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CALVARY; 
 
 OR, 
 
 THE DEATH OF CHRIST 
 
 POEM 
 
 IN 
 
 EIGHT BOOKS, 
 
 BY RICHARD CUMBERLAND. 
 
 THIRD AMERICAN EDITION. 
 
 MORIUS-TOWN: 
 
 PBIN'TED BY HENRY P. RU8SEIX. 
 
 X VW-W WVVW WV 
 
 1815. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2011 with funding from 
 
 Princeton Theological Seminary Library 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/calvarycu 
 
LYARY? 
 
 OR, 
 
 THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 
 
 BOOK I 
 
ARGU31ENT OF THE FIRST BOOK. 
 
 After a short introduction, which states the miraculous acts of Christ, and 
 serves to mark the period at which the Poem commences, Satan goes 
 forth by night into the wilderness, and finds himself in the very spot 
 where he had in vain practised his temptations upon Christ : Here he 
 falls into meditation upon that unsuccessful interview, and vents him- 
 self in soliloquy : Indignant under disappointment, and impatient to re- 
 pair his defeat, he ascends to the summit of the mountain, from whence 
 he had exhibited the kingdoms of the earth, and calls the Devils from 
 all parts of the Heathen world : The whole host of Infernals assembled 
 at his summons : The chief leaders are enumerated, their persons and 
 attributes described : Satan addresses them, and proposes the subject 
 matter for their consultation, namely, By what means to counteract the 
 power of Christ upon earth : Baal delivers his sentiments by stating 
 difficulties and objections, without any decided opinion, unless for se- 
 duction in the general : Moloch angrily resents what he considers as 
 pointed at himself, and speaks disdainfully against the proposal of se- 
 duction, as not only desperate, but disgraceful : Belial replies, and, 
 after much circumlocution, suggests a temptation to be set on foot by 
 Mammon : He is interrupted by Satan, who reproves him for certain 
 digressions in his speech, but adopts his hint of employing Mammon, 
 and calls upon that evil spirit to attempt the fidelity of Judas Iscariot, 
 whom he points out to him as the only one of the disciples open to se- 
 duction : Mammon at first affects to excuse himself from the under- 
 taking, but in conclusion accepts it, and, taking wing in presence of 
 the whole applauding host, sets out upon his embassy, directing his 
 course to the city of Jerusalem. 
 
CALVARY, &c. 
 
 BOOK L 
 
 THE ASSEMBLING OF THE DEVILS. 
 
 IxAIL, awful Calvary! forsaking now 
 Aonian haunts and the unhallow'd Nine, 
 I visit thy sad mount, and thence invite 
 Tiie mournful echoes to my deep-ton'd harp. 
 Hymning the whilst, in solemn numbers, praise 
 To God for mercies purchas-d by the death 
 Of that mysterious Being, virgin-born, 
 Saviour of lost mankind, who on the cross, 
 Lord though he be of life, and one with God, 
 In mortal pangs expir'd ; there to atone 10 
 For a degenerate world, by his pure blood 
 To wash original corruption out, 
 And, rising victor from the grave, dispel 
 Sin and its offspring Heath, with all the train 
 Of idol gods, usurping earth and heav'n. 
 
 Now had the wond'rous acts by Jesus wrought 
 Spread wide his fame thro' all Judea's realm ; 
 The leper cleans'd, the blind to sight restor r d, 
 The sick to health, and even the dead to life, 
 Tho* warned to silence, (for his modest ear SO 
 
 A 2 
 
6 CALVARY; OR, [book i. 
 
 Sought not the praise of men) so much the more 
 Published liis mercies ; demons at his call 
 With horrid shrieks, that testified his power, 
 Came forth from men possest, and fled; his voice 
 Eebuk'd the seas and winds ; vast was the throng- 
 That follow'd where he led, and thousands found 
 In the waste wilderness mirac'lous food : 
 They saw, they marvell'd, and of force confest 
 Messias in his power, not so in form ; 
 For there no comeliness, no outward grace, 30 
 No princely state appear'd : Slow to renounce 
 Illusions long indulg'd, their wavering minds 
 'Twixt two opinions halted, while in place 
 Of these bright visions they beheld a man 
 Lowly and meek, a houseless wanderer. 
 That had not where on earth to lay his head : — 
 Such can our Israel's great Restorer be, 
 Such our Messias ? — Thus their troubled tho'ts 
 Like meeting currents clash'd; when as he spake 
 Truth flow'd resistless from his lips, his eyes 40 
 Beain-d mercy, and his Father's glory shone 
 Effulgent in his face ; then every tongue 
 Was hush'd to silence, every doubt dispcli'd, 
 And every heart confest him Lord and Christ. 
 'Twas night, when Satan, prince of darkness 
 call'd, 
 (And fitly call'd, for evil hates the day,) 
 Walked forth on hellish meditation bent, 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 7 
 
 Prowling the wilderness : Where'er he trode 
 Earth quak'd beneath his foot ; before him 50 
 
 roll'd 
 Thick cloud and vapour, making night's dark 
 
 shade 
 More black and terrible ; the beasts of prey, 
 Every wild thing that roams the savage waste 
 And howling to the moon demands its food, 
 Fled his approach ; the lion and the pard 
 Scented the blast and slunk into their dens ; 
 For whilst his breast with raging passions boil'd 
 Hatred, revenge and blasphemous despite, 
 The sighs lie vented from the hell within 
 Breath' d death into the air ; his haggard eyes, 
 Which still in speechless agonies he roll*d, 60 
 Out-glar'd the hyaena's ; other lires than theirs 
 To light his dismal path he needed none. 
 
 Kow, having stretch'd athwart the sandy wild 
 Clear to its rocky verge, the arch-fiend paus'd. 
 And upward cast his eye, if haply there 
 Darkling he might discern what saucy mound 
 Dar'd to arrest his course ; for yet there dwelt 
 Such vigor in his wing, nor depth, nor height, 
 Mountains nor seas might check his bold career, 
 Where he so purpos'd ; neither would he deign 
 To ask one charitable star for light, 
 Thoughtful of former glory, when he sol;: 
 Son of the morning far above their sphere-. 
 
8 CALVARY; OB, [book i. 
 
 Whereat, lie 'gain put forth his plumed vans 
 From either shoulder stretch'd for flight, when 
 
 soon 
 The fuel'd clouds to fierce encounter rush'd ; 
 Loud thunders bellow'd,and the lightning's flash 
 Smote on the craggy cliff; at sight whereof, 
 Conscious that now he press : d the fatal spot, 
 Where late he commun'd with the Son of SO 
 
 God, 
 Who for the space of forty days and nights 
 Foil'd every vain device, with shame abash'd 
 And pondering in his mind his foul defeat, 
 Down, down at once his flagging pinions fell 
 Close cow'ringto his ribs : As some proud ship 
 Between the tropics o'er the atlantic wave 
 Speeding amain to reach her destin'd port, 
 If chance the experienc'd mariner espies 
 The gathering hurricane, no stay, no stop, 
 Quick to the yard each swelling sail is furl'd, 90 
 The curl'd waves whitening as the torrent 
 
 drives, 
 And soon her taunt and lofty top-mast lower'd, 
 Strikes to the gale ; so he his towering height. 
 That to angelic stature now had swell'd, 
 Shrunk into human size, nor other seem'd 
 Than pilgrim squalid, and with years and toil 
 Bending decrepit, when from his full heart 
 Words, intermixt with groans, thus forc'd their 
 
 way :— 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 9 
 
 " Yes, hateful wilderness, detested rocks, 
 Whom I would curse, had Nature left one blade 
 On your bare ribs, which cursing I might blast, 
 Full well I know you ; deep, too deep engrav'd 
 On mem'ry's tablet your rude horrors live. 
 And you, officious lightnings, hide your fires ! 
 Come, Night, again ; let central darkness shroud 
 Scenes, whose tormenting recollection stabs 
 My unavenged soul. Can I forget 
 This Son of Joseph ? Son of God henceforth 
 Of force I must confess him ; for what less 
 Than godlike constancy could have with- liO 
 
 stood 
 Temptations great and terrible as mine ? 
 Something which man is not, he needs must be ; 
 Virtue, that angels boast not, he must have, 
 Else had my'snares inclosed him. ..else the world. 
 Which then was mine to give, had been a bribe 
 Too glorious not to dazzle every eye 
 But his, who made those glories what they are. 
 Still I must doubt the Father's love sincere, 
 Tho' loudly vouch'd by his own voice from 
 
 heav'n : 
 Is this a father's love, is this his care, 120 
 
 Here to expose him to this desart wild 
 Forty long sleepless nights and fasting days, 
 No angel-guard about him, lost, forlorn, 
 Abandon'd to the elements, to beasts 
 
 B 
 
10 CALVARY; OK, [book i. 
 
 More fierce than this loud storm ; nay, fiercer 
 
 still, 
 To me than all more terrible, to me, 
 Foe of his life, inveterate and avow'd ? 
 Rare sample of God's love ! If here his Christ 
 Fncounter'd aught of danger ; and if none, 
 "What else could prompt him to this vain display 
 Of voluntary penance, but the love 
 Of flattery and a despicable wish 
 To hear himself applauded ? In this spot, 
 Beneath the jutting roof of this rude cliff, 
 I first surpris'd this wand'ring Son of God, 
 This Saviour of the world : Fainting he seem'd 
 With thirst and hunger, pale as death his cheek, 
 His hollow eyes deep sunk, and from his brow 
 Big drops of sweat distill'd, as one overspent 
 And sinking to the earth, there to expire : 140 
 A ready tale he had for pity's ear, 
 A melancholy list of wants and woes ; 
 He had not tasted food, and fairly own'd 
 That nature's cravings were intense : when I. 
 Glad at the heart to find him thus besieg'd 
 With appetite so eager, stooping down, 
 From the dissever'd fragments, that here lie 
 About the base of this storm-beating rock, 
 Chose out a few smooth stones, and tempting 
 
 said, 
 If thou art hungry, eat : convert tllfese stone.*. 
 
THE DEATH OF CHEIST. i i 
 
 If tliou art God's own Son, to bread, and eat ! 
 But he, not so beguil'd, spurn'd them away, 
 And silenc'd me with text of holy writ. 
 A nobler appetite I next assail'd — 
 Ambition ; to the mountain's top we soar'd ; 
 I spread the kingdoms of the earth in sight, 
 Fit sight to whet the hunger of the mind ; 
 But mind and body he alike would starve, 
 Nor thank nor homage render back for food 
 Of my providing. One last hope remained ; 160 
 Methonght there was a godly pride about him, 
 "Which with right holy flattery I might win : 
 Upon the temple's topmost pinnacle 
 I plac'd this scorner of an earthly crown, 
 And bade him be a God. Cast thyself down. 
 Behold, quoth I, the angels are on wing 
 To bear thee up unhurt. With stern rebuke, 
 " Get thee behind me, Satan !" he reply 'd : 
 Some power unseen control'd me, down I fell, 
 Down from the giddy eminence I plung'd, 170 
 And left him to his angels, whilst their hymns 
 And hallelujahs echo'd through the air 
 His triumphs and my second fall from he av'n. 
 And now if dark despair shall reach this heart, 
 Which of hell's tetrarch's can arraign their king, 
 Or fix on me his share of public loss 
 And overthrow sustain'd in this attack ? 
 None, for none dare. If I, till now supreme. 
 
IS CALVARY; OB, [book i. 
 
 Great idol of the Gentile world, for whom 
 80 many groves, so many altars blaze ; 180 
 If I, to whom by various names ador'd 
 Thousands of temples rise, whilst one alone, 
 One solitary pile on Sion's hill 
 Echoes the praise of God, neglected else 
 Of all ; if I, if Satan must submit 
 To Christ, revenge to patience, war to peace. 
 And men must learn new maxims of forgiveness, 
 Maxims I neither practice nor instil, 
 Heroes and kings and eonquerors, farewel ! 
 Greater is he who serves than he who reigns. 190 
 To suffer, to submit, to turn the eheek 
 To the proud s miter, these are virtues now ; 
 Hence with such virtues ! If these rules obtain, 
 If this tame doctrine shall unman the world, 
 Altars and groves and temples all must sink ; 
 Olympus and its synod, every Grace 
 And every Muse, all that the chissel wrought 
 In Greece or Rome, shall moulder into dust, 
 And Christ and Reason shall usurp the world.'* 
 He ceas'd, and now his swelling bosom heav'd 
 With indignation like the lab' ring earth, 
 Which subterranean vapors undermine, 
 Pent in its sulph'rous entrails : Up he sprung 
 To that high mountain-top whence he review'd 
 The kingdoms of the earth, whilst at his side 
 Christ's humble virtue stood, on other realms, 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 18 
 
 Realms of immortal happiness intent : 
 Here, as a vulture on the craggy peak 
 Of Caucasus or Hsemus left to watch, 
 Screams out his shrill alarm, at sound whereof 
 The carrion troop, upon the wing for prey, 
 Come flocking to the signal, Satan thus 
 Stood eminent, and call'd his dark compeers ; 
 So loud he call'd that to the farthest bounds 
 Of Pagan isle or continent was heard 
 His voiee re-echoing thro' the vault of heaven : 
 
 " Heroes and demi-gods, Olympian powers, 
 Infernal princes of hell's dark abyss, 
 Heav'n's exiles, spirits of air, water, fire, 
 Or whatsoever element confines £20 
 
 Your incorporeal essences, Oh hear ! 
 Hear and assemble ! 'tis your leader calls ; 
 It is your champion's voice, in happier hours 
 Heard and obey'd, now in extremest need, 
 Be present and assist our great divan." 
 
 JNTo more ; for soon was heard the distant soun<) 
 Of wings that beat the air ; from every point 
 Of the four winds the gathering swarm came on ; 
 From Crete, from Cyprus, and the Ionian coast, 
 From Egypt, Afric, and the Ausonian shores, 230 
 Gods of all names, dimensions and degrees. 
 Great was their sovereign's triumph to behold 
 This prompt obedience to his high command ; 
 For now, descending on the desart heath 
 
14 CALVARY; OR, [book i. 
 
 To martial music, the infernal host, 
 In bands and columns, by their chiefs arranged, 
 Stood firm ; if ever gleam of joy might reach 
 Heart so accurs'd, th' arch-fiend had felt it here, 
 As with a monarch's eye he now review'd 
 His armies, covering all the swarthy plain. 240 
 Come, Muse, and to your suppliant's eyes impart 
 One ray of that pure light, which late you pour'd 
 On the dark orbs of your immortal Bard 
 Eclips'd by drop serene. Conduct me now, 
 Me from my better days of bold emprise 
 Far in decline, and with the hoary hand 
 Of Time hard stricken, yet adventuring forth 
 O'er Nature's limits into worlds unseen, 
 Peopled with shadowy forms and phantoms dire: 
 Oh \ bear me on your pinions in this void, 250 
 Where weary foot ne'er rested ; and behold ! 
 All hell bursts forth : Support me, or I sink. 
 Now glimm'ring twilight streak-d the East- 
 ern sky, 
 For he, that on his forehead brings the morn, 
 Star-crown'd Phosphorus had heard the call, 
 And with the foremost stood. Beside him one 
 Of towering stature and majestic port, 
 Himself a host ; his black and curling locks 
 Down his herculean shoulders copious flow'd ; 
 In glittering brass upon his shield he bore 260 
 A kingly eagle, ensign of command, 
 
THE DEATH OF CHE 1ST. 15 
 
 Baal his name, second to none in state 
 Save only his great chieftain, worshipp'd long 
 In Babylon, till Daniel drove him thence 
 With all his glutt'nous priests ; exalted since 
 High above all the idol gods of Greece, 
 Thron'd on Olympus, and his impious hand 
 Arm'd with the thunder ; yet lie ru'd the zeal 
 Of furious Jehu, and that mournful day, 
 "When he beheld his altars stream with blood, 270 
 His prophets and his priests by hundreds slain 
 Upon Mount Carmel. Moloch in the van, 
 Mail'd at all points for war, with spear and helm 
 And plumed crest and garments roll'd in blood, 
 Flam'd like a meteor : Him with horrid joy 
 Satan awhile survey'd, then sighing cried, 
 " Oh ! worthy of command, had all like thee 
 So bravely fought, heav'n never had been lost." 
 Thence as he glanc'd his eye, far other form 
 And much unfit for war he next espied, 280 
 Chemos, the sin of Moab ; power obscene, 
 Emasculate and soft, in loose attire 
 A sensual deity ; his glory 'twas 
 In arts of base seduction to excel, 
 And, leagu'd with harlots, to have turn'd the heart 
 Of that wise king, and drawn him from his God 
 To bend his aged knees at idol shrines. 
 Close at his side stood one, in whose soft eye- 
 Ensnaring smiles and beauteous ruin lurk'd : 
 
15 CALYARY; OR, [book i. 
 
 Oh ! that such grace should be allied to sin ; 290 
 Zidonian goddess, Ashtoreth her name ; 
 Heav'n would not quite destroy so fair a work, 
 But wantonness usurp'd an angel's face, 
 And with her innocence had chang'd her sex. 
 Yet let that sex beware, for in their souls, 
 When once she enters, peace no longer dwells ; 
 Witness that Magdalen, whose frantic hreast, 
 Till by Christ's mercy heal'd,sev'n demons rent, 
 All sin-begotten, all her brood accurst. 
 But Satan, whose stern heart, stranger to love, 
 All weakness tho' in shape of sin disdain'd, 
 And onlypriz'd spirits more like himself, 
 Indignant turn'd aside, and bent his eye 
 Where Dagon, giant god, amidst the ranks, 
 Like Teneriff or iEtna, proudly tower' d : 
 Dagon, of Gath and Askelon the boast, 
 In that sad flight, when on Gilboa's mount 
 The shield of Saul was vilely thrown away, 
 And Israel's beauty perish' d : Him awhile, 
 With scowlingeye, th' infernal king survey'd, 310 
 Then taunting cried, " O Dagon, vast in size, 
 In soul diminutive, had that huge mass 
 Yalour proportionate, heav'n had been ours ; 
 But fitter thou, dull spirit, to people hell 
 Than re-assault God's throne. Where was thy 
 
 pride, 
 When overthrown in Gaza by the strength 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 17 
 
 Of that uxorious Danite ? Humbled now 
 
 I know thy nightly haunts, and how thou driv'st 
 
 Wretches possest to hide themselves in tombs, 
 
 Whence I beheld thee 'midst the herd unclean 
 
 Scour down the steep and plunge into the sea." 
 
