Apollo from his shrine. Can no more divine, With hollow shriek the steep of Delphos leaving. No nightly trance, or breathèd spell, Inspires the pale-eyed Priest from the prophetic cell. XX The lonely mountains o'er, A voice of weeping heard and loud lament; Edgèd with poplar pale, The parting Genius is with sighing sent; With flower-inwoven tresses torn The Nymphs in twilight shade of tangled thickets mourn. XXI In consecrated earth, And on the holy hearth, The Lars and Lemures moan with midnight plaint; In urns, and altars round, A drear and dying sound Affrights the Flamens at their service quaint; And the chill marble seems to sweat, While each peculiar power forgoes his wonted seat. Peor and Baälim XXII Forsake their temples dim, With that twice-battered god of Palestine; Heaven's Queen and Mother both, Now sits not girt with tapers' holy shine: The Libyc Hammon shrinks his horn; In vain the Tyrian maids their wounded Thammuz mourn. XXIII And sullen Moloch, fled, Hath left in shadows dread His burning idol all of blackest hue; In vain with cymbals' ring They call the grisly king, In dismal dance about the furnace blue; The brutish gods of Nile as fast, Isis, and Orus, and the dog Anubis, haste. XXIV Nor is Osiris seen In Memphian grove or green, Trampling the unshowered grass with lowings loud; Nor can he be at rest Within his sacred chest; Nought but profoundest Hell can be his shroud; In vain, with timbreled anthems dark, The sable-stolèd Sorcerers bear his worshiped ark. XXV He feels from Juda's land The dreaded Infant's hand; The rays of Bethlehem blind his dusky eyn; Nor all the gods beside Longer dare abide, Not Typhon huge ending in snaky twine: Our Babe, to show his Godhead true, Can in his swaddling bands control the damnèd crew. XXVI So, when the Sun in bed, Curtained with cloudy red, Pillows his chin upon an orient wave, The flocking shadows pale Troop to the infernal jail, Each fettered ghost slips to his several grave, And the yellow-skirted Fays Fly after the night-steeds, leaving their moon-loved maze. XXVII But see! the Virgin blest Hath laid her Babe to rest, Time is our tedious song should here have ending: Heaven's youngest-teemèd star Hath fixed her polished car, Her sleeping Lord with handmaid lamp attending; And all about the courtly stable Bright-harnessed Angels sit in order serviceable. A PARAPHRASE ON PSALM CXIV (1624) WHEN the blest seed of Terah's faithful Son And passed from Pharian fields to Canaan Land, PSALM CXXXVI LET us with a gladsome mind For his mercies aye endure, Let us blaze his Name abroad, O let us his praises tell, That doth the wrathful tyrants quell; That with his miracles doth make That by his wisdom did create The painted heavens so full of state; That did the solid Earth ordain That by his all-commanding might, And caused the golden-tressèd Sun The horned Moon to shine by night He, with his thunder-clasping hand, And, in despite of Pharao fell, The ruddy waves he cleft in twain For his, &c. The floods stood still, like walls of glass, But full soon they did devour The tawny King with all his power; His chosen people he did bless In bloody battail he brought down He foiled bold Seon and his host, And large-limbed Og he did subdue, And to his servant Israel He gave their land, therein to dwell; He hath, with a piteous eye, For his, &c. And freed us from the slavery Of the invading enemy; For his, &c. All living creatures he doth feed, Let us, therefore, warble forth |