ÆäÀÌÁö À̹ÌÁö
PDF
ePub

On wheels of light, on wings of flame,
The glorious hosts to Zion came;
High heaven with songs of triumph rung,
While thus they smote their harps and sung:

O Zion! lift thy raptured eye:
The long-expected hour is nigh;
The joys of nature rise again;
The Prince of Salem comes to reign.

See Mercy, from her golden urn,

Pours a rich stream to them that mourn;
Behold, she binds, with tender care,
The bleeding bosom of Despair.

He comes to cheer the trembling heart,
Bids Satan and his host depart;
Again the day-star gilds the gloom,
Again the bowers of Eden bloom.

Thomas Campbell.

[blocks in formation]

Peor and Baalim

Forsake their temples dim

With that twice-batter'd god of Palestine; And mooned Ashtaroth,

Heaven's queen and mother both,

Now sits not girt with tapers holy shine; The Lybic Hammon shrinks his horn,

In vain the Tyrian maids their wounded Thammuz mourn.

And sullen Moloch fled,

Hath left in shadows dread

His burning idol all of blackest hue: In vain with cymbal's 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.

[blocks in formation]

The idle spear and shield were high up The hooked chariot stood [hung, Unstain'd with hostile blood;

The trumpet spake not to the arm'd throng; And kings sat still with awful eye,

As if they surely knew their sov'reign Lord was by.

But peaceful was the night,
Wherein the Prince of Light

His reign of peace upon the earth began:
The winds, with wonder whist,
Smoothly the waters kiss'd,

Whisp'ring new joys to the mild ocean Who now hath quite forgot to rave, While birds of calm sit brooding on the charmed wave. John Milton.

260. BIRTH OF CHRIST, Welcoming the. All hail, Thou noble Guest, this morn, Whose love did not the sinner scorn! distress Thou cam'st to me: my What thanks shall I return to Thee?

In

Were earth a thousand times as fair,
Beset with gold and jewels rare,
She yet were far too poor to be
A narrow cradle, Lord, for Thee.
Ah, dearest Jesus, Holy Child!
Make Thee a bed, soft, undefiled,
Within my heart, that it may be
A quiet chamber kept for Thee.

Martin Luther, tr. by A. T. Tozer. 261. BLAME, Shifting the.

How backward man himself to blame!
How ready I, like Adam, am
To palliate what I first would hide,
To excuse what cannot be denied,
Or dare with boldest blasphemy
To charge my sin, O God, on Thee!
Charles Wesley.

262. ELESSED, Who are the?

Who are the bless'd?

[blocks in formation]

cease

Steadfast and tender in the hour of need,
Gentle in thought, benevolent in deed;
Whose looks have power to make dissensions
[peace;
Whose smile is pleasant and whose words are
They who have lived as harmless as the dove,
Teachers of truth and ministers of love;
Love for all moral power-all mental grace-
Love for the humblest of the human race-
Love for that tranquil joy that virtue brings--
Love for the Giver of all goodly things;
True followers of that soul-exalting plan
Which Christ laid down to bless and govern

man;

They who can calmly linger to the last, Survey the future and recall the past; [pain, And with that hope which triumphs over Feel well assured they have not lived in vain; Then wait in peace their hour of final restThese are the only bless'd! P. Prince.

263. BLESSEDNESS, True.

In the nine heavens are eight Paradises;
Where is the ninth one? In the human breast.
Only the blessed dwell in th' Paradises,
But blessedness dwells in the human breast.
Created creatures are in th' Paradises,
The uncreated Maker in the breast.
Given to thee are those eight Paradises,
When thou the ninth one hast within thy
breast.
Oriental.

264. BLESSINGS, Certainty of.

If what I wish is good,

And suits the Will divine,

By earth and hell in vain withstood
I know it shall be mine.
Still let them counsel take
To frustrate His decree;

They cannot keep a blessing back
By Heaven designed for me.
If what my soul requires
Evil to me would prove,
His Love shall cross my fond desires,
His kindly-jealous Love.
Charles Wesley.