 But now a fairer form arrests the eye 
 
 Of hell's despotic lord ; his radiant vest 
 
 Of Tyrian purple, studded thick with gems, 
 
 Flow'd graceful : He for courts was form'd...for 
 
 feasts, 
 For ladies' chambers, and for am'rous sports ; 
 Helov'd not camps, nor the rude toils of war; 
 Belial his name ; around his temples twin'd 
 A wreath of roses, and, where'er he pass'd, 
 His garments fann'd a breeze of rich perfume : 
 No ear had he for the shrill-ton'd trump — 
 Him the soft warble of the Lydian flute 
 Delighted rather, the love-soothing harp, 
 Sappho's loose song, and the Aonian maids 
 And zoneless graces floating in the dance ; 
 Yet from his lips sweet eloquence distill'd, 
 As honey from the bee ; but still his voice 
 Ne'er counsell'd ought but cunning and deceit, 
 Mean truce and base capitulating terms ; 
 Therefore by Satan held in slight account, 340 
 For devils boast a dignity in sin. 
 Last in the field, and from the rest apart, 
 Was Mammov ! Cautious was his step and slow, 
 
 C 
 
18 CALVARY; OR, [book i. 
 
 His eye still watchful to prevent surprise, 
 Squalid his vesture and his locks uncomb'd : 
 For gain and usury engross'd his soul; 
 Nor other care had he but to amass 
 Wealth unenjoy'd, and gloat upon his hoard : 
 Had there been only happiness in heav'n 
 And gold in hell, Mammon had spurn'd the bliss, 
 And hugg'd the treasure cheaply earn'd with 
 pain. 
 His princes thus review'd, from the hill-top 
 Satan swift-glancing flew, and in the midst 
 Rose like a meteor ; whereat all the host 
 Sent up a general shout : he with his hand 
 Give sign, and whecl'd the Stygian phalanx 
 
 round ; 
 Horrible sight \ A theatre of fiends, 
 And each the foe of man ; idols and imps, 
 Wizards, familiars, sprites, phantasmas, dreams. 
 Sorrows and pains and deaths in every shape 360 
 Cover'd the blasted heath. Th' infernal king, 
 Tho' in his heart by mut'nous passions torn, 
 Thought clashed with thought, and all was an- 
 archy, 
 Yet, with assum'd composure, beck'ning forth 
 His princes, whilst the inferior throng stood off, 
 And mute attention reign'd, in few thus spake : 
 " Friends and confederates, welcome ! for this 
 proof 
 
THE BEATH OF CHRIST. 19 
 
 Of your affiance, thanks ! On every call, 
 Whether we need your counsel or your arms, 
 Joyful I see your read} zeal displays 370 
 
 Virtues, which hell itself cannot corrupt. 
 I mean not to declaim : The occasion told 
 Speaks its own import, and the time's dispatch 
 All waste of words forbids. God's Son on earth, 
 Christ, the reveal' d Messias, how to oppose 
 Is now the question ; by what force, or power, 
 (Temptations have been tried, I name not them) 
 Or dark conspiracy, we may pull down 
 This Son of Righteousness from his bright 
 
 sphere, 
 Declare, who can : I pause for a reply." 380 
 
 Silence ensu'd, whilst every eye was turned ' 
 Instinctively on Baal ; he of all 
 Hell's magi fill'd the seat of wisdom chief: 
 Experienc'd long in craft, and nothing apt 
 To give strait counsel, slow of speech he was ;. 
 To hint, propound, dilate, and so entice 
 Other opinions forth, them to refute, 
 And thereon build his own, was all his art. 
 After long pause, and hesitation feign'd, 
 (Stale trick of orators,) he thus began : 
 
 " Why thus on me, as I were worthy — me, 
 Lost being like yourselves, as I alone 
 Could compass this high argument — on me> 
 Least in your sapient conclave, why you point 
 
20 CALVAHY; OR, [book i 
 
 These scrutinizing looks, I muse ; and, aw'd 
 Bv this your expectation, fain would shrink 
 From the great task to silence, had you not 
 O'er these poor faculties such full control, 
 As to put by all pleas, and call them forth 
 In heav'n or earth, or hell's profound abyss, 400 
 Yours in all uses, present at all hours. 
 Our kingly chief hath told us we are met 
 To combat Christ on earth : Be't so ! We yet 
 May try our fortune in another field ; 
 Worse fortune than in heav'n befel our arms, 
 Worse downfal than to hell, we cannot prove. 
 But with the scene our action too must change i 
 How ? To what warfare ?... Circumvention, fraud, 
 Seduction ? These are earthly weapons ; these 
 As man to man opposes, so must we 410 
 
 To Christ incarnate. There be some, who cry, 
 Hence with such dastard arts ! War, open war ! 
 I honor such bold counsellors, and yield 
 All that I can.. .my praise ; till one be found, 
 One that may rival God's own Son in power, 
 And miracle to miracle oppose : 
 More than my praise I cannot, my assent 
 I will not give ; 'twere madness : And how war 
 With God ? what arms may we employ 
 
 'gainst him, 420 
 
 Whose very prophets can call down heaven's 
 
 fires 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. Si 
 
 Upon our priests and altars ? For myself, 
 What powers I had I shall not soon forget ; 
 What I have left I know, and for your use 
 Shall husband as I may, not vainly risque 
 Where they must surely fail. The Jews pretend 
 That Christ colludes with Beelzebub ; the Jews 
 As far mistake my nature as my name. 
 The fallacy, O peers, confutes itself, 
 Forg'd to disparage Christ, not honor me. 
 Oh! that I had his wonder-working powers ; 430 
 I'm not that fool to turn them on myself: 
 No, my brave friends, I've yet too much to lose ; 
 Though Babylon's proud shrines are laid in 
 
 dust, 
 Rome's capitol survives, and thro' the world 
 Where'er her eagles fly, upon their wings 
 They bear my thunder and they spread my fame. 
 Therefore no more of Beelzebub and Christ ; 
 No league, no compact can we hold together. 
 WJiat then ensues ? Despair? Perish the thought! 
 The brave renounce it, and the wise prevent; 440 
 You are both wise and brave. Our leader says 
 Temptations have been tried, and tried in vain, 
 Himself the tempter. Who will tread that 
 
 ground, 
 Where he was foil'd ? For Adam a mere toy, 
 An apple serv'd ; Christ is not brib'd by worlds: 
 So much the second Man exceeds the first 
 
22 CALVARY; OK, [book i. 
 
 In strength and glory. But tho' Christ himself 
 
 Will not be tempted, those who hear him may : 
 
 Jews may be urg'd to envy, to revenge, 
 
 To murder ; a rebellious race of old ! 45$ 
 
 To kill a prophet or betray his God 
 
 What Jew was ever found to need the spur ? 
 
 Wist ye not what a train this preacher hath, 
 
 What followers, what disciples. These are men, 
 
 Mere men, frail sons of Adam, born in sin. 
 
 Here is our hope. I leave it to your thoughts." 
 
 He ceas'd ; but neither murmur nor applause 
 Followed his speech : For Moloch, whose fell 
 
 heart 
 111 stomach'd this tame counsel, least of all 
 Taunts thinly cover'd under mask of praise, 466 
 Sprung forth impetuous, and with scowling brow 
 And accent acrimonious, thus reply'd : 
 
 " My thoughts, it seems, are known before I 
 speak ; 
 War, open war is all my note : I rise 
 To thank the prophet, who thus reads my heart, 
 Where honesty should wear it — in my face ; 
 That face from danger I did never hide, 
 How then from him ? Nor am I by his praise 
 More honor'd than by his dissenting voice : 
 For whilst he counsels circumvention, fraud, 
 Seduction — (if my memory wrongs his words 
 I yield it to correction) — we stand off, 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 23 
 
 Wide as the poles apart. Much I had hop'd 
 When the great tempter fail'd, and in your ears 
 Sung his own honor's dirge, we had heard the 
 
 last 
 Of plots and mean temptations ; mean I call 
 
 them, 
 For great names cannot sanctify mean deeds : 
 Satan himself knows I oppos'd th' attempt, 
 Appealed, protested ; my thrice honor'd chief 
 Knows it full well, and blushes for th' event. 480 
 And are we now caballing how to outwit 
 A few r poor, harmless fishermen, (for such 
 Are Christ's disciples) — how to gull and cheat 
 Their simple hearts of honesty ? Oh peers, 
 For shame, if not for pity, leave them that, 
 That beggar's virtue : And is this the theme, 
 The mighty theme, which now employs the 
 
 thoughts 
 Of your immortal synod ? Shame, Oh shame ! 
 Princes, dominions, arch-angelic thrones, 
 Imperial lords ! these were your titles once ; 490 
 By these names ye were known above the stars; 
 Shame not your ancient dignities, nor sink 
 Beneath the vilest of the sons of men, 
 Whisperers, informers, spies. If Christ be 
 
 God, 
 Fight, as becometh you to fight, with God : 
 If man, (and sure his birth bespeaks no more.) 
 
24 CALVARY; OR, [book i. 
 
 Why all this preparation, this consult, 
 These mighty machinations and cabals ? 
 Off with your foe at once, dismiss him hence 
 Where all his brother prophets have been 500 
 
 sent ; 
 Where his precursor John has gone before, 
 Whose voice still echoes thro' this wilderness : 
 K Repent ye, for God's kingdom is at hand ! 
 " Prepare ye the Lord's way !" — It is prepar'd ; 
 It leads to death — it marshals him the road 
 To that oblivious bourne, whence none return : 
 Herod yet lives ; another royal feast, 
 Another wanton dance, and he, for whom 
 So many innocents were slain, shall fall. 
 Once vanquish'd, are we therefore to despair r 
 In heav'n unequal battle we provok'd ; 
 Tho> vast our host, the million was with God. 
 On earth inquire of all the nations round 
 Whom they will serve, with one voice they reply. 
 We are their gods ; they feed us with their 
 
 blood, 
 Their sons and daughters they make pass 
 
 through fire 
 To do us grace ; if their own flesh they give, 
 Shall they withhold to sacrifice a foe ? 
 Twelve tribes were all Jehovah had on earth, 
 And ten are lost ; of this small remnant, few 
 And wretched are the friends that league with 
 
 Heav'n. 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 25 
 
 And where is now Christ's promis'd reign on 
 
 earth ? 
 When God's own servants rise against his Son, 
 And those, to whom the promises were giv'n. 
 Revolt from their Messias, can we wish 
 Greater revenge ? What need have we to tempt 
 Those, who have hearts rebellions as our own, 
 As prompt to malice, no less prone to vex 
 God's righteous spirit ? And let come what 
 
 may, 
 It comes not to our loss. ..rather our gain. 530 
 Let God arise to vengeance ; let him pour 
 Destruction on his temple, whose proud height 
 Our chief can witness, measur'd by his fall : 
 Let him not leave one stone upon another, 
 As his rash Son hath menac'd ; let his wrath 
 Thro' all the inhospitable earth disperse 
 His scatter'd tribes ; such ever be the fate 
 Of ail his worshippers [ May scorn, contempt, 
 Derision be their lot, and may their God 
 Never recal his curse \ Are we, O peers, 540 
 To mourn for his Jerusalem ? Our joy 
 Springs from confusion ; enmity 'twixt God 
 And man is our best triumph : For myself, 
 War is my harvest ; then my altars blaze 
 Brightest, when human victims feed the flame." 
 Breathless, he paus'd ; so rapid was the pulse 
 Of his high-beating heart, he stood as one 
 
 D 
 
26 CALVARY; OK, [book i. 
 
 Choak'd and convuls'd with rage : when, as he 
 
 ceas'd, 
 He smote his mailed habergeon so loud, 
 Hell's arm'd legions heard, and shook their 550 
 
 spears 
 Betok'ning war. Frowning, he look'd around, 
 Whilst from his fiery eyes such terror glane'd, 
 It scem'd as if his pride meant to abash 
 And silence all opposers. Yet not long 
 His triumph ; for now Belial, from the ranks 
 Graceful advanc'd, and as he put aside 
 His purple robe in act to speak, the throng 
 (Such was the dazzling beauty of his form) 
 Fell back a space ; then stood all eyes and cars 
 In expectation mute as death. Though hell 560 
 Own'd not a spirit more false, sensual, and base, 
 Y T et ever as he spake such action grac'd 
 His words, so musically soft they flow'd, 
 TV ho most despis'd the pleader prais'd the 
 
 speech. 
 When thus, with mild, insinuating looks, 
 Masking his rauc'rous heart, the fiend began : 
 
 c; After so many peaceful ages past, 
 Since first emerging from hell's dark abyss, 
 Eous'd by our arch-angelic chief, we sprung 
 Up to this middle region, and here seiz'd 5/0 
 On this terrestrial globe, created first 
 For man, our vassal now, where, at full ease, 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 27 
 
 Lords of the elements and gods ador'd, 
 We reign and revel, uudisturb'd of Heav'n. 
 If God, whose jealousy be sure ill brooks 
 That this fair world should be so long possessed 
 Of us, his exil'd angels, and his name, 
 Pent up in Palestine, should now arouse 
 His slumb'riag wrath, and his best strength put 
 
 forth 
 To wrestle for lost empire, and our earth, 580 
 As we in evil hour his heav'n, assail, 
 Who of this misfhtv svnod but must own 
 The provocation warrants the retort ? 
 If, then, the Maker of mankind hath cause 
 To meditate their rescue, we no less 
 Have cause to oppose th' attempt, and hold them 
 
 fast 
 To their allegiance in despite of heav'n. 
 Much, then, we owe to our great leader's care, 
 Which, ever watchful o'er the public weal, 
 Calls us to this full council, here to meet 590 
 In grave consult how best we may repair 
 Past disappointments, and repel the spite 
 Of this new Champion, levelPd at our shrines. 
 Great is the trouble of my thoughts, O peers, 
 And much perpiex'd am I with doubts, what 
 
 name, 
 Nature, and office to ascribe to Christ ; 
 In form, the lowliest of the sons of men ; 
 
88 CALYAPY; OR, [book h 
 
 In miracles, omnipotent as God ; 
 Whose voice controls the stoutest of our host, 
 Bids the graves open, and their dead come forth \ 
 "Whose very touch is health ; who with a glance 
 Pervades each heart, absolves it, or condemns ; 
 Whose virgin birth credulity scarce owns, 
 And nature disavows. Prais'd to ail time, 
 Immortal as himself be the renown 
 Of that wise spirit, who shall devise the means, 
 By force or fraud, to overthrow the power 
 Of this mysterious foe— -what shall I say ? — 
 Priest, Prophet, King, Messias, Son of God ? 
 Yet how God's unity, which well we know 610 
 Endures no second, should adopt a Son, 
 And essence indivisible divide, 
 Barnes my weak conjecture : Let that pass i 
 To such hard doctrines I subscribe no faith : 
 I'll call him man inspir'd, and wait till death 
 Gives sentence of mortality upon him. 
 Meanwhile let circumspection on our part 
 Pill all the anxious interim ; alarm, 
 Pome's jealousy, stir up the captious spleen 
 Of the proud Pharisee, beset him round 620 
 With snares to catch him, urge the envious 
 
 priests, 
 For envy still beneath the altar lurks, 
 And note the man he trusts. Mammon could tclL 
 Though Mammon boasts not of his own success* 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 20 
 
 How few of human mould have yet withstood 
 His glittering, golden lures. The sword can kill 
 Man's body ; gold destroys his very soul : 
 Yet mark me well, I counsel not to tempt 
 The Master ; poverty can do no more 
 Than his own mortifying penance does ; 630 
 Hunger and thirst and obstinately starve, 
 When his mere wish could make the rock a 
 
 spring 
 And its hard fragments bread. Yet sure I am 
 All are not Christ's in heart, who with their lips 
 Confess him ; these are men, and therefore frail, 
 Frail and corruptible. And let none say, 
 Fear prompts this counsel 5 I disclaim all fear 
 But for the general cause. In every heart 
 Nature hath built my altar ; every sect, 
 Nation, and language, with one voice, confess 
 Pleasure the sovereign good. The Stoic churl. 
 The dogged Cynic snarling in his tub, 
 And all the ragged moralizing crew, 
 Are hypocrites ; philosophy itself 
 Is but my votary beneath a cloak. 
 It harms not me, though every idol god 
 Were tumbled from his base ; alike I scorn 
 Sampson's strong nerve and Daniel's flaming 
 
 zeal. 
 And let Christ preach his mortifying rules : 
 Let him go forth through ail the Gentile world, 
 
