country of which Severus was a native.

The prophecy connected with the "horses" seems as regular as possible, beginning from the times of the Apostle. The white horse and rider is universally considered as emblematic of the gospel, going forth "conquering and to conquer." The red horse is the horse of blood, under Trajan, who literally took "peace from all the earth." The pale horse designates the famine and dreadful pestilence under Gallienus. I have shown, not from the writers in favour of Christianity, but from the attestation of the most astute and insidious writer against it, the regular succession and wonderful accordance, in the several successive periods, of the fact and the prophetic adumbrations. Under Gallienus, how remarkable are these words, as applicable to the "pale horse," and pestilence, in the third century, commencing about one hundred and fifty years after the death of John! "Famine is almost always followed by epidemical diseases: other causes, however, must have contributed to the furious plague which, from the year 250 to the year 265, raged, without interruption, in every province, every city, and almost every family of the Roman empire. Five thousand died daily in Rome; and we might suspect, that war, pestilence, and famine had, in a few years, consumed the moiety of the human race."--_Gibbon_.

THE RED HORSE.--"Take peace from all the earth." Trajan's conquests. "Every day the astonished Senate received intelligence of new names and new nations that acknowledged his sway. The kings of Bosphorus, Colchis, Albania, &c.; the tribes of the Median and Carducian hills had implored his protection; Armenia, Mesopotamia, and a.s.syria were reduced to provinces."--_Gibbon_.

For the elucidations of this last book, I have referred, generally, to commentators, chiefly Bishop Newton, though the reader may sometimes be disposed to smile rather than acquiesce.

But I cannot omit my own views of some particular pa.s.sages. One head of the beast, wounded, "but not to death," is most singularly descriptive of the Roman empire, restored to strength and power, under Claudius the Second and Aurelius. "And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion." How unexpectedly do they tally with what Gibbon says of the Roman empire at the time, consisting of the "tyrants" (lions)--"soldiers," scattered through the vast and various provinces, and "barbarians"--Goths, indicated by the bear!

I may observe, further, that the "locusts and crawling things like scorpions," issuing out of the smoke, are, first, locusts--the innumerable northern armies; secondly, "crawling things like scorpions"--the loathsome vileness attributed to nature by the succession of Gnostic sects, depraving the beautiful code of Christianity, and all agreeing in one doctrine, derived from the Chaldean philosophers. The Genius of Evil, according to the philosophy of the Chaldeans, produced the body, as Orosmades the soul! Hence "forbidding to marry," unnatural austerities, &c.; and remark, one book of Tertullian to the Gnostics is called--what?

Scorpio.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 112: These sonnets have been printed in their chronological order in the preceding volume of Mr Bowles' poems.]