265. BLINDNESS, Compensation of.
O happiness of blindness! now no beauty
Inflames my lust; no other's good my envy;
Or misery, my pity; no man's wealth
Draws my respect, nor poverty my scorn.
Yet still I see enough! man to himself
Is a large prospect, rais'd above the level
Of his low creeping thoughts; if then I have
A world within myself, that world shall be
My empire, there I'll reign, commanding
freely,

And willingly obey'd secure from fear
Of foreign forces, or domestic treasons, [lute,
And hold a monarchy more free, more abso-
Than in my father's seat, and looking down
With scorn or pity on the slipp'ry state
Of kings, will tread upon the neck of fate.
Sir John Denham.

Still hoping that the next, and still the next,
Would put an alms into his trembling hand.
He thinks he hears the coming breeze faint
Among the sycamores; it is the tread [rustle
Of thousand steps, it is the hum of tongues
Innumerable; but when the sightless man
Heard the Nazarene was passing by,
He cried and said, “Jesus, thou Son of David,
Have mercy upon me!" and when rebuked
He cried the more, "Have mercy upon me!"
"Thy faith hath made thee whole; so Jesus
spake,
[God!

And straight the blind beheld the face of
James Graham.

268. BLINDNESS, Duty in.

When I consider how my life is spent
Ere half my days, in this dark world and
wide,

And that one talent, which is death to hide,
Lodged with me useless, though my soul
more bent

66

To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide;
'Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?"
I fondly ask: but Patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not

need

[blocks in formation]

O merciful One,

[near:

When men are farthest, then Thou art most
When friends pass by, my weakness to shun,
Thy chariot I hear.

Thy glorious face

Is leaning towards me-and its holy light
Shines in upon my lonely dwelling-place,
And there is no more night.

266. BLINDNESS, Complaint of O loss of sight, of thee I most complain! Blind among enemies, O worse than chains, Dungeon, or beggary, or decrepit age! Light, the prime work of God, to me is extinct, And all her various objects of delight Annulled, which might in part my grief have Inferior to the vilest now become [ceased. Of man or worm; the vilest here excel me: They creep, yet see; I dark in light exposed To daily fraud, contempt, abuse, and wrong, Within doors or without still as a fool, In power of others, never in my own; [half. Scarce half I seem to live, dead more than O dark, dark, dark, amid the blaze of noon, This darkness is the shadow of Thy wing— Irrecoverably dark, total eclipse,

[blocks in formation]

On my bended knee

I recognize Thy purpose clearly shown-
My vision Thou hast dimmed that I may see
Thyself, Thyself alone.

I have naught to fear!

Beneath it I am almost sacred-here

Can come no evil thing.

[blocks in formation]
[blocks in formation]

Give me now my lyre;

I feel the stirrings of a gift divine;
Within my bosom glows unearthly fire,
Lit by no skill of mine.
Elizabeth Lloyd.
270. BLINDNESS, Prayer in.

With the year
Seasons return, but not to me returns
Day, or the sweet approach of ev'n or morn,
Or sight of vernal bloom, or summer's rose,
Or flocks, or herds, or human face divine;
But cloud instead, and ever-during dark
Surrounds me, from the cheerful ways of men
Cut off, and for the book of knowledge fair
Presented with a universal blank

Of nature's works, to me expung'd and raz'd,
And wisdom at one entrance quite shut out.
So much the rather thou, celestial Light,
Shine inward, and the mind through all her
pow'rs
[thence
Irradiate, there plant eyes, all mist from
Purge and disperse, that I may see and tell
Of things invisible to mortal sight.

271. BLISS, Sublunary.

Milton.

Our waking dreams are fatal. How I dream'd Of things impossible! (Could sleep do more?)