30 CALVARY; OR, [book i. 
 
 And, on the ruin of our fanes, erect 
 His church triumphant o'er the gates of hell, 
 Still, still man's heart will draw the secret sigh 
 For pleasures unenjoy'd ; the gloomy cell 
 And melancholy fast... the midnight prayer, 
 And pale contrition weeping o'er her lamp, 
 Are penances, from which the sense revolts — 
 Fines, that compounding superstition pays 
 For pleasures past, or hrihes for more to come." 
 " Enough of this vain boast," here Satan 
 cry'd ; 660 
 
 "More than enough of these voluptuous strains, 
 Which, though they lull the ear, disarm the soul 
 Of its best attribute. Not gaudy flowers 
 Are cull'd for med'cine, but the humble weed ; 
 True widom, ever frugal of her speccb, 
 Gives sage advice in plain and homely words. 
 The sum of all our reasoning ends in this, 
 That nothing but the death of Christ can solve 
 The myst'ry of his nature ; till he falls 
 Scarce can I say we stand : All voices, then, 670 
 Tho' varying in the means, conspire his deatli ; 
 Some cautiously as Baal ; some with zeal 
 Precipitate as Moloch, whose swift thought 
 Vaults over all impediments to seize 
 The goal of his ambition. But, O peers, 
 Ours is no trivial care ; direct your sight 
 Along the ranks of that redeemed host — 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 31 
 
 On us hangs all their safety. Night and day 
 My anxious thoughts are lab'ring in their eause, 
 And whilst Christ walks the earth I take 680 
 
 no rest, 
 A watchful spy forever at his side, 
 Noting each word and deed ; sometimes I mix 
 With the selected Twelve that page his steps : 
 Of these,though some have waver' d, none is false 
 Save one alone, Iscariot he by name ; 
 The taint of avarice hath touch'd his heart ; 
 I've mark'd him for my own. Hear, princes, 
 
 hear ! 
 This night the priests and elders will convene 
 Their secret conclave : I am in their hearts ; 
 Burning with envy, malice, and revenge, 690 
 Their only thought is how to tangle Christ, 
 In whom of force I own no guile is found, 
 But gentleness instead and perfect truth... 
 A lamb in nature, without spot and pure... 
 Fit victim therefore for their paschal rites, 
 Which now are near at hand ; apt is the hour, 
 Apt are the instruments. What now remains 
 But to send forth a tempter to persuade 
 Iscariot to betray his Master's life, 
 And damn himself for gold? Speak, is there one ? 
 One in this patriot circle, whom all eyes 
 Point out for this emprise ? Most sure there is ; 
 Belial hath well predicted of our choice : 
 
32 CALVARY; OR, [book i. 
 
 Mammon, stand forth ! on thee th' election 
 
 lights." 
 He spake, and all approved ; for choice so fit 
 None could oppose; when Mammon thus reply'd: 
 " Prince of this world ! to whom these armies 
 
 owe, 
 (Lost but for thee in everlasting night,) 
 The glorious prospect of yon rising sun, 
 'Tis not to evade the labour, but prevent 710 
 The failure of your hopes, that I beseech 
 Your wisdom to correct its choice, and lodge 
 This arduous embassy in abler hands : 
 Nathless, if such your will, and my compeers 
 Adjudge me to this service, I submit : 
 In me is no repugnance, no delay ; 
 For ever what these toiling hands could do, 
 Or patient thoughts devise, that I have done ; 
 Whether in heaven ordain'd to undermine 
 God's adamantine throne, or doomed to dig 7^0 
 The solid sulphur of hell's burning soil, [else 
 Fearless I wrought ; and, were there no tongues 
 To vouch my services, these scars would speak, 
 How many daintier spirits do I see 
 Fan* as in heav'n, and in fresh bloom of youth, 
 Whilst I, with shrivell'd sinews crampt and 
 
 scorch' d 
 'Midst pestilential damps and fiery blasts, 
 Drag, as you see, a miserable load, 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 33 
 
 A^e-struck without the last resource of death : 
 This for myself — no more. You're not to know 
 The snares which I employ are golden snares ; 
 These are my arts, and, like the crafty slave, 
 Who in Rome's circus hurls the fatal net 
 Over his fierce pursuer, so oft times 
 Have I entangled the proud hearts of men,[bribes> 
 And made their courage stoop to shameful 
 Paid for dishonest deeds, perjuries, and plots, 
 That draw them off from God, who else had fill'd 
 His courts ere now with guests, and peopled 
 heav'n. [mand ; 
 
 These weapons and these hands you still com- 
 So dear I hold the general cause at heart, 
 So disciplin'd am I in duty's school, 
 That, reckless of all hazard, I present 
 Myself your servant, or, if so fate wills, 
 Your sacrifice : for though from mortal man 
 Discomfiture I dread not, yet if Christ, [forth 
 Whom the great tempter foil'd not, shall stand 
 The champion of his followers, witness forme, 
 You my brave peers and this angelic host, 
 I sought not this hold height, whence if I fall 
 I do hut fall where Satan could not stand." 
 
 " Go, then," exclaim'd th' arch enemy of man, 
 " Go, brave adventurer, go where glory calls : 
 Auspicious thoughts engender in my breast, 
 And now prophetic visions burst upon me : 
 
 E 
 
34 CALVARY; OR, [book i. 
 
 I see the traitor Judas with a band 
 Of midnight ruffians seize his peaceful Lord : 
 They drag him to the bar, accuse, condemn ; 
 He bleeds, he dies ! Darkness involves the rest. 
 Ascend the air, brave spirit, and 'midst the shout 
 Of grateful myriads wing thy course to fame." 
 He said, and, pointing to the sacred towers 
 Of God's high temple, wav'd his scepter'd hand ; 
 Whereat the infernal armies gave a shout 
 That shook the rocky desert to its base. 
 Me an while the fiend, ambassador of hell, 
 Exulting, heard his high election crown'd 
 With their applauding voices, and the call 
 Of his great chieftain echo'd to the skies, [now 
 Pride swelPd his conscious breast ; no longer 
 Crouching with age and pain, but nerv'd anew, 
 As with a spell transform'd, erect he stood 
 With tow-ring stature tallest of the throng, 
 And looks of high supremacy and state. 
 And now from either shoulder he unfurl'd 
 His wide-stretch'd pinions, and uprising swift 
 Tower'd in mid-air ; the host M r ith loud acclaim 
 Hail'd his ascent : he on the well-pois'd wing 
 Hover'd awhile, till, from his cloudy height, 
 Sweeping the wide horizon, he descried, 780 
 Far in the west, the holy city of God, 
 His destin'd port, then to the orient sun [speed. 
 Tura'dhis broad vans, and ply'd their utmost 
 
 END OP THE FIRST BOOK, 
 
OR, 
 
 THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 
 
 BOOK II. 
 
ARGUMENT OF THE SECOND BOOK. 
 
 Mammon, alighting on the Holy Mount, assumes the form and character 
 of a Levite, and under that appearance goes in search of Judas Iscariot. 
 He meets that disciple most opportunely for his purpose in a solitary 
 place, and, entering into conversation with him, pretends a commission 
 from the priests and elders for engaging him in their service, with a 
 promise of a reward, and urges many insidious arguments for detaching 
 him from his Master : They separate with a promise on the part of Ju- 
 das to report his final answer to the priests that evening. Christ is 
 now brought to view sitting in the midst of his disciples at his Last 
 Supper : He addresses them in those solemn and affecting terms re- 
 corded in the Gospel of Saint John, washes their feet, foretels his death, 
 and points out to them his betrayer in the person of Judas, then presents 
 The traitor, perceiving himself discovered, hastily departs. Christ, 
 pitying the affliction of his disciples, tenderly consoles them with the 
 promise of his support under their future tribulations, and concludes 
 with an awful invocation to the Father in their behalf; whereupon, 
 warning them that his hour is come, he goes forth to the garden. A 
 reflection naturally springing from the subject, addressed to unbeliev- 
 ers, closes the book. 
 
CALTARY, &c. 
 
 BOOK II. 
 
 THE LAST SUPPER. 
 
 JN OW, on the consecrated Mount of God, 
 Mammon, invisible to mortal eye, 
 Stooping the wing from his aerial height, 
 With feet unhallowed, lands ; a direful pest, 
 Farthest from heav'n of all that out-cast crew 
 Who fell from bliss ; fit messenger was he, 
 And fatal was their choice who sent him forth 
 To work corruption's purpose in man's heart ; 
 For in his pow'r excelling, he can take 
 The semblance of each virtue, shift each form, 
 And turn and turn new faces on the world, 
 Till he hath snar'd a soul ; then he appears 
 In nature as he is, loathsome, ohscene, 
 Rapacious as those filthy monsters feign'd 
 By fahling poets of amphibious breed, 
 Harpies, of earth and ocean the foul spawn, 
 Half brute, half human, with cadav'rous face 
 Horribly pale, and hollow, hungry eye, 
 Glaring aghast, with wings outstretch'd to chace, 
 And talons crook'd to pounce their mangled prey. 
 
38 CALYARY; Oft, [book it, 
 
 And now, by dev'lish spell transform'd, he seems 
 
 A reverend Levite^ bearded to the waist ; 
 
 Hypocrisy ne'er wore a graver mask : 
 
 And still with wolf-like watch he prowls around 
 
 If haply in those haunts he might surprise 
 
 Occasion to put forth his damning arts, 
 
 And, from the flock of their good Shepherd, cull 
 
 One tainted straggler — one, whose sordid soul 
 
 Av'rice might tempt to take the price of bloody 
 
 And sacrifice the Son of God for gold : 30 
 
 Of ChAist no care had he> but to elude 
 
 His vigilance, which still was all his dread ; 
 
 Nor of the Twelve, save Judas, was there one 
 
 Whom to assail ; on him alone, on him, 
 
 Son of perdition, rested all the hopes 
 
 Of Satan and his legions. Now the fiend 
 
 "With ineffectual search had coasted all 
 
 The sacred region round, and in the shade 
 
 Beneath the temple porch awhile repos'd, 
 
 List'ning the converse of the idle crowd, 40 
 
 The sun then high at noon ; and much they talk'd 
 
 Of Christ and his great miracles, of some 
 
 Elias deem'd, of some the Baptist John 
 
 Ris'n from the dead, but by all tongues confest 
 
 A prophet mighty both in word and deed. 
 
 Silent the whilst, in secret musings wrapt, 
 
 The wizard spirit stood, when all at once 
 
 Loud voices strike his ear, and straight comes one 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 39 
 
 Leaping and bounding 'midst the shouting 
 
 throng, 
 A cripple new restor'd ; the very bed, [pressed, 
 Which from his birth the palsied wretch had 
 Now in its turn was carried, and to all 
 Triumphantly expos'd. " Behold," he cry'd, 
 " The token of my cure ; I am the man 
 Whom ye all knew, and this the doleful bed 
 On which, fast bound in misery and pain, 
 Helpless before your charitable gates 
 I laid and begg'd for pity and relief: [limbs 
 Lo ! I am free ! Mark how these new-found 
 Nimbly the health-restoring voice obey ! 60 
 Christ gave the word; he spake and I am whole." 
 This whilst he heard, conviction smote the 
 
 fiend ; 
 His conscious heart a sudden tremor sciz'd, 
 And oft' he slunk abashed. A winding path 
 Led down the mount, and here, as he pursu'd 
 In gloomy thought the solitary way, 
 Behold by happy chance the man he sought, 
 Iscariot, and alone : Joy flush* d the cheek 
 Of the incarnate daemon, thus to find 
 His labour in auspicious moment crown'd. 70 
 " Hail, son of Simon ! peace be to thee, friend ! 
 Fairly encounter'd art thou in good hour,'* 
 The priest-like tempter cried : " thy worth is 
 
 known 
 
40 CALVARY; OK, [book n 
 
 To all our Leviies, from whose tribe I come 
 With friendly greeting 1 charg'd. This night 
 
 they meet 
 In special conclave ; our chief pontiff there 
 Will, in the holy convocation, move 
 Points of high import to our ancient law- 
 Questions it much importeth thee to hear, 
 And well accepted shalt thou he of all, 80 
 
 Who, with large recompense and honours due, 
 Will greet thee so complying : I have said." 
 
 i; Grave Sir, I know thee not," Judas reply'd ; 
 " Yet for thy greeting, thanks, and peace for 
 
 peace, 
 As holv men becomes." To him the fiend — 
 
 " Unknown I well may be, who, night and day 
 Serving God's altar, rarely stir abroad, 
 And little commerce hold with this great world ; 
 But thee I know, one of that Teacher's train, 
 Who walks at large, nor shuns the haunts im- 
 pure 90 
 Of sinners and of publicans. Alas ! 
 That one of thy wise bearing should be seen 
 In such base fellowship, paging his steps, 
 Calling him Lord and Blaster, whom the world 
 In mere derision suffers to grow up 
 To full-blown vanity, at once to crush. 
 But good report is pregnant with thy name, 
 As one exempted from the general scorn ; 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 4i 
 
 And sure I am thou wilt not so abase 
 And turn thy nobler thoughts to one so mean, 
 Vile and mechanic ; to the driv'ling crew 
 Of children and of women leave that task — 
 To Peter and his brethren of the net ; 
 Fine reasoning we shall have, and well be school'd 
 When fishermen turn preachers, and instil 
 Doctrines and laws, which Moses never taught. 
 Woe to our scribes ! Rare mock'ry of the world 
 And the world's wisdom, if these simple folk, 
 Lur'd from their daily drudgery, should set up 
 Fishers of men; the synagogue, to them 110 
 A barren element, will never yield 
 Such gainful earnings as the sea affords. 
 And what is Christ that Judas so should court 
 His starving service ? What so tempting lure 
 Hath this deceiver to beguile thy hopes ? 
 * Not of this world my kingdom," he hath said ; 
 Yet of this world are we ; in this alone 
 We live and move ; here only we expect 
 Or pain or pleasure ; all that lies beyond 
 In the unknown abyss is dark as death. 120 
 And wherefore earnest thou that bag about ? 
 A beggar needs no treasurer, and thy Lord 
 Feeds but by miracle. Alas for him, 
 Who serves a master, that keeps Sabbath fasts 
 Forty long days in the bare wilderness — • 
 Makes poverty his passport into heav'n, 
 
 F 
 
42 CALVARY; OK, [book ii. 
 
 And bids us throw away life's present means 
 
 For doubtful chance of interest after life ! 
 
 And art thou of all reason so bereft 
 
 As to account prosperity a crime, 130 
 
 Or think none blest but him, whose every step 
 
 Thro' mis'ry's thorny path is mark'd with blood? 
 
 O son of Simon, take thy last resolve : 
 
 Either resign thy body to the worm, 
 
 And die with Christ, or him renounce, and live 
 
 Bich, honor'd, prosp'rous, and enjoy the world." 
 
 The fiend now paus'd, well pleas'd that he had 
 gain'd 
 Audience so large ; when Judas, in whose soul 
 The pois'nous instillation 'gan to work, 
 Thus to corruption's advocate replied : 140 
 
 " That Christ, rejected and despis'd of men. 
 Hath in this world no part, I freely grant ; 
 Therefore if we his followers who renounce 
 Things present, build our hopes upon a dream 
 Of what shall never come, we arc of all 
 Most miserable ; if we, who bid farewel 
 To all that nature holds most dear, to share 
 Sorrows and pains and poverty with Christ, 
 Find not those blissful mansions in the heav'n 
 Which he hath promis'd; if, when all is past,li5U 
 And this sad scene concludes, no reck'ning 
 
 comes, 
 No grateful compensation after death, 
 
THE DEATH OF CHKIST. 43 
 
 Hard is our fate, and much hath he abus*d 
 Our weak credulity. But still these hopes 
 Of an expected glory, though with doubt 
 And darkness clouded, faint, not yet extinct, 
 Yield not to words ; words made them what 
 they are — [him. 
 