Of joys perpetual in perpetual change!
Of stable pleasures on the tossing wave!
Eternal sunshine in the storms of life!
How richly were my noontide trances hung
With gorgeous tapestries of pictured joys!
Joy behind joy, in endless perspective!
Till at death's toll, whose restless iron tongue
Calls daily for his millions at a meal,
Starting, I woke, and found myself undone.
Where's now my frenzy's pompous furniture?
The cobweb'd cottage, with its ragged wall
Of mouldering mud, is royalty to me!
The spider's most attenuated thread
Is cord, is cable, to man's tender tie

On earthly bliss; it breaks at every breeze.
O ye bless'd scenes of permanent delight!
Full, above measure! lasting, beyond bound!
A perpetuity of bliss is bliss.

Could you, so rich in rapture, fear an end; That ghastly thought would drink up all your joy,

And quite unparadise the realms of light. Safe are you lodged above these rolling spheres ;

The baleful influence of whose giddy dance
Sheds sad vicissitude on all beneath.
Here teems with revolutions every hour;
And rarely for the better: or the best,
More mortal than the common births of fate.
Each moment has its sickle, emulous [sweep
Of Time's enormous scythe, whose ample
Strikes empires from the root: each moment
plays

His little weapon in the narrower sphere
Of sweet domestic comfort, and cuts down

The fairest bloom of sublunary bliss. [vain;

Bliss! sublunary bliss!-proud words and Implicit treason to divine decree!

A bold invasion of the rights of Heaven!
I clasp'd the phantoms, and I found them air.
Oh had I weigh'd it ere my fond embrace,
What darts of agony had miss'd my heart!
Edward Young.

272. BODY, The Glorified. 'Tis night: behold, as if by death opprest, The sun his rays in gloom sepulchral hide! 'Tis day behold, with renovated pride, In the magnificence of morning drest, The sun, rejoicing, lifts his orient crest; A bridegroom issuing forth to meet his bride!

Thus, like the sun, beneath the ocean tide, The Christian seeks the chamber of his rest; Thus, like the sun, to rise!-But not the same Shall rise, as when his mortal course was

[blocks in formation]

As strong, and glorying in my might,
I drew the two-edged sword,
Valiant against a troop to fight

The battles of the Lord.

I scorned the multitude to dread,
Rushed on with full career,
And aimed at each opposer's head,
And smote off many an ear.
Charles Wesley.

274. BOOK, Dedication of a.

Go, little Book! from this my solitude;

I cast thee on the waters,-go thy ways; And if, as I believe, thy vein be good,

The World will find thee after many days, Be it with thee according to thy worth: Go, little Book! in faith I send thee forth. Robert Southcy.

[blocks in formation]

And on them fell, as fell on every age,
As on their authors fell, oblivious Night.
Robert Pollok.

279. BOOKS, Omniscience of
In them, we
Who,, but for them, upon that inch of ground
We call "THE PRESENT," from the cell could

see

No daylight trembling on the dungeon bar;
Turn, as we list, the globe's great axle round,
Traverse all space, and number every star,
And feel the Near less household than the

Far!

There is no Past, so long as Books shall live!
A disinterred Pompeii wakes again
For him who seeks you well; lost cities give
Up their untarnished wonders, and the reign
Of Jove revives and Saturn: at our will
Rise dome and tower on Delphi's sacred hill;
Bloom Cimon's trees in Academe; along
Leucadia's headland sighs the Lesbian's song;
With Egypt's Queen once more we sail the
Nile,
[smile;

And learn how worlds are bartered for a Rise up, ye walls, with gardens blooming o'er,

Ope but that page-lo, Babylon once more! Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton.

280. BOOKS, Pleasure of

Give me Leave to enjoy myself. That place that does Contain my books, the best companions, is To me a glorious court, where hourly I Converse with the old sages and philosophers; And sometimes for variety I confer With kings and emperors, and weigh their counsels;

Unto a strict account; and in my fancy
Calling their victories, if unjustly got,
Deface their ill-plac'd statues. Can I then

Part with such constant pleasures, to embrace
Uncertain vanities? No: be it your care
To augment a heap of wealth: it shall be
To increase in knowledge.
[mine

John Fletcher.