 Christ's words ; and surely man ne'er spake like 
 Wherefore if these jour doctors of the law 
 Invite me to their conclave hut to hear 160 
 
 A railing accusation, I hold off 
 From their assembly, and to Christ adhere, 
 As to the better reas'ner ; and though poor 
 The servant, equal is the Master's lot, 
 Poor as the poorest, houseless and forlorn, 
 A man of sorrows ; nor can we complain, 
 Whilst he of all we suffer still partakes, 
 First in all labors, penances, and pains. 
 You ask, and bid me take my last resolve, 
 If I will give this body to the worm 170 
 
 And die with Christ : To die is nature's dread ; 
 Instinctively she loaths the gloomy grave, 
 And turns a longing eye to light and life. 
 But fortune gives to all things their degrees ; 
 To them, who bask in sunshine thro' the day, 
 Night comes with double sadness, whilst tome, 
 Who toil from morn to noon, from noon to eve, 
 Yet nothing but a dim horizon see 
 Low'ring in clouds, darkness is nothing strange, 
 
44 CALVARY; OR, [book 11, 
 
 Nor death a terror. Wealth presents no dower 
 To wed me to the world ; no pleasures cling 
 Around my heart ; no soft affections woo 
 My longer stay on earth, there to prefer 
 Brief joys possess'd, to hope of future bliss.' 5 
 
 Thus whilst he 'plain'd, the subtle tempter's 
 ear 
 Caught the soft murmur that betrays the soul... 
 The sigh capitulating virtue breathes, 
 When from her last defences she retreats ; 
 Whereat a bolder tone he now as sum' d, 
 And thus the wav'ring, false disciple ply'd; 190 
 
 " All joys that gold can purchase wait your 
 choice ; 
 Rich to your heart's ambition you shall be ; 
 Nor only rich, but rescu'd from a doom 
 So dreadful, had you all the wealth in store, 
 Which the sea covers or the earth contains, 
 *Twere well bestow'd to purchase your redemp* 
 tion. [meet 
 
 "With Christ impending death. ..with me you 
 Life with encircling pleasures. Throw aside 
 That beggar's purse; your starving office spurn ; 
 Serve God's high priest, whose treasury is full ; 
 Cast those few mites away, the scanty dole 
 Of some contaminating leper's hand, 
 For which you bid God heal him and pass on ; 
 Whilst he, good crcd'lous soul, cries out amain-, 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 45 
 
 As powerful fancy works, " Lo ! I am clean ; 
 Behold a miracle I" — But gold performs 
 Greater and happier miracles than this : 
 Gold with a touch can heal the mind's disease, 
 Quicken the slow-pac'd hlood, and make it dance 
 In tides of rapture thro' each thrilling vein ; 210 
 Cast out that worst of dsemons, poverty, 
 And with a spell exorcise the sad heart, 
 Haunted with spectres of despair and spleen. 
 If, then, this prize can tempt thee — if thy soul 
 Still thirsts for life, for riches, for repose ; 
 If in thy breast there dwells that manly scorn, 
 Which slighted merit feels, when envious pride 
 Thrusts it aside to build the unworthy up, 
 Now, now assert it ; from a Master turn, 
 Who turns from thee — who before thee exalts 
 Thy meaner brethren, Peter, James, and John : 
 On them his partial smile forever beams — 
 They have his love, his confidence, his heart : 
 Of them revolting he might well complain — 
 Of thee he cannot ; thine were just revenge : 
 He is no traitor, who resents a wrong ; 
 Who shares no confidence can break no trust. 
 Bidconscience, then, be still; let no weak qualms 
 Damp thy reviving spirit ; but when night 
 Wraps her dark curtain round this busy world, 
 Come thou to Caiaphas : there will be found 
 Our priests and scribes in council to attaint 
 
46 CALVARY; OH, [book il 
 
 And bring to judgment this presumptuous man, 
 
 Who boasts himself Messias, Son of God. 
 
 If thou, to whom his midnight haunts are known. 
 
 His secret incantations and his spells, 
 
 By which he does those feats that cheat our sight. 
 
 Wilt to those guilty haunts conduct our guard, 
 
 And render up his person to the law, 
 
 Much praise and large reward shalt thou receive. 
 
 If thou wilt not — But wherefore should I doubt ? 
 
 I would persuade, not threaten : Know withal 
 
 It is not thou, 'tis justice gives the blow ; 
 
 The law will have its victim. Thinkest thou 
 
 That we, to whom the custody is giv'n 
 
 Of God's prophetic oracles, ordain'd 
 
 To guard his worship, and expound his laws, 
 
 Will let this innovating Teacher spurn 
 
 Our holy order, mock our ancient rites, 
 
 Profane our Sabbaths, and himself exalt, %5Q 
 
 Co-equal with Jehovah, to confound 
 
 His unit}, and claim divided power ? 
 
 No, let death arbitrate 'twixt him and us ; 
 
 If he be very Christ, death shall not dare 
 
 To aim his dart at immortality ; 
 
 His in corruption shall defy the grave — 
 
 If man, blaspheming man, lie justly dies. 
 
 Living or dying, thus his fate dispels 
 
 All mystery ; truth starts of force to light, 
 
 And God is glorified in cither case." 2G0 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 47 
 
 He ceas'd, and on the traitor fix'd a look, 
 Which, like the serpent's fascinating eye, 
 Gaz'd motion's power away ; sullen he stood, 
 As with a spell entrane'd ; the awful sense 
 Of his great Master's virtue, and the dread 
 Of an hereafter terrible to thought, 
 No longer serv'd to hold the wizard fiend 
 And his fell arts at bay. The word of truth, 
 Sown on the surface of his stony heart, 
 Had perish'd without root ; religion's lamp, 270 
 Faint and more faint as Mammon's crafty breath 
 Slew up the storm of passion, now expir'd 
 In his benighted soul ; there rankling pride, 
 Malicious envy, av'rice and revenge, 
 Leagu'd with hell's minister, and uncontrol'd, 
 Their impious orgies held. At length the wretch, 
 To calm, deliberate treachery resigned, 
 With all th' unrighteous Mammon in his heart 
 And vile prevarication on his lips, 
 Thus with consent, in dubious phrase imply'd, 
 The grand seducer of mankind dismiss'd: 
 
 i; Great is the peril of th' attempt you urge, 
 For great the power of him you would destroy : 
 Therefore if I demand some pause for thought, 
 Deem it not much. Your offers shall be weigh'd; 
 But now no more. Occasions call me hence. 
 This night the Master hath convok'd the Twelve 
 To keep the sacred feast, ordain'd of God 
 
48 CALVARY; OS, [book 11. 
 
 With bread unleaven'd and the Paschal Lamb. 
 Thither, tho' last and in his favor least, 29 Q 
 I go a cited guest. There whilst I sit 
 Unnotic'd at his table's lowest foot, 
 My meditations shall recal your words, 
 And ponder them apart. Say to your priests, 
 Those conservators of our ancient law, 
 This night they may expect my last resolve. 
 And now behold the length'ning shadow marks 
 The ev'ning hour, that warns me hence : Fare- 
 
 wel I" 
 This said, their conference ended, they embrace 
 As friends, who plight their faith. Upon 300 
 
 the touch, 
 So quick the infection ran.. .so dire the blight, 
 The pois'nous ferment on the instant reach'd 
 Iscariot's tainted heart, and now he burnt 
 With the fell lust of gold. Joy seiz'd the fiend ; 
 For well he knew how mortal to the soul 
 That deadly aconite, the growth of hell. 
 Oh ! wretch forever lost, forever curst, [wake 
 Whom Mammon thus embraces ! Who shall 
 Thy conscience from its lethargy ? Who now 
 Shall stop the courses of that baneful drug, 310 
 And stem the swift destruction ? >Tis too late : 
 Better for thee hadst thou ne'er seen the light, 
 Or lost it ere this fatal hour had birth. 
 Thy doom is seal'd ; hell hath its hour of joy, 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 49 
 
 Thou traitor, an eternity of woe : 
 The meditation of thy heart shall hurl 
 Thee to perdition and thy Lord to death. 
 Now Judas down the mountain turn'd his steps; 
 Not so the tempter ; he from the high rock, 
 Exalted where he stood, his impious eye 320 
 Glanc'd o'er the city of God, full in his view 
 From east to west in moony crescent stretch'd. 
 Here yet Jehovah was ador'd, here reign'd ; 
 All else to Satan and his idol gods [names 
 Thro' earth's wide range belong'd ; to their dire 
 Each temple echo'd...ev , ry knee was bow'd. 
 How oft, e'en here, upon his holy hill, 
 Did Judah's kings with their polluted groves 
 Affront God's house, and pagan altars raise 
 To Chemos, Milcom, Ashtoreth, and ail 330 
 The host of heav'n, within his sacred courts ! 
 Witness that impious king, who pass'd his sou 
 Through fire to Moloch, homicidal god, 
 Which rous'd th' Almighty's vengeance, and 
 
 entail'd 
 Mournful captivity on all his race. 
 Hither, as to the delug'd world of old, 
 In promis'd time, the dove of peace was sent ; 
 Upon this Ararat, his sacred mount, 
 He rested ; hence salvation dawn'd on man. 
 Him to destroy the tempter now aspir'd, 340 
 Secure of his new convert firmly leagu'd 
 
 G 
 
39 CALVARY; OR, [book n, 
 
 In his dire plot and to perdition sealed. 
 Nor rested en that mount the darkling fiend. 
 Xor further need had he of priestl j garb, 
 Than till he saw Iscariot join the train 
 Of Christ and his disciples ; then at Once 
 To his own airy properties dissolved, 
 A spirit invisible, with eager speed 
 To hell's assembled chiefs he wino^d his flight. 
 The sun had sunk beneath the western hills, 
 And now at evening hour the Jews prepare 
 To celebrate their Passover, ordain' d 
 T' eternize their deliv'rance, when God's wrath 
 Smote every first-born male in Misraim's coast, 
 Save where the blood of lamb piacular, 
 Sprinkling the consecrated door, was found 
 Of the destroying angel. To this feast, 
 Prelusive of his own pure sacrifice 
 And type of his blood-shedding, Jesus came; 
 The guests were present and the table spread : 
 With loins begirt, as men upon the march, 
 And staff in hand, they snatch a hasty meal : 
 This done, in pensive meditation wrapt, 
 The Saviour, conscious of impending death, 
 Sate in the midst ; to his all-present mind 
 The treason and the traitor stood confest. 
 Low'ring abash'd, and from the rest apart, 
 Iscariot at the table's lowest foot [glance. 
 Took post where best he might escape that 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 5 i 
 
 From whose intelligence no heart could hide 
 Its guilty meditations. AH eyes else 
 Were center'd on the Saviour's face divine, 
 Which, with the brightness of the Godhead, 
 Mix'd traces of human sorrow, and display *d 
 The workings of a mind, where mercy scem'd 
 Struggling to reconcile some mortal wrong 
 To pardon and forbearance. Such a look 
 3Iade silence sacred.. .every tongue was mute ; 
 E'en Peter's zeal forbore the vent of words, 
 Or spent itself in murmurs half supprest. 380 
 At length the meek Redeemer rais'd his eyes, 
 "Where gentle resignation, tempering grief, 
 Beam'd grace ineffable on all around, 
 And with these words the awful silence broke : 
 
 " Muse not if I am sad, nor stand aghast 
 As doubtful of my constancy. These pangs, 
 And more which I must suffer, were foreseen ; 
 The hour now coming, comes not by surprise... 
 It is the consummation of ray charge, 
 And fills the measure of atonement up. 390 
 
 Shall I then say, Father, avert this hour ? 
 And save me from these agonies ? Not so. 
 With heart prepar'd to suffer and submit 
 I meet my doom forewarned. Yet ere we part 
 Take this last office from your Master's hands ; 
 And when you see me stoop to wash your feet, 
 As soon you shall, remember 'tis your Lord, 
 
53 CALVARY; OB, [book n. 
 
 Your dying Lord this Legacy bequeaths, 
 And edify by his humility." 
 
 This said, his seamless mantle he threw off, 
 And girt his tunic close about his waist ; 
 And with mute amazement they beheld 
 The Son of God, in servant-like attire, 
 Prepar'd. to execute his menial task. 
 All gaz'd, all wonder'd, but no voice oppos'd ; 
 None dar'd to pray forbearance of the deed, 
 Till he, whose heart was ever on his lips, 
 Peter, in warm expostulation cry'd : 
 
 " Lord, doest thou wash my feet, thy servant's 
 feet, 
 Mean as the dust he treads on ? Never, Lord, 
 Never shalt thou do that for one so vile, 
 So all-unworthy : That be far from thee ! 
 Such homage ill beseemeth thee to pay... 
 Me to receive." — To him the Lord replied : 
 
 " Peter, as yet thou know'st not what I do — 
 Hereafter thou shalt know ; therefore no more : 
 Cease to oppose, for if I wash thee not, 
 With me thou hast no part." Struck to the soul 
 With horror at the thought, his eager words, 
 Wing'd with the flame of rhapsody, burst forth: 
 
 "Oh ! not my feet alone.. .my hands, my head, 
 Wash me all o'er, and sanctify each part." 
 
 " There needs not this," the meek Redeemer 
 cry'd, 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 53 
 
 :< Enough is done ; thus wash'd, tho' but in part, 
 Thou shalt be clean thro'out. Yet I'll not say 
 Ye are all clean. Spite of the Shepherd's care, 
 The taint hath touch'd his flock. Alas ! for him 
 On whom the foul contamination lights ; 
 Woe to that wretch that ever he was born ! 
 And do ye need a comment to expound 430 
 This lesson of humility and love ? 
 Ye call me Lord and Master ; well ye say. 
 For such in truth I am ; if then your Lord 
 Be meek and lowly, will not ye renounce 
 Pride and contention ? If the Master stoops 
 To wash his feet who serves, shall ye do less 
 To these your equal brethren? Learn of me, 
 And each with other deal, as I with you. [nigh 
 Write on your hearts my words ; the time draws 
 When I shall speak no more with you on earth. 
 Ye have all heard ; how blest if ye obey ! 
 I speak not of you all : Whilst here ye sit 
 In seeming fellowship around this board, 
 Sharing the social meal, my last on earth, 
 Doubt not but I can search into your breasts, 
 And see whose hearts are loyal, whose is false : 
 And mark me well, I fall not bv man's wiles — 
 Not unpredicted is the trait'rous act, [hand 
 And well I know the wretch, whose faithless 
 Dips with me in the dish, shall soon be dy'd 450 
 With my devoted blood. Betray'd I am — 
 
64 CALVARY; OR, [book n. 
 
 Deceiv'd I cannot be." — This when thev heard, 
 Each with the other interchanged a look 
 Of question and suspect; speechless they star'd, 
 Confounded and aghast : As men, drawn forth 
 For decimation, tremble to unfold 
 The lot of life or death, so these in doubt 
 On whom the word of prophecy might light, 
 Curious, yet fearful to inquire of Christ, 
 Searched their own hearts in silence. All per- 
 
 ceiv'd 4&0 
 
 Omnicience, which to God alone belongs, 
 Familiar with their thoughts, and every soul 
 Save that dire wretch whom conscience inly 
 
 smote, 
 Trembled, lest unpremeditated guilt 
 Might be denounc'd upon him, or the sin 
 Of one man, as of Korali, move the Lord 
 With the whole congregation to be wroth. 
 But Peter, in whose ever-anxious mind 
 These terrors undispeli'd long could not dwell, 
 To the belov'd disciple, on the breast 4/0 
 
 Of Christ reclining, now gave sign to ask 
 The fearful question, in what traitor's heart 
 Plot so accurs'd could harbor. Thus besought, 
 Though much his humble nature fear'd offence, 
 In accent soft, with supplicating eye 
 Turn'd on the Master, the meek suitor said : 
 "Lord, shew thy true and faithful servants grace, 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 55 
 
 And let us know the traitor." " He it is," 
 
 Jesus reply'd, ' ; on whom I shall bestow 
 
 This sop, when I have dipp'd it in my cup." 480 
 
 He said, and as he plung'd the morsel in, 
 All eyes were fix'd upon the fatal work, 
 Wond'riug on whom he would bestow the spell 5 
 And soon with silent horror they beheld 
 The saturated sop to Judas giv'n, 
 Pledge of perdition ; he with greedy haste 
 Devour'd it, by the fiend within him urg'd 5 
 For Mammon to the dark divan had told 
 The joyful tidings, and had posted back 
 Swift as the magic whirlwind, conjur'd up 490 
 By all hell's wizard imps, could drive him on, 
 And now sat nestling in the traitor's heart, 
 Brooding his filthy spawn. Great was the joy 
 Of the infernal tempter, thus to find 
 That guardian Pow'r, whose providence li* 
 
 fear'd, 
 H\ these symbolic elements withdrawn, 
 And his apostate victim now cast out 
 From the Lord's Supper, alien from God's grace ; 
 And soul-surrender'd to hell's gloomy realm. 
 
 Now as the spell within him 'gan to work, 500 
 The traitor's visage, like the troubled sea 
 Up torn and furrow'd with tempestuous winds? 
 Shifted its hues, now deadly pale, aghast 
 And horror struck. now fierared. deform'd 
 
y(5 CALYAIiY ; OR, |_bqok ii. 
 
 "With hellish rage, and from man's semblance 
 
 chang'd 
 To very daemon, terrible to sight. 
 Oh ! what a fall from heav'n to deeper hell 
 Than thought can fathom... horrors worse than 
 
 heart 
 Of man, unless abandon'd of his God. 
 Can suffer or conceive ! Words do but fail 510 
 To paint that unreveal'd abyss, those depths 
 Of the immeasurable profound, where groans, 
 Waitings and woes and tossings amidst fires 
 Unquenchable await the wretch condemn'd ! 
 Meanwhile, in cloudless majesty and mild. 
 The Saviour's face divine on all around 
 Effulgent beam'd ; about his temple shone 
 A radiant glory : This when Judas saw, 
 Whom now the sp'rit of darkness had possess'd. 
 And none such in the sphere of that pure light 
 Long could abide, he started from his couch 
 Prep ar'd for flight, when thus in few the Lord : 
 " Go then ! and what thou hast in hand to do, 
 Do quickly; so depart !" The word of power, 
 Though gentle, yet commanding, Judas heard, 
 And instantly the spirit took him thence ; 
 ^or could he not obey ; for so rebuk'd 
 The prince of hell, Satan himself, had fled. 
 The faithful remnant sate in mute suspense, 
 Pondering what this dismission might import. 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 57 
 
 The Master with a glance discern'd their tho'ts ; 
 He saw them in profound conjecture lost... 
 Humbled in heart and sad — their honor stain' d 
 By base defection, and their faitli convuls'd : 
 When thus, at once to strengthen and console 
 Their wav'ring minds, these healing words he 
 spake : 
 
 u Let not your hearts be troubled : Ye believe 
 In God ; believe also in me his Son. 
 Doubt not but in the compass of the heav'ns 
 My Father will provide, for all his saints, 540 
 Mansions of peace, seats of eternal bliss, [dwell, 
 Where sp'rits made perfect after death shall 
 And rest from earthly toils. Thither I go 
 To seal your sure election, and prepare 
 For you, my faithful servants, an abode ; 
 That, as in sorrow here, so there in bliss 
 With me your Lord, now dying for your sakes, 
 Ye may surmount the grave, and ever live 
 In heavenly communion undisturb'd. 
 Lament not therefore if I now depart, 550 
 
 Your provident precursor, for ye know 
 Whither I go, and also know the way. 
 
 " Lord,weare ignorant and dim-sighted men," 
 Thomas reply'd ; " we see not what thou see'st $ 
 And as it stands not in our reach to guess 
 Whither thou go*st, how should we know the 
 way :" 
 
 H 
 
58 CALVARY; OR, [book ii. 
 
 " I am the Way," th' inspired Teacher cry'd, 
 " I am the Truth, the Life : None can approach 
 The Father but by me ; me had ye known, 
 This blindness had been done away ; and now 
 Behold Him present !" — " Where ?" still doubt- 
 ing cry'd 
 One of the astonish'd number ; "Oh! impart 
 That intellectual vision to discern 
 And see the Father ; set Him in our view 
 In form demonstrative ; we ask no more." 
 " Say'st thou ?" resum'd the Lord, " and have 
 I been 
 So long familiar, yet so little known ? 
 Will not the works, O Philip, I have done... 
 Done in thy sight, instruct thee whence 1 am, 
 And what my pow'r ? Doth there need light for 
 this ? [thee, 
 
 "Midst the broad blaze of proofs that shine about 
 Canst thou not see God's presence in his power? 
 Of this mortality which ye behold, 
 This fleshy self, I speak not ; 'tis the Spirit, 
 The virtue of my Father, which is in me... 
 In act how visible, in voice how strong, 
 Clear, and express ! And can you see and henr 
 And yet withhold belief? Oh, slow of faith ! 
 Tf words cannot; persuade, let works convince : 
 If miracles, which only God can do, 580 
 
 \vo done before your eyes, how say you then. 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 39 
 
 • Shew us the Father ?' Sanctify your hearts 
 
 From fear and terror ; though the hour come on, 
 
 When to the silent mansions of the dead, 
 
 From this impendent world, I must withdraw, 
 
 Mourn not, but let your grief he turn'd to joy : 
 
 For as in me the Father, so in Him 
 
 I live and move ; my Spirit, though unseen, 
 
 Still present, shall protect and hover o'er you. 
 
 I will not leave you comfortless ; my Name 590 
 
 Shall be your tower of refuge ; with my peace 
 
 Now dying I endow you : of that peace [poil'd ; 
 
 By this world's pow'rs you ne'er shall be des- 
 
 And in my name whatever ye shall ask 
 
 Believing, ye shall have. By faith in me 
 
 Ye shall command the elements. ..uplift 
 
 The everlasting mountains by their roots, 
 
 And whelm them in the centre of the sea. 
 
 Thus in my name potential ye shall do, 
 
 And greater works than these. By faith in me 
 
 Ye shall confront th' oppressor ; 'midst the 
 shock 
 
 Of tribulations and the angry scorn 
 
 Of a malignant world, abhorr'd, despis'd, 
 
 Thrust from their synagogues, ye shall possess 
 
 Your souls in patience, glorying to endure 
 
 Like tribulation with your martyr'd Lord. 
 
 Despair not, therefore, for before that day 
 
 A Comforter shall come, whom I will send, 
 
60 CALYARY; OR, [book n. 
 
 And he shall teach you all things. When ye 
 
 stand 
 Before the judgment seat of impious men, 
 Friendless, accus'd, environ'd with a throng 
 Of perjur'd witnesses athirst for hlood, 
 Your Guardian Spirit shall provide a voice, 
 Action and eloquence, and prompt your lips, 
 "With untaught language, to resound my Name 
 With tongue miraculous through all the world. 
 Wars then and rumors, and portentous signs, 
 Famine and earthquakes and disastrous plagues 
 Shall vex the nations ; prophets shall arise, 
 With lying divinations to confound 620 
 
 The weak, pervert the wavering, and perplex 
 The very saints themselves. Await the time ; 
 These are but harbingers of mightier woes ,* 
 The day of terror is but in its dawn. 
 The powers of earth and heav'n must undergo 
 Direful convulsion ; this majestic pile, 
 This temple, shall become so mere a wreck, 
 That not one stone shall rest upon another. 
 Then shall your hour of tribulation come ; 
 Then, to confess my name shall be your crime, 
 By torture and by death to be aton'd. 
 The tyrants of the world shall then let loose 
 Their persecuting rage, and great shall be 
 The falling-off of many ; rocks and caves 
 Shall be your hiding-places ; yet from thence 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 6i 
 
 Your sound shall echo to the farthest ends 
 Of the redeemed earth ; from those dark cells 
 The beams of revelation shall break forth, 
 Maugre the pow'rs of hell ; and blest is he, 
 Whose faith unshaken shall abide the time, 640 
 Till the great end and consummation comes, 
 My peace and my salvation to insure. 
 Few are the moments now and passing swift, 
 Which thus conversing we have vet in hand. 
 Servants no more. ..henceforth I call you friends; 
 Therefore, as friends and children, let your love 
 Each to the other knit your hearts together 
 In brotherly communion ; this command, 
 !NTew to the world, I give you : Let good will, 
 And peace and concord harmonize your souls, 
 And mark you as the followers of Him, 
 Whose every act was charity — whose life 
 Was spent and clos'd expiring for your sakes. 
 And stronger proof of love what man can give, 
 Than to yield up his body to the grave, 
 And die, as shortly I shall, for his friends ? 
 Time was that I have shadow'd out my speech 
 In proverbs and allusions ; time now is 
 To cast obscurity aside, and shew 
 Th' unveil'd glories of the Father to you. 660 
 Henceforward ye shall ask of Him and have ; 
 My name for your petitions shall suffice ; 
 My pray'rs ye need not, for the Father's love 
 
62 CALVARY; OR, [book n. 
 
 Without an intercessor shall protect 
 Mine, as you love me, and prevent your wants. 
 From Him I came into this world ; to Him, 
 This world now leaving, I again return." 
 This said, conviction smote their glowing 
 
 hearts 
 With faith, and hope's bright image new inspired, 
 And scenes of future glory beaming on them : 
 When thus, with voices join'd in loud acclaim, 
 Christ in the Godhead manifest they haii*d : 
 *' Now. Lord, we hear and understand thy 
 
 words... 
 Plain words and not in parables involv'd. 
 Now arc we sure all knowledge is revealed. 
 All pow'r committed to thee from above, 
 And without further question we believe, 
 And henceforth know thou earnest forth from 
 
 God." 
 u Do ye at length believe ?" the Master cry'd ; 
 li Behold, the hour comes on, yea, now is 
 
 come, 680 
 
 When your strong faith shall stagger at the 
 
 scene 
 Of these impending horrors, and shrink back 
 Confounded and appall'd ; to the four winds, 
 Wide as your fears can spread yon, all shall fly, 
 And leave me struggling, with a storm of woes. 
 Unfriended and alone. What did I say ? 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 63 
 
 Alone I cannot be ; for in me dwells 
 
 The Father ever present. Let this thought 
 
 Arm you with constancy to meet the shock 
 
 Of tribulation, and withstand the powers 690 
 
 Of this brief world ; for, to your comfort know, 
 
 I have overcome the world." This said, he 
 
 paus'd, [tranc'd, 
 
 And sate, whilst all were hush'd, as one eu- 
 So fast the heav'nly vision pour'd upon him : 
 Then, with uplifted eyes and heaving breast, 
 Full of his God, this solemn pray , r breath' d 
 
 forth : 
 " O Father ! give thy glory to the Son, 
 As he hath glorified thy Name on earth, 
 And these, whom thou hast giv'n him, taught to 
 
 know 
 Thee, the true God alone, and Jesus Christ, 
 Thy Messenger and Advocate with thee 
 For lost mankind. Father ! to me restore 
 That glory, which was mine before all time. 
 Or ere the world was made, and man fell oft 1 
 From his obedience, now at length redeem "d 
 From sin by my atonement, and made heir 
 Of life eternal, purchas'd with my blood. 
 The act of mediation is complete ; 
 Thy work is finish'd, and thy name gone forth 
 These of thine election : Thine they were, 710 
 To me thou gav'st them, mid thev have receiv'd 
 
64 CALVARY; 0P V [book n. 
 
 And kept as faithful witnesses thy word. 
 For them I pray : The world, which now I leave, 
 Hath no more part with me : for them alone, 
 Xotfor the world, I pray ; they must abide.... 
 I shall depart, and be at peace with Thee. 
 
 holy Father ! keep them in thy Name 
 Whole and entire, link'd in the bond of faith, 
 Firm as I hold them : One alone is lost, 
 
 Son of perdition ! him the prophets saw 720 
 In their prospective visions, and foretold 
 That so thy Son should suffer ; but for these, 
 They are unstain'd ; they stand not in the guilt 
 And condemnation of that wretch accurst. 
 
 1 pray thee not to take them from the world. 
 Through which I send them forth as shining 
 
 lights [search 
 
 To draw men's eyes and hearts, and guide their 
 To the bright source whence thy salvation 
 
 beams. 
 These are my ministers, as I am thine ; 
 Oh ! sanctify them thro' thy truth ! For them. 
 And all through them converted to thy word, 
 Father, I pray. Translate them in thy time 
 From this unquiet world to that high state 
 Of heav'nly bliss, where they may dwell with me 
 And see my glory : So shall they receive 
 Thy love, thro' me transfus'd into their hearts, 
 And rest from all their sorrows in thy peace. 
 
THE DEATH OF CHBIST. 65 
 
 So spake the Lord, and with these gracious 
 words 
 His faithful remnant cheer'd ; for soft they fell 
 As heav'n's West dew upon the thirsty hills, 740 
 And sweet the healing balm, which they distill'4 
 On sorrow-wounded souls. Now treach'rous eve 
 Crept silent on, and threw her dusky veil 
 O'er Nature's face, masking the deeds of men. 
 The Saviour rose ; for in his conscious breast 
 A warning voice had whisper'd, " Up, arise, 
 Go forth to death ! One solemn act remains... 
 One sacrifice ; 'tis now God's wrath demands 
 Atonement— a whole world's redemption now 
 Hangs on the minute's point." Behold him,then, 
 A voluntary victim, leading forth 
 His sad disciples to the fatal spot, 
 Where treason lurk'd in ambush for his life, 
 Where stood the prince of darkness and his 
 
 powers, 
 Arm'd with commission'd terrors to assail 
 Him single.. .him forsaken. ..him oppos'd 
 To myriads, whilst heav'n's angels soar'd aloof 9 
 Trembling spectators of th' unequal strife. 
 Who now so comfortless as God's own Son ? 
 His soul in woes unutterable whelm'd, 760 
 All commerce with its native heav'n deny'd, 
 Press'd down to earth; nor other strength had hcj 
 Than in his human nature might be found, 
 
 I 
 
66 CALVARY; OR, [book u. 
 
 To combat more than human agonies, 
 
 Accumulated pangs, which all the sins 
 
 Of all the world, from loss of paradise 
 
 By man's first fall, to the last damning page 
 
 Of heav'n's black register, had pil'd upon him, 
 
 The mass of ages. Oh ! what tongue can speak 
 
 The love of our Redeemer ? And yet man, 770 
 
 Ungrateful, impious man, hourly reviles 
 
 His Benefactor's name... affects the style 
 
 Of sophistry and metaphysic pride 
 
 To quibble with salvation, and renounce 
 
 Those guides, that lead us by the hand to heav'n. 
 
 This tliey call reason.. .this man's natural right 
 
 To question his Creator, and in pride 
 
 Of independent dignity reject 
 
 Salvation, rather than consent to own 
 
 God's privilege to save him by such means 780 
 
 As to God's wisdom best and meetest seem'd. 
 
 Such monsters doth this teeming earth produce ! 
 
 Impious audacity ! which dares to say, 
 
 " I need no Mediator...! disclaim 
 
 Christ and his offer'd peace ; 'twixt God and me 
 
 I want no advocate to plead my cause — 
 
 By my own rectitude I stand or fall : 
 
 The evangelic volumes I regard 
 
 As fabricated tales of juggling tricks, 
 
 Witness' d by none but partners in the craft : 
 
 Deep read in pagan story. I confront 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. ft 
 
 The sacred records with the silent page 
 
 Of those, who register no strange eclipse, 
 
 No noon-day darkness, not one friendly groan 
 
 Of sympathizing nature to attest 
 
 Christ's dying hour.*' — Shut, shut the Book of 
 
 Life- 
 Go to the Jews, the Pagans, for thy creed ; 
 Go to the dust, blasphemer ? In the ear 
 Of Death whisper thy doubts, and learn of him 
 Thy folly's confutation and thy doom, 800 
 
 In those sad realms, to which he shall conduct 
 Thy trembling soul, when the arch-angel*s 
 
 trump 
 Hath summon'd thee to judgment, and set ope 
 The grave, thy rashness deem'd forever clos'd. 
 
 END OF THE SECOND BOOK, 
 
CALVARY; 
 
 OR, 
 
 THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 
 
 BOOK III. 
 
ARGUMENT OF THE THIRD BOOK. 
 
 Iscariot, having separated himself from Christ, wanders through the 
 streets of the city in a disconsolate maimer, and at length arrives at 
 the brook Cedron without the gates. Here he breaks forth into solilo- 
 quy, in which, after reviewing his past situation, he affects to justify 
 his present motives for betraying his Master to the priests. Christ and 
 his disciples, proceeding to the Mount of Olives, are discovered by him 
 as they are passing the brook in their way thither, and Judas resolves 
 upon availing himself of the opportunity far delivering Christ into the 
 hands of his enemies. In the mean time, the priests and elders assem- 
 ble ia the palace of Caiaphas, and there hold a council upon the meas- 
 ures to be pursued for the apprehension of Christ : The high priest 
 harangues the assembly to this immediate purport : In the interim, Ju- 
 das is announced, and being admitted, makes his proposal to the coun- 
 cil : this produces some observations on the part of Caiaphas, and is 
 objected toby Nicodemus, who, after delivering his opinion, quits the 
 assembly. Caiaphas then takes up the matter afresh, controverts the 
 sentiments of Nicodemus, and, with the approbation of all present, clo- 
 ses with the proposals of Judas, and sends out a company with that 
 traitorous disciple to the Mount of Olives, there to apprehend the per- 
 son of Christ. The assembly breaks up, and the hall is no sooner evac- 
 uated by the priests and elders than their seats are filled by Satan and 
 his infernal spirits. Satan addresses to them a congratulatory speech on 
 the success of Mammon's temptation, on whom he bestows many high 
 encomiums ; an ovation takes place in honor of that daemon, when 
 Chemos appears, wounded by the spear of Gabriel, whom he had en- 
 countered on the Mount of Olives, where he had been posted as a spy 
 upon the motions of Christ and his disciples. Satan, enraged at the 
 account, sallies forth with a resolution to revenge the attack, by punish- 
 ing the temerity of Gabriel — arms himself for the occasion, and, after 
 much proud vaunting of his superior prowess, disappears, and the in- 
 fernal spirits disperse. 
 
CALVARY, &c. 
 
 BOOK III. 
 
 THE TREASON OF JUDAS. 
 
 U ARK came the eveningon, and the pale moon, 
 Now faintly glimm'ring through a wint'ry cloud, 
 Shed her dim horrors o'er the shadowy earth ; 
 Whilst through the silent streets, with step dis- 
 turbed, 
 And heart by hellish meditation rent, 
 The outcast of the Lord pursu'd his way— 
 Iscariot, name for evermore accurst. 
 Onward he went, unquestioned, unobserved, 
 (For all upon this solemn night kept house.) 
 Nor stopped till forth the city gates he came 10 
 ToCedron's brook, whose bubbling current laves 
 The olive-crown' d Mount, favour'd of Christ 
 For its umbrageous groves and silent haunts, 
 For pray-r and contemplation fit retreat. 
 Here first, as one awaken'd to new thoughts, 
 Starting, lie check'd his step, and with a groan. 
 That rent his lab'ring bosom, thus broke forth : 
 '" Oh, my torn heart ! Oh. soul-tormenting 
 scenes ! 
 
7S C'ALVARlf; OR, [book hi. 
 