281. BRAVERY, Field for.
Dare to think, though others frown;
Dare in words your thoughts express;
Dare to rise, though oft cast down;
Dare the wronged and scorned to bless.

Dare from custom to depart;

Dare the priceless pearl possess ;
Dare to wear it next your heart;
Dare, when others curse, to bless.
Dare forsake what you deem wrong;
Dare to walk in wisdom's way;
Dare to give where gifts belong;
Dare God's precepts to obey.

Do what conscience says is right;
Do what reason says is best;
Do with all your mind and might;
Do your duty and be blest.

282, BRIBERY, Influence of.

What is that which I should turn to, lighting upon days like these?

Every door is barr'd with gold, and opens

but to golden keys.

Every gate is throng'd with suitors, all the markets overflow.

I have but an angry fancy: what is that which I should do?

I had been content to perish, falling on the foeman's ground,

When the ranks are roll'd in vapor, and the winds are laid with sound.

But the jingling of the guinea helps the hurt that Honor feels,

And the nations do but murmur snarling at each other's heels. Alfred Tennyson.

283. BRIBERY, Prevalence of

Inaction now is crime. The old earth reels, Inebriate with guilt; and vice grown bold, Laughs innocence to scorn. The thirst for gold [feels Hath made men demons, till the heart that The impulse of impartial love, nor kneels In worship foul to Mammon, is contemned. He who hath kept his purer faith, and stemmed

Corruption's tide, and from the ruffian heels Of impious tramplers rescued perilled right, Is called fanatic, and with scoffs and jeers Maliciously assailed. W. H. Burleigh.

,་

284. BRIBERY, Power of.

The advocate for him who offered most
Pleaded; the scribe, according to the hire,
Worded the lie, adding for every piece
An oath of confirmation; judges raised
One hand to intimate the sentence, death,
Imprisonment, or fine, or loss of goods,
And in the other held a lusty bribe,
Which they had taken to give the sentence
wrong:

So managing the scale of justice still,

Sweetly his pale arms folded
My neck in a meek embrace,
As the light of immortal beauty
Silently covered his face;
And when the arrows of sunset
Lodged in the tree-tops bright,
He fell, in his saint-like beauty,
Asleep by the gates of light.
Therefore, of all the pictures

That hang on Memory's wall,
The one of the dim old forest

Seemeth the best of all. Alice Carey. 286. BROTHERHOOD, Bond of.

When a deed is done for Freedom, through the broad earth's aching breast Runs a thrill of joy prophetic, trembling on from east to west;

And the slave, where'er he cowers, feels the soul within him climb

To the awful verge of manhood, as the energy sublime

Of a century bursts full-blossomed on the thorny stem of Time.

Through the walls of hut and palace shoots the instantaneous throe,

Where the travail of the Ages wrings earth's systems to and fro;

At the birth of each new Era, with a recognizing start,

Nation wildly looks at nation, standing with mute lips apart,

And glad Truth's yet mightier man-child leaps beneath the Future's heart.

That he was wanting found who poorest So the Evil's triumph sendeth, with a terror

seemed.

Robert Pollok.

285. BROTHER, Memory of a.
Among the beautiful pictures
That hang on Memory's wall,
Is one of a dim old forest,

That seemeth best of all;
Not for its gnarled oaks olden,
Dark with the mistletoe;
Not for the violets golden

That sprinkle the vale below;
Not for the milk-white lilies

That lean from the fragrant ledge, Coquetting all day with the sunbeams, And stealing their golden edge: Not for the vines on the upland,

Where the bright red berries rest, Nor the pinks, nor the pale sweet cowslip, It seemeth to me the best.

I once had a little brother,

With eyes that were dark and deep;
In the lap of that old dim forest
He lieth in peace asleep:
Light as the down of the thistle,
Free as the winds that blow,
We roved there the beautiful summers
The summers of long ago;

But his feet on the hills grew weary,
And, one of the autumn eves,

I made for my little brother
A bed of the yellow leaves.

and a chill,

[blocks in formation]
« ÀÌÀü°è¼Ó »