 Can I forget the blissful hours I've pass'd 
 Beneath your shades, list'ning the Master's 
 words ? 20 
 
 When, as he spake of heav'n and heav'nly joys, 
 Of righteousness and the blest sp'rits with God, 
 Such life in his description glow'd, inethought 
 All paradise was present to my view 
 And courted me to enter. Heav'n and earth 1 
 Must I remember ? Never man like him 
 Could with such magic eloquence entrance 
 The senses of his hearers, lift the soul 
 To heav'nly contemplations, and transport 
 To thoughts beyond itself ; thence to look down 
 Upon this lower world and all its cares, 
 Its pains, its persecutions with contempt : 
 Sometimes, envelop'd in mysterious schemes 
 And parables, lie couch'd the moral truth, 
 Which, painted on the memory, left its tints 
 Indelible : But when, with tongue inspir'd. 
 The fall of nations he foretold, and drew 
 The curtain of futurity aside ; 
 When in the pomp of numbers he descrlb'd 
 Jerusalem beleaguer'd with a host 4Q 
 
 Of Gentile foes, and trodden down to dust, 
 Her matrons and her virgins whelm'd in blood. 
 Or dragg'd to violation, shame and bondage, 
 By ruffian spoilers; when his soaring flight, 
 Spurning the world's wide compass, scal'd the 
 skies. 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 78 
 
 And there, amidst the empyrean fields, 
 
 As in his proper region, shook the spheres 
 
 Of sun, moon, stars, as with a master's hand, 
 
 And shew'd them falling in prophetic awe 
 
 Of his own glorious coming in a cloud 50 
 
 With pow'r and state supernal ; then our hearts 
 
 With sympathetic raptures burnt within us, 
 
 And we, vain mortals, saw, or thought we saw, 
 
 Our own vile bodies glorify'd to share 
 
 In his triumphant entry, and ourselves 
 
 To dignities and thrones and starry spheres 
 
 Exalted, loftiest in the realms of light. 
 
 But now these bright illusions are no more — 
 
 Vanish'd these glitt'ring scenes, my claims on 
 
 heav'n 
 All caneelPd, and my hopes a bankrupt's dream, 
 Mocking the haunted fancy with a pile 
 Of visionary wealth. Behold me sham'd, 
 Banish'd his board, detected, and my thoughts 
 Turn'd outward to provoke my brethren's scorn. 
 And blazon forth his prescience : Let that pass ! 
 Traitor pronounc'd, a traitor I will be ; 
 That prophecy at least shall be fulfill'd. 
 Though, master of my will, I could refute 
 And dash his bold prediction, yet my heart 
 Ponders revenge more suited to its wrongs, 70 
 Greater than such slight triumph can bestow. 
 And not less terrible than death itself. 
 
 K 
 
74 CALVARY; OR, [book hi. 
 
 This night, the last that he shall walk at large — 
 This night shall be his triumph or his fall. 
 If these grave elders who conspire his death — 
 These reverend priests revolt not from the deed, 
 That casts on them, their function and their tribe, 
 The peril of his blood, why should my heart 
 Shrink from its purpose ? What have I to fear 
 In act subordinate, in cause supreme, 80 
 
 Traitor prejudg'd, of uncommitted crimes 
 Arraign'd, and thrown upon the world con- 
 demn'd ?" 
 More he had said ; but, like a serpent coil'd, 
 With sudden start he shrunk into himself, 
 And, list* ning, held his breath to catch the sound 
 Of steps, that, echoing o'er the flinty soil, 
 Bespoke a company in near approach : [heard ; 
 With these the Master's well-known voice he 
 Whereat, like murd'rous Cain when call'dofGod, 
 The cow'ring, conscious outcast slunk aside, 90 
 And wrapp'd his russet cloak about his head, 
 Then darkling stood ; the holy troop meanwhile 
 Forded the shallow brook, and held their way 
 Straight to the Olive Mount, their wonted haunt. 
 Forth sprung the lurking caitiff from his watch : 
 The greedy Mammon rush'd upon his heart, 
 Glorying that now he held them in his net, 
 Darkness conspiring with occasions apt 
 Of hour and place to make his vengeance sure. 
 
THE DEATH OF CHBIST. 75. 
 
 Remorse was dead within him. ..every sense 100 
 Of virtue lost*. .yet in his coward breast 
 Such languor, dread, and cold repugnance dwelt, 
 Scarce could the breath of hell's worse fiend 
 
 suffice 
 To blow it into flame : Now sudden rage 
 Impell'd him onward ; now, with palsied fear 
 Struck back, he reel'd and shook in ev'ry joint. 
 This Satan saw, and evermore at hand 
 To drive the wav'ring sinner to Ms doom, 
 Breath'd all his sp'rit upon him ; direr blast 
 Cocy tus never vented — the full tide 110 
 
 Of aconite engender'd with his blood, 
 His brain set ev'ry fev'rish nerve in play, 
 And screw'd his heated fancy to the pitch 
 Of daring and defiance : yet the wretch, 
 No less a traitor to himself than Christ, 
 Or ere the acting of the dreadful deed, 
 Thus strove, by sophistry, to gloss it o'er : 
 " Why do I doubt ? What horrors shake my 
 mind ? 
 Why should not my affronted honor stir 
 Me to betray, as their insulted law ISO 
 
 Provokes our elders to destroy their foe ? 
 For Moses they, I for myself oppose ? [heart 
 And where's the wrong, if he, who knows my 
 And all its meditations, will not deign 
 To turn it from its purpose, and divert 
 
76 CALVARY; OR, [book hi. 
 
 The danger he foreknows ; nay, rather helps 
 To lure the embryo treason into birth ? 
 Either his own free will makes death its choice. 
 And so becomes accomplice in the deed ; 
 Or else, foredoom'd to die, he knows his hour ; 
 And thus, not acting of ourselves, but ruPd 
 By strong necessity, we stand absolv'd, 
 Mere guiltless tools and instruments of fate. 
 What then ? Why let the scriptures be fulfill'd : 
 Let prophecies, which are the voice of God, 
 Sound out his knell ; we fight not against heav'n. 
 Let Christ, if glory waits him in the grave, 
 Descend into the dust and seek it there : 
 If his soul covets to make league with death, 
 And dwell in consort with corruption's worm, 
 What time more apt for death than this dark 
 
 hour, 
 linage of death itself? And who so fit 
 As God's high-priest, the temple's minister, 
 To put life's intervening veil aside, 
 And usher him to glory ? I, meanwhile, 
 His humble harbinger, will go before [road 
 T' announce his coming, and make clear the 
 That leads to death, the goal of his ambition. 
 Yet how if all this tame indifference 
 Be but a feint to draw the world about him, 450 
 And then amaze them with some grand display 
 Of wonder-working power ? And who can tell 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 77 
 
 How far his hand miraculous may stretch, 
 Who from the tomb pluck'd forth the fest'ring 
 
 corpse 
 Of shrouded Lazarus, three days in earth, 
 And bade him live again ? Stupendous act ! 
 This we beheld, and hail'd him Lord of Life ! 
 But still the unconverted Jews stood off, 
 And deem'd us witnesses of slight account, 
 Weak, cred'lous men, first dup'd, and thence 
 - become 160 
 
 Associates in imposture. What remains 
 But instantly to put my thoughts in act, 
 And yield him up to those, who, in th' attempt 
 Succeeding, vindicate their disbelief... 
 Failing, abide the shame of their defeat ? 
 In this or that opinion there must be 
 A dangerous error : to persist were fatal : 
 This night dispels all doubt. If he be Christ, 
 He lives confest, and triumphs over death ; 
 If man, he falls unpitied and abjur'd." 170 
 
 Tims for foul deeds pretending fair excuse, 
 The caitiff wretch, on trait'rous errand bent, 
 Back through the city gates pursu'd his way, 
 And to his nightly assignation hied. 
 
 Perch'd on the summit of the sacred Mount, 
 Should'ring God's temple, a proud palace stood: 
 There dwelt the sovereign pontiff, and this night 
 Held solemn convocation and consult, 
 
78 CALVARY; OR, [bo.kiii. 
 
 Not for God's glory — other cares had they... 
 Cares nearer to their selfish hearts. ..concerns 
 Heav'n had no part in... impious, dire cabals, 
 How to prevent the day-spring from on high, 
 How by Christ's revelation, and his acts 
 Miraculous, just dawning on the world ; 
 Aforetime wrapt in darkness black as death, 
 Best veil for their hypocrisy and craft. 
 In their great hall of council, there in ranks, 
 Precedencies, and dignities dispos'd... 
 Doctors, and long-rob'd pharisees, and scribes, 
 And bearded elders met ; senate, to whom 190 
 For machinations, plots, and secret wiles, 
 Rome's purple conclave stoops. High over all 
 On throne pontifical, in robes of state, 
 With sacred ephod girt of various hues, [gems, 
 And breast-plate glittering bright with mystic 
 Mitre-crown'd Caiaphas, the temple's chief, 
 Exalted sate : The sanhedrim was full. 
 All came, whom lust of power, or bigot zeal, 
 Or enmity to Christ rous'd to the call ; 
 Mouth-worshippers of God, agents of hell 200 
 In heart, and hypocrites abhorr'd of Christ, 
 To public scorn held up and pictur'd out 
 As rebel husbandmen, who basely slew 
 Their Lord's commission'd Son. Scarce was 
 
 there one, 
 Whose galled conscience had not felt the sting 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 79 
 
 Of some keen truth extorted from the lips 
 Of the else-humble Jesus, meek to all 
 But the proud pharisee or cav'lling scribe... 
 To knaves, who thought by cunning to outwit 
 Wisdom itself, and snare him in his talk ; £10 
 To hypocrites, who fasted oft with sad 
 And woe-worn faces to be seen of men, 
 Or such as made long pray'rs for a display 
 Of righteousness, and vaunted their good deeds, 
 Mocking their conscience and insulting heav'n : 
 To these, in all the majesty of truth, 
 Frowning he spake, nor spar'd he for rebuke 
 Severe, indignant ; many a time and oft 
 To their whole sect he had denounced woe ; 
 Woe trembled on their heads : What wonder, 
 
 then, 220 
 
 If thus combin'd by interest to oppose 
 His spreading glories, their envenom'd hearts 
 Rankled with envy, hatred, and revenge ? 
 Nor were there wanting to their great divan 
 Those, who can work unseen within the heart, 
 Dark ministers, who know to touch the springs 
 And cords, whose movements can convulse the 
 
 soul 
 With furious passions, bursting from their mine, 
 Like sulph'rous fires that tear the quaking earth. 
 Satan himself was there ; for at this hour 330 
 He and his host Irad furlough upon earth, 
 
30 CALVARY; OR, [book m. 
 
 Daemons of blood, ambition, envy, strife, 
 Rang'd the vex'd world at large. Loud were 
 
 their tongues, 
 And fiery hot their zeal against the Lord, 
 Whose miracles, resounding through the land, 
 Rung in their ears the downfall of their pow'r, 
 Ill-omen'd knell. " Brethren ! 'tis time to 
 
 rouse," 
 Cry'd Caiaphas, and started from his throne 
 Furious as Korah, when at his tent door 
 With his rebellious company he stood, 240 
 
 And, waving high his censer, call'd aloud 
 To mutiny against Moses : So now call*d, 
 With voice as loud, and deeper plung'd in crime 
 Than these who sunk outright, thi: second 
 
 priest, 
 This worse revolter against God himself, 
 In his own Son reflected ; from his state, 
 High o'er their heads exalted, lie look'd down 
 On all beneath ; then, with uplifted eyes 
 And hands extended, as in act to rend 
 His robes pontifical — "Yes, sacred seers," 250 
 Again he cry'd, " yes, venerable priests, 
 Elders, and reverend sages of our law, 
 'Tis more than time to call your vengeance up ; 
 Awake ! ye sleep too long. For me, your slave, 
 Servant of servants — me, by how much more 
 In place exalted so much more in heart 
 
 I 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 81 
 
 Abas'd, as meritless of such high state, 
 I were content to cast these robes aside, 
 Pluck oft* this beard, and on this mitred head, 
 Unworthy of such honors, scatter dust S60 
 
 And ashes, might such penitence avert 
 The shame that for my sins is falling on you, 
 And quell the madd'ning faction now afloat, 
 Since this bold Bethlemite hath started up 
 To mock the church of God. Shall it be said 
 That for my punishment these evils light 
 On you, the righteous ? — that in my day rose 
 This innovator to conspire your fall, 
 To broach new doctrines, and unhinge the faith 
 Of the still wav'ring multitude ? If I, 270 
 
 If I am in the crime — if in your thoughts 
 My negligence hath foster'd this revolt, 
 Make me your sacrifice... thrust me from hence, 
 For this high place unfit ; set up your cross, 
 And there exalt me : But if I am clear, 
 (And this your looks encourage me to hope) — 
 If Christ not Caiapiias deserves the death, 
 Why do you pause ? What terror holds you back ? 
 Time-honor'd rabbi, elders, sages, guides 
 And masters of our Israel ! ye by whom 280 
 Our synagogues are taught, of God's own law 
 Interpreters ordain'd, which of your grave 
 And reverend council will at once unfold 
 To my yet faithless ears the mighty spell 
 
 L 
 
82 CALVARY; 01?, [book hi. 
 
 By which this Jesus works ? Who will expound 
 This prodigy that sets the crowd agape... 
 This more than man, of whom the people bruit 
 These more than human doings? You are dumb ; 
 None offers a reply ; for none will say 
 This wisdom and these mighty works accord 
 "With one so mean of birth.. .with Joseph's Son, 
 A base mechanic. Fitter task for him 
 To use his father's craft, and humbly ply 
 The workman's tools, than in the temple sit 
 Disputing with our doctors ; or withdrawn, 
 As late the Baptist, to some desart mount, 
 There sit in sullen dignity enthron'd, 
 And from his rocky theatre declaim [heard 
 To list'ning thousands. Here be some have 
 His doctrines. ..many have endur'd his taunts, 300 
 And though in wise and weli-pois'd minds like 
 
 yours 
 Such meteors breed no terror, yet they draw 
 The gazing vulgar, and so rank a taint [doubt 
 Runs through th' infected fold, that much I 
 If half the Hock of Israel be not touch'd ; 
 So diligent is he to spread the plague — 
 So careless we to stem it. If his word 
 Be suffer' d thus to overturn our law, 
 The monument of ages, then, alas ! 
 We've seen the last of these solemnities : 310 
 Before this night returns there'll not be found 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 83 
 
 Or lamb for sacrifice, or priest to slay, 
 0<- temple to receive our Paschal rites ; [world, 
 Rome, whose ambition grasps the conquer'd 
 Shall plant her eagles on our holy mount, 
 And Jupiter usurp Jehovah's shrine." 
 
 He paus'd, yet stood as one in act to speak t 
 Struggling for words, which furious passion 
 
 choak'd 
 And .stifled on his tongue ; a stormy cloud 
 Huns; on his brow, his visage ghastly pale, 320 
 Madd'ning with rage he stampt and shook his 
 
 robe. 
 As when the Delphic prophetess, convuls'd 
 And foaming on her tripod, sets aghast 
 The scar'd enthusiasts, who believe her fill'd 
 And fighting with the God oracular ; 
 So through the hall of council silence reign'd, 
 Whilst expectation turn'd ail eyes and ears 
 On their wrapt prophet ; till the word being giv'n, 
 That one of Christ's disciples stood without, 
 And instant audience crav'd, that awful name 
 Their spell-bound faculties at once set free ; 
 Instant loud murmurs fill'd the vaulted roofj 
 Like the deep roar of subterranean tides, 
 Whose eddies undermine the cavern'd shores 
 Of sea-girt Mona or Bermuda's isle. 
 This past, the senate's chief resum'd his throne ; 
 Whence from his state inclining lie gave sign 
 
84 CALVARY; OH, [book hi. 
 
 For silence, and commanded to admit 
 Their unexpected suitor ; at the word 
 Wide flew the doors apart, and there behold, 
 With cloak t' the knee tucked up, and staff in 
 
 hand, 
 Iscariot, caitiff viler than the worst 
 That e'er wore nilsjrim's sanctimonious garb 
 In after times, when fierce crusading zeal 
 Sent forth its wandering eremites to put 
 The murd'rous sword in meek Religion's hand, 
 The cross, on which our patient Lord expir'd, 
 Their badge of victory, and signal made 
 For their destroying armies, lur'd to war 
 With pardons earn'd in fields of carnage, fought 
 For God's pretended glory, as if (dire hope !) 
 Rivers of blood could waft their souls to heav'n. 
 Founder of these, and prototype of all, 
 Who dy'd the cross with blood, Iscariot stood 
 Full of the fiend, and cast around on all 
 His haggard eyes, that augur'd vengeful ire 
 Andfrauddeep-broodinginhis treach'rous heart : 
 When after pause now summon'd to expound 
 His purpose, whether by his Master sent, 
 Or self-impell'd, thus Mammon's convert spake: 
 
 " Fathers of Israel, patrons of our law, 
 And chiefly thou, great priest, vicar of God, 
 And faithful shepherd of the remnant sav'd 
 From Abraham's scattered flock! I muse not, lords, 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 85 
 
 That you are cast in wonder to behold 
 Me standing in this place — me, to your cause 
 Unfriendly deem'd, and, which to all is known, 
 Nor on my part deny'd, one of the Twelve, 
 And follower of Jesus. But, grave sirs, 
 I do adjure you by your love to truth, 370 
 
 No longer wear this jealous eye upon me, 
 Than to your patient ears I shall unfold, 
 Why hither I am come, not as a thief 
 To steal into your councils, spy them out 
 And after blazon them, but in fair faith 
 And plain sincerity, with no double heart 
 To make confession sure, and give my life 
 A pledge into your hands. Stand not amaz'd, 
 As if it were a thing impossible 
 That Christ's disciple should not be his friend. 
 Mine hath been toilsome husbandry, my lords ; 
 And none but bitter fruits have I reap'dfrom it, 
 Fruits of repentance. Weary days and nights 
 I've minister'd to him without reward, 
 And weary miles full many travelled o'er, 
 Fainting and pinch'd with hunger ; then at night, 
 When the wild creatures of the earth find rest, 
 And covert in their holes, houseless have watch'd 
 Amidst the shock of elements, and brav'd 
 Storms which the mail'd rhinoceros did not dare 
 TJnshelter'd to abide. Sometimes on sea, 
 Lash'd by the surging waves, I've toil'd for life, 
 
86 CALVARY; OR, [book hi. 
 
 Whilst he sate sleeping, reckless of the gale : 
 Rescu'd from these (for I of force confess 
 His pow'r is ahsolute) and safe on shore, 
 My labors ceas'd not with the scene ; new toils, 
 New tasks succeeded : Now to rocks and caves, 
 To sandy wilds, or wheresover else 
 The Spirit led and desolation reign'd, 
 His wandering steps 1 follow'd ; yes, his steps.., 
 But at what distance from his heart he held me, 
 Bear witness, mem'ry ! Others had his heart, 
 Peter and James and John ; to them he breath-d 
 The secrets of his soul — on them he shower'd 
 His promises ; of these he made no thrift — 
 These he abounded in ; to me he gave 
 What he had least in store, a barren purse, 
 And bade me bear it ; no hard task I own, 
 For it was light as beggary could make it, 
 But office most ignoble. Here perchance 410 
 Your wisdom would demand of me a cause, 
 Why I endur'd these slights year after year, 
 And still toil'd on in such a thankless service : 
 What fascination and what spell, you'll ask, 
 Both this man work with, so to charm the mind 
 And lure it on through mortifying toils, 
 Sorrows, and pains, and, worse than these, con- 
 tempts, 
 Yet hold it still enchain'd, slave to his will ? 
 Most equal judges, I must here submit 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. S7 
 
 My weakness to your censure, and refer 420 
 My cause to mercy, or, in self-defence, 
 Conjure you for a moment to descend 
 From your high state, and to my humhle place 
 And peasant thoughts accord your own great 
 
 minds. 
 My lords, I neither mean to varnish o'er 
 My own too feehle nature, nor to smooth 
 The rough sincerity of truth, through fear 
 Or ilattery of those, r fore whom I speak. 
 If Jesus works by spells, I know them not ; 
 Pray'rs, but not incantations, I have heard : 430 
 If these be charms, they are no charms for devils; 
 Yet such he's charg'd withal : Neither by league 
 With Beelzebub, as some have gravely urg'd, 
 Nor art Samaritan, nor else by imp 
 Or genius, as the heathen loudly vouch 
 Of their fam'd Socrates, do I believe 
 His miracles are wrought : Alas ! alas ! 
 Which of hell's ministers will be suborn'd 
 To work his own confusion ? No, they shrink. 
 They tremble ; at his bidding they come forth 
 From men possest...they vanish to the winds... 
 They sink into the pit from whence they sprung. 
 I am a man, my lords, not over-prone 
 To rash credulity, nor apt to veer 
 With ev'ry breath of doctrine, and I- ve heard 
 A voice, that sways the elements;, command 
 
88 CALVABY; OR, [book in. 
 
 Tlie springs of health, making maim'd nature 
 
 whole, 
 Nay, life itself return into the trunk 
 Which it had left, and give a second pulse 
 To the cold heart of death : This to have seen, 
 And not to stand in reverence of the Pow'r 
 That wrought these miracles, were a degree 
 Of apathy above my nature's reach." 
 
 "No more !" cry'd Caiphas, " no more of this! 
 You much abuse our patience with this talk. 
 Here is no place to sound Christ's praises forth ; 
 We are not met to recognize his pow'r, 
 And back his daring claims ; but to chastise 
 Imposture.. .to assert our sacred law, 
 And vindicate the majesty of Heav'n. 
 You tell us you are wearied with the tasks 
 Of a hard Master ; quit him then, and earn 
 A better service — earn a rich reward 
 By yielding him to justice. You well know 
 His haunts, his privacies, his darkling hours. 
 When, without hazard of a public brawl, 
 We may make lawful seizure for the state 
 Of his attainted person : On this point, 
 Ho you will order your discourse aright, 
 You may speak freely ; of his praise no more." 
 
 To him tli' Apostate — "If from my forc'd lips, 
 Unwilling witnesses although they be, [utter, 
 Truth wrings this praise, the last which they will 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 89 
 
 Suffer thus far in candor, and let pass 
 
 These words in justice to a Master's fame, 
 
 Whom I renounce, and with an oath devote 
 
 To wrath... to punishment... to deatli itself, 
 
 Jf death you doom. But oh! most reverend lords. 
 
 It is not as a false and juggling cheat... 
 
 A dealer with familiars I present him 480 
 
 To your just judgment: Wretches vile as these 
 
 Would hut disgrace your wrath and my revenge. 
 
 But take liim as a victim from my hands 
 
 Richer than hecatombs of vulgar blood,. 
 
 A sacrifice for God's high-priest to make, 
 
 Whilst all earth's sceptred monarchs stood a~ 
 
 round 
 To gaze upon the work. Be not deceiv ? d: 
 I know the jeopardy in which I stand, 
 Yet I will on ; in me is no delay : 
 This night, this hour, this instant I am yours 
 To trace him to his haunts. ..to be your guide 
 And marshal you to vengeance. But beware t 
 Let them be chosen men you send, approv'd 
 And constant, tho* the lieav'ns shall rain down 
 fire, [call'd 
 
 And the earth rock beneath them : He, who 
 The dead anatomy to life, can well 
 Make corpses of the living." — Here the voice 
 Of one, who nearest to the throne had place, 
 Cut short the traitor's speech : Of high renown 
 
 M 
 
00 CALYARY; OR, [book in, 
 
 Was lie now rising, Nicodemus, known 500 
 To after-ages as the nightly guest 
 Of Jesus, and his converse with our Lord 
 In holy writ recorded : Grave he was, 
 A Pharisee and ruler of the Jews, 
 Yet not of soul vindictive like the rest, 
 Nor aspect arrogant ; when thus he spake : 
 " I eall the time nl is pent, that is bestow'd 
 On loud-tongu'd orators, whose art it is 
 To launch their hearers upon passion's tide, 
 And drive them on, by gusts of windy words, 
 A giddy, desperate course to rocks and shoals, 
 Which, steer'd hy sage experience, they had 
 
 shunn'd. 
 Such shipwreck of our wisdom we might make, 
 Should we our better senses now permit 
 To take improv'dent counsel of our ears, 
 By this high-ton'ddeclaimer thus assail' d ; 
 
 1 pray you, therefore, carry back your thoughts 
 To times foregone, when prophets have arose 
 And boasted mighty works, which, being done 
 Of man's device and cunning, came to nought. 
 So will it be with Jesus, if his spirit 
 
 Be not of God ; time will o'ertake deceit, 
 If time be let to run ; but cut it short 
 By death's rash stroke,you cover him with glory. 
 And from his ashes raise a mightier name 
 Than living he had reach'd, with all the aid;* 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 91 
 
 Of artifice to back him. Give me, heav'n ! 
 That tolerating policy, which shews 
 No' bitterness in speculative points. 
 Disdaining? from mv heart what this man says..* 
 A traitor says, who comes to sell his Master, 
 My sentence never shall affect the life 
 Of this or any other man, accus'd 
 On vague presumptions ; nor will I say, Bid 
 Till I have that in proof, which merits death. 
 For if this Jesus vaunts himself to be 
 "What he is not, God will confute his pride ; 
 But if with pow ? r divine he acts and speaks, 
 Commission'd to some awful, unseen end, [we 
 Shall man contend with God ? Vain strife ! shall 
 Fall off from our great origin, the faith 
 Of our blest father Abraham ? — shall we, 
 Sore smitten for our trespasses, cut short 
 And wasted to a remnant — we, on whom 
 The guiltless blood of all the prophets rests, 
 Send this man up to heav'n to cry against us, 
 And, to a burthen heavier than enough, 
 Add more and weightier guilt than all the rest ? 
 Heav'n-s grace foresend ! You have my con- 
 science, lords ; 
 I leave it to your thoughts : I stand absolv'd.'' 
 He said ; and, conscious that his words were 
 lost 
 Upon obdurate hearts, departed thence, 
 
92 CALVARY; OR, [book iii. 
 
 So warn'd of God, and from the gulph escap'd 
 Of that night's dire perdition, wherein all, 
 Save him alone, were lost. So in the wreck 
 Of some great admiral, full fraught for war, 
 When his tall vessel splits, and the bold crew 
 Plunge quick into th' abyss, heav'n sometimes 
 
 deigns, 
 By wondrous providence, to snatch one life 
 From the devouring waves, and waft him horns 
 A solitary relict, there to tell 
 God's mercies and his sad companions' fate. 
 
 Him thus departing the proud pontiff ey'd 
 "With look malign, and to these taunts gave vent: 
 
 " Weak is that cause, whose advocate flies 
 from it : 
 I pause to see if any here will follow. [peal. 
 
 None moves, none speaks, none seconds his ap« 
 'Tis well ! One only convert to our foe... 
 One patron of his cause this senate held. 
 And holds no longer. Vanish'd, flown, escap'd ! 
 One heart, one mind, one voice now rules the 
 
 whole. 
 For me, I Uor opinion shift nor place ; 
 Faithful, I shrink from neither. You have heard 
 What this wise elder counsels ; he hath left 
 His conscience as a legacy behind him : 
 Let him, who loves the giver, take the gift j 
 t) for such part as to my share may fall* 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 93 
 
 >corn to engraft that scion on my heart, 
 
 ^hich, if admitted, might impart the seeds 
 
 )f treason and apostacylike his. 580 
 
 rill cold and hot agree — till selfish fear 
 
 ^.nd temporizing maxims coalesce 
 
 rVith patriot zeal for Israel and firm faith 
 
 n God's reveal'd decrees, his thoughts and mine 
 
 kVill never mix, and the attempt to join 
 
 rheir jarring elements could only serve 
 
 ro make this breast a field of mental war. 
 
 klurk, brethren, mark how this man contravenes 
 
 tour antient, just, retaliating law. 
 
 closes said, " Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth !'* 
 
 >o is revenge a virtue : By this rule 
 
 tesus must die ; for who puts out the law, 
 
 5 uts out the light of Israel, stabs the life — 
 
 V.nd life for life is justice upon record. 
 
 rhis ordinance our absent elder spurns ; 
 
 le holds at nought our ancient equity, 
 
 V.nd sets new doctrines forth ; tells us, forsooth* 
 
 rhat we must wait the time.i.wait till the light 
 
 Of Israel be extinct, and leave redress 
 
 For those, who without eyes can spy it out. 600 
 
 Such counsels would make cowards of us all, 
 
 Rebels to God, deserters from the faith, 
 
 rraitors to Israel. Can I wear these robes^ 
 
 ^.iid wear a heart within so vile, so base ? 
 
 fear them away, uncover me to shame* 
 
94 CALVARY ; OB, [book lit* 
 
 Make me the scorn of men, if, thus array'd 
 And deck'd in outside honors, I am found 
 False to that King', whose standard I support. 
 NTo, venerable sages, if your rule 
 Were short to teach us what our duty is, 610 
 The very heathen would inform us of it. 
 The Reman, soldier, who deserts his postj 
 Or sleeping, suffers a surprise, shall die ; 
 But we, with God's own armies in our charge— *■ 
 We, whose commander is the Lord of Hosts, 
 Should we be found thus criminal, what death... 
 What doom, more terrible than death itself, 
 Can recompense such treason? Forth then, lords! 
 Draw out an armed band, and send the m forth ; 
 Behold a ready leader ! Time yet serves ; G2G 
 This night no stir, no stragglers in our streets, 
 To shake the city r s peace ; Jesus secur'd 
 And hither brought, a largess I decree 
 To ail concerned ; to Judas a reward 
 Befitting us to give, him to receive." 
 
 No more ; loud acclamations shook the hall ; 
 Th' assembly rose- — the traitor bow'd assent ; 
 A band of ruffians, arm'd with swords and staves, 
 Forth issued, with Iscariot at their head, 
 And to the Olive Mountain bent their course. 
 
 Oh, hour accurst ! Oh, all ye stars of heav'n ! 
 And thou pale waning moon, etherial lights, 
 First-born of Nature, look nor. ve chaste fires. 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 95 
 
 Upon this monster-breeding earth ! bnt quench 
 Your conscious lamps, and whelm this murderous 
 
 crew 
 In darkness black as their own damning plot. 
 And thou, conductor of the Stygian hand, 
 Vile hypocrite, what fiend inspired the thought 
 To hail thy Master with the kiss of peace, 
 And so betray him ? Wretch, the time will come, 
 When, racked with horror, lost to every hope, 
 Thine agonizing soul shall rue this deed... , 
 Curse its birth-hour, and, whilst thy Master soars 
 To he arm, triumphant over death and sin, 
 Thou shalt sink howling to the depths of hell. 
 Now break your synod up, ye envious priests, 
 Elders, and scribes ! prepare your hardened 
 
 hearts 
 To judge the Lord of Life ! convene your spies 
 To forge false witness, and make smooth the way 
 To man's redemption by the blood of Christ, 
 The very Paschal Lamb, whom, by the type 
 Of this night's sacrifice, ye shadow 'd forth. 
 Blind unbelieving prophets as ye are. 
 Fit hour ye chose, ye murd'rers, to embrue 
 Your cursed hands in that pure Victim's blood. 
 Peace-offering for the sins of lost mankind. 
 Hence to your homes ! there meditate new plots-; 
 The fiends shall be your helpers ; to your fcho'ts 
 Present though not to siajht.thev swarm around, 
 
96 CALVARY; OR, [book m, 
 
 Now here, now there, now hovering overhead, 
 Where, as your enmity to Christ breaks forth. 
 And your blaspheming voices fill the roof, 
 Like streaming vapours from sulphureous lakes. 
 Joyous they catch the welcome sounds, and fan 
 With clapping wings the pestilential air, 
 Applauding as they soar. Now clear the hall ; 
 Yield up your seats, ye substituted fiends ; 
 Hence, minor daemons, give your masters place ! 
 And hark ! the King of Terrors speaks the 
 word ; 
 He calls his shadowy princes. ..they start forth, 
 Expand themselves to sight, and throng the hall ? 
 A synod of infernals. Forms more dire 
 Imagination shapes not, when the wretch, 
 Whom conscience haunts in the dead hour of 
 
 night, 
 Whilst all is dark and silent round his bed, 
 Sees hideous phantoms in his fev'rish dreams. 
 That stare him into madness, with fix'd eyes 
 And threat'ning faces floating in his brain. 
 The ghostly monarch mounts the vacant throne j 
 Gives sign for order ; the superiors sit, 
 Each as his stellar atribute gives rank 
 And place peculiar— the untitled stand 
 Circling their Lucifer, their fallen sun : 
 He of his state more jealous, as in heart 
 Conscious of faded glory, in the midst 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. »7 
 
 INfow rising after many a hard essay 
 To wreathe his war-worn lace into a smile, 
 SemMance at least of joy, at length with voice, 
 Screw'd to the pitch of triumph, vaunting cries : 
 "Pow'rs and dominions, lords by vict'ry's right 
 Of earth and man, now from his Maker won 
 By overthrow of heav'n's last Champion giv'n 
 In God's own city, battle fairly gain'd 
 On hostile ground, his Sion's sacred mount, 
 Warriors, your king applauds you : Thanks, 
 
 brave friends ; 
 Now shall your temples with loud paeans ring... 
 Your vindicated altars and your groves 
 Exhale rich clouds of incense, steaming forth 
 From od'TOiis gums ; your statues gaily crown'd 
 With garlands — every trophy, that the art 700 
 Of painting or of sculpture can bestow, 
 Shall be Lung round to decorate your shrines ; 
 Your oracles henceforth shall find a vo?ce, 
 Which future Christs shall never put to silence, 
 And nations from your lips shall ask their fate. 
 This day to all posterity shall be # 
 
 Sacred to games, processions, triumphs, feasts, 
 Andlaurel-crown'd bards shall hymn your praise. 
 But sure no spirit of etherial mould, 
 (For such of right ye are,) will so forget 710 
 His native dignity as to repine, 
 Or gloat with envy, if I now deman4 
 
 N 
 
98 CALYAPY; OB, [book in. 
 
 Your tribute of especial praise to him, 
 
 Whom '.our joint suffrages deputed first 
 
 To this important embassy; a spirit 
 
 Our subterranean empire cannot mate 
 
 For high authority and potent sway [forth ! 
 
 Overman's subjected heart : Mammon, stand 
 
 Stand forth, thou prosperous, ricji, persuasive 
 
 pow'r, 
 "Worshipped of all, great idol of the world ! 720 
 May fortune on thy patient labours smile, 
 Thou persevering deity ! Pursue 
 Thy darling metal thro' earth's central veins — 
 Ransack her womb for mines ; send forth thy 
 
 slaves 
 To undiscover'd realms, and bid them sap 
 Potosi's glittering mountains for their ore : 
 Pull down her golden temples... strip her kings... 
 Pack them with tortures...wring their secrets out 
 By slow-consuming fires. ..lay nature waste... 
 Let nothing mortal breathe upon the soil 730 
 That covers gold. All hell applauds thy zeal, 
 And all hell's engines shall assist thy search." 
 He said, and lo ! from either side the throne 
 Upon the signal a seraphic choir 
 In equal hands came forth ; the minstrels strike 
 Their golden harps ; swift o'er the sounding 
 
 strings 
 
 Their flying fingers sweep, whilst to the strain 
 
 
THE DEATH OF CHEIST. 99 
 
 3Ielodious voices, though to heav'nly airs 
 Attun'd no longer, still in sweet accord 
 Echo the festive song, now full combin'd 740 
 Pouring the choral torrent on the ear, 
 In parts responsive, now warbling by turns 
 Their sprightly quick tlivisions, swelling now 
 Through all the compass of their tuneful throats 
 Their varying cadences, as fancy prompts. 
 "Whereat the Stygian herd, like them of old 
 Lull'd by the Thebian minstrel, stood at gaze 
 Mute and appeas'd ; for nusic hath a voice, 
 Which e'en the devils obey, and for a while 
 
 * J 
 
 Sweet sounds shall lay their turbid hearts asleep. 
 
 Charm'd into sweet oblivion and renose, 
 
 ■ 
 
 The praise of Mammon the rapt seraphs sung, 
 And gold's almighty pow *r : free flow'd the 
 
 verse ; 
 No need to call the Muse ; for all were there ; 
 ApoHo and the Heliconian 3Iaids, 
 And all that pagan poet e'er invoked 
 Were present to the song. Above the flight 
 Of bold Alcseus, Tisias bard divine, 
 Or Pindar's strain Olympic, high it soar'd 
 In dithyrambic majesty sublime. 760 
 
 At the right hand of hell's terrific lord 
 Mammon exalted sate, and as the choir 
 Chanted their hvinn. his swelling: bosom throbb'd 
 
 ml O 
 
 In concert with the strain : pride flu*h'd his 
 cheek. 
 
loo CALVAKY ; OK, [book at 
 
 jFurrow'd with care and toil ; his eyes, now rais'd 
 From earth, their proper centre, sparkling 
 
 gleam'd 
 Malicious triumph, whilst ovations loud, 
 And thund'ring plaudits shook the trembling roof; 
 
 The song was clos'd, and, order now resum'd, 
 Mammon stood forth to speak ; when, ere the 
 words 770 
 
 From his slow lips found way, the infernal king, 
 With eager action starting from his throne, 
 Gave sign for silence, and thus interpos'd : 
 
 " Pause, worthy sp'ritj awhile ! my mind fore- 
 bodes 
 tJares more immediate, for amid the throng 
 I spy our faithful Chemos ; well I know 
 'Tis not on slight occasion he hath left 
 The post assign'd Iiim 5 and behold ! his looks 
 Augur important tidings. Fall back, friends, 
 And give our gallant centinel access." 780 
 
 Obedient to the word, the opening files 
 Fell back and let him pass ; he to the throne 
 Lowrev'rcnce made, and thus his cbiefaddress r d> 
 
 " Imperial lord of this seraphic host, 
 As I kept station On the faithless mount, 
 Where once my altar blaz'd, revolted now 
 From its allegiance, and with olive crown'd, 
 In token of God's peace, I thence descry'd 
 By glimpse of the pale moon, a vagrant train. 
 
THE DEATH OF CHKIST. 101 
 
 With Jesus at their head, fording the brook, 790 
 As thither bound. I coueh'd upon the watch, 
 So bidd'n, and to their talk gave heedful ear. 
 A melancholy theme the Master chose : 
 Sadly he warns them of his own death's hour 
 ISTow near impending, and how all shall fly, 
 Like scattcr'd sheep, and their lone shepherd 
 
 leave 
 Forlorn, abandoned. This the fiery zeal 
 Of Peter, to our chief well known, disclaims* 
 Who boldly vouches, though all else should 
 
 swerve* 
 His own unshaken constancy ; when Christ, 
 Severe* though not with railing, him reproves, 
 And solemnly denounces triple breach 
 Of this vain boast, and instant, for this night, 
 Or ere the cock's shrill trumpet twice shall 
 
 sound, 
 (So Christ predicts,) he shall be thrice deny'd 
 I Of this self-vaunting man. All this I heard, 
 And held it for my duty to report ; 
 What more ensu'd, imperfectly I learn ; 
 For now the Master taketh three apart, 
 And, much disturb'd in soul and sore amaz'd, 
 Wills them stand off and watch, whilst he retires 
 And vents his grief in pray'r : I saw him fall 
 Prostrate to earth, and vent such heart-felt 
 
 groans, 
 
102 CALVARY ; Oil, [book hi. 
 
 That, were I other than I am, less wrong'd, 
 Less hostile to the tyranny of heav'n, 
 Whence I am exil'd, I had then let fall 
 Weak pity's tear, and heen my nature's fool. 
 But, lords, I cannot so forget your cause, 
 Or my own wrongs, nor would I wear a heart 
 Made of such melting stuff. With noiseless 
 tread 820 
 
 The kneeling suppliant I approach'd, and mark'd 
 His agony of soul, whilst from his brow 
 I saw large drops and gouttes of bloody sweat 
 Incarnadine the dust, on which they fell. 
 Bear witness, my revenge, 'twas there, e'en there. 
 The very spot, on which he knelt and pray'd, 
 Where now his blood, wrung out by agony 
 xls in atonement, dropt, on which my shrine, 
 Kear'd by the wives of the uxorious king, 
 Deck'd out with blazing tapers, proudly shone, 
 And front to front of God's own temple stood, 
 Till Asa's paricidal hand pluck'd up 
 Maacha's groves and burnt my shrine to duste 
 Now hear the sequel : As I stood at gaze, 
 Noting his pray'r, one of the heav'nly band 
 And of the highest, Gabriel, with his spear 
 Coucli'd as for combat, started forth to view, 
 And, frowning, bade me take my flight with speed, 
 Nor trouble that just person. Valiant peers ! 
 I am not one to back at his proud bidding, 840 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 103 
 
 Nor ever did I turn my face to flight 
 Save in our army's universal rout, 
 When all from heav'n fell headlong; to the gulph: 
 Such weapon as I had, this trenchant sword, 
 Of adamantine proof, forthwith I drew ; 
 But ere my arm could wield it, swift as thought 
 I felt his spear's sharp point with forceful thrust 
 Deep plung*d into my side: Staggering, amaz'd, 
 I gave back, so compell'd ; he still advanc'd 
 Arm'd for a second onset, when my strength 
 Foil'd, though immortal, and my sight grown dim, 
 My wound the whilst sore rankling, I took wing 
 And hither came, on painful pinions borne, 
 Your faithful servant, whether to attempt 
 Fresh battle, or my present loss repair." 
 
 This said, he put his azure tunic by, 
 And bar'd his wounded side, where Gabriel's 
 
 spear 
 Had lodg'd its massy fluke ; a ghastly chasm 
 Trench'd by the force of arch-angelic arm, 
 And to aught else than deathless spirit death. 
 Fir'd at the sight, with eyes that sparkling 
 
 blaz'd, 
 Satan uprose, and thus infuriate spake : 
 
 " Gabriel in arms ! Hah ! warriors, we are 
 
 brav'd : 
 Christ hath his guard about him, and defies us. 
 If this immortal spirit could not stand. 
 
104 CALVAEY; OK, [book iu. 
 
 What shall Iscariot do ? Myself will forth : 
 We shall then see who wields the stronger lance, 
 Satan or Gabriel : in the fields of heav'n, 
 In the mid-air, on earth, in deepest hell 
 He knows my might superior, and shall rue 870 
 His dastardly assault. Why not with me, 
 The sender rather than the sent, this strife ? 
 So might he boast the contest, though subdu'd. 
 The scars by this sharp sword in battle dealt, 
 Are the best honors Gabriel hath to vaunt ; 
 The brightest laurels on his brow are those 
 I planted, when in equal fight I deign'd 
 To measure spears with such inferior foe. 
 Doth Gabriel think God's favor can reverse 
 Immutable pre-eminence, and raise 880 
 
 His menial sphere to that, in which I shone 
 Son of the morning ? Doth he vainly hope, 
 Exil'd from heav'n, we left our courage there, 
 Or lost it in our fall, or that hell's fires 
 Have parch'd and wither'd our shrunk sinews up ? 
 Delusive hope ! the warrior's nerve is strung 
 By exercise, by pain, by glorious toil. 
 The torrid clime of hell, its burning rock, 
 Its gulph of liquid flames, in w Inch we roll'd, 
 Have calcin'd our strong hearts, breath' d their 
 own fires 890 
 
 Into our veins, and forg'd those nerves to steel, 
 Which heav'n's calm setheT. her voluptuous skic« 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 103 
 
 And frequent adorations well nigh smooth'd 
 To the soft flexibility of slaves, 
 Till hold rebellion shook its fetters off, 
 And with their clangor rais'd so brave a storm. 
 That God's eternal throne rock'd to its base. 
 Now break we up this council : Each disperse 
 Or to his post, his pleasure, or pursuit ; 
 Sufliceth for this task my single arm. 900 
 
 Ciiemos shall be reveng'd ; the public zeal 
 Of Mammon still shall 'be our theme of praise ; 
 Nor shall Iscariot's nightly plot be foil'd 
 By intervening angels ; nor these priests, 
 Whose seats we fill, and whose allies we are, 
 Fail of their victim, or find us remiss 
 To second them in this our common league 
 And joint emprise against the pow'rs of heav'n.' 9 
 'Twas said ; the princes of th' assembly rose 
 In reverence to his will; the legion round 910 
 Smote on their shields the signal of assent. 
 Tow'ring he stood, the majesty of hell ; 
 Dark o'er his brows thick clouds of vengeance 
 
 roll'd.... 
 Thunder was in his voice. ...his eye shot fire, 
 And loud he call-d for buckler and for spear ; 
 These bold Azazel bore, enormous weight, 
 v For Atlantean spirit proper charge : 
 With eager grasp he seiz'd the tow'ring mast 5 
 And shook it like a twig ; then with a frown,, 
 
 O 
 
106 CALVARY; OR, [book m. 
 
 That aw'd the stoutest heart, gave sign for all 920 
 Straight to disperse, and vanished from their 
 
 sight. 
 
 END OF THE THIRD BOOK, 
 
CALVARY; 
 
 OR, 
 
 THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 
 
 BO OK IV, 
 
ARGUMENT OF THE FOURTH BOOK, 
 
 A general review of Christ's agony in the garden : His disciples, who are 
 ordered to watch, fall asleep : Christ prays apart ; he wakens theiri, 
 and warns them to watch, lest they enter into temptation. Satan ar- 
 rives, and takes post near the spot where Christ is praying in his agony. 
 He is discovered by Gabriel, the supporting angel : their interview des- 
 cribed. Christ approaches, and reproving Satan, by the word of power, 
 casts him to the ground, disabled and in torments. Judas now advan- 
 ces with an armed company ; betrays his Master with a kiss : Christ 
 is seized and carried away to the palace of the high priest. Satan, un» 
 able to rise, laments over his disconsolate condition : He is discovered 
 by Mammon, who consoles him and assists in raising him from the 
 ground. Satan testifies to the power and divinity of Chrits — feels a pre- 
 sentiment of his impending doom, and having delivered his last injunc- 
 tions to Mammon, is lifted from the earth by a stormy gust and carri- 
 ed through the air out of sight of that evil spirit, who> terrified by thS 
 fate of his chief, turns to flight and escapes. 
 
CALVARY, tic. 
 
 BOOK IV. 
 
 THE AGONY IN THE GARDEN. 
 
 MOUNT of Agony ! water'd with tears 
 From my Redeemer's eyes, and by his knees 
 Pressing thy turf, made sacred as the ground 
 Where ev'nthe chosen shepherd might not stand 
 But with unsandal'd feet ! Ah ! where is now 
 That purifying Angel me to cleanse 
 From this vile world, that so I may approach, 
 Though but in thought, with a right sp'rit re- 
 new 'd, 
 Thy hallow 'd solitude ? Lo ! where the Lord 
 Sorrowing retires apart : Where are the three 
 Stationed to guard his sacred privacy ? 
 Stand they aloof, as their forefathers stood, 
 When from the midst of darkness, cloud and fire, 
 Jehovah thunder'd out of Sinai's mount ? 
 Ah, no! within that olive grove they lie [guard. 
 Stretch' d on the ground, a drowsy slumb'ring 
 And could ye not, ye sleepers, watch one hour 
 For such a master ? Oh ! what heart could taste 
 Of rest or peace, whilst his was rack'd with pain ? 
 
HO CALVARY; OR, [book iv. 
 
 Was it the sighs his suffering virtue breath'd 20 
 Into the air of sad Gethsemane, 
 That so entranc'd your senses ? Or was he, 
 The strengthening angel, sent from Heav'n to 
 
 shield 
 
 The Saviours anguish from all human eyes, 
 
 And veil the mystery of that awful hour ? 
 
 Then was that angry cup, full mix'd and red 
 
 From God's right hand, presented to his lips : 
 
 Tlse hitter essence of oriu'nal sin, 
 
 With every life-destroying extract, drawn 
 
 From man's corruption since, were there infus'd, 
 
 Compounded and resolv'd into that draught, 
 
 Mix'd by the hand of death, and drugg'd in hell. 
 
 The cowaril, shrinking under fortune's blows, 
 
 With desperate lip hath oft-times drank and died ; 
 
 'Tis refuge, 'tis desertion from a post 
 
 He dare defend no longer — 'tis the hope. 
 
 False, fruitless hope, of a perpetual sleep, 
 
 When he hath bottom'd that Letluean cup : 
 
 But our Redeemer's portion was not such ; 
 
 Horrors and heart-dissolving woes and pangs, 
 
 That mock imagination's scope, and stretch 
 
 The heart's strom? cordage, till it bursts asunder 
 
 Andleaves the mind a wreck,thesewere tlte drugs, 
 
 Thatbrew'd that cup of agony, which God 
 
 Now tendered as the wrath-atoning draught 
 
 For a revolted world ! Mysterious act ! 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. t i i 
 
 The Father sacrifice the Son belov'd ! 
 
 The just, to spare the unjust, lay the rod 
 
 Upon the guiltless head ! Shall all offend, 
 
 And One atone for all ? One Victim hear 50 
 
 The accumulated load of punishment, 
 
 The mass of vengeance, that amazing whole, 
 
 Which each partic'lar sin had pil'd in store. 
 
 And that devoted sacrifice a Lamb 
 
 Pure, without spot or blemish ? O my soul ! 
 
 Beware, nor to that tabernacle press, 
 
 Where clouds and darkness canopy thy God. 
 
 Lo ! where the Saviour kneels ; he looks around 
 For some to succour, to support — some friend. 
 Whose sympathizing eye might beam upon 
 
 him, 60 
 
 And, with a moment's glance of pity, cheer 
 His desolated spirit. All around 
 Is vacant horror, solitary, dark : 
 The partners of his heart, the chosen few, 
 The friends, who should have watch'd, are wrapt 
 
 in sleep.... 
 Insensible, supine, oblivious sleep ; 
 Woes multiplied by woe, and that the worst 
 Ingratitude, the sharpest fang that gnaws 
 Man's bleeding bosom. In this sad extreme, 
 His soul, revolting from the noisome draught 
 With eyes to heav'n uplifted, and a sigh 
 Which shew'd that human weakness then <»y < 
 
 power*d 
 
IIS CALVARY; OR, [bookiv, 
 
 His soul's diviner part — "Abba !"' lie cries, 
 " Father, all things are possible to thee, 
 Remove this cup !" Then bows his patient head 
 And qualifies the pray'r — " Yet not my trill 
 But thine be done !" No voice from heav'n re* 
 
 plies : 
 All nature sleeps in silence still as death, 
 As if the planets in their spheres had paus-d 
 To watch the trembling balance, on whose point 
 The fortunes of this globe suspended hung — 
 Its ruin or redemption, death or life. [blow 
 
 'Twas then the strengthening angel dealt the 
 That put the hovering spy of hell to flight, 
 Seen of our Lord in ambush where he lay. 
 And now the Mourner rises from the earth, 
 On which he knelt, and a few paces moves, 
 Pensive and slow, to find his station'd friends. 
 He finds them not as friends upon the watch, 
 Not as God's faithful soldiers should be found, 
 But at their length stretch' d out in lazy sleep, 
 With folded arms supine. Rous'd by his voice, 
 They stare, they start, confounded and amaz r d. 
 " Could ye not watch one hour ?" the Sufferer 
 
 cries : 
 " Watch, for the foe of man is near at hand ; 
 Pray, lest ye fall into the tempter's snare ; 
 The sp'rit is ready, but the flesh is weak." 
 So warn'd, helcaves them withthis mild rebuke, 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 113 
 
 A second time he seeks the dismal dell, 
 Again he prays remission of his woe, 100 
 
 And deprecates the agonizing cup : 
 Meanwhile his drowsy centinels perceive 
 A langour, which their senses must ohey, 
 And down they sink, their leaden eye-halls elos'd 
 As in a death-like trance. Again he comes— 
 Again he calls, a second warning gives, 
 And so departs. — Now Satan on the wing 
 Swift as a fiery meteor rides the air, [war t 
 
 With shield and spear arm'd at all points for 
 Then down at once, with huge Titanian bulk, 
 Plumb down he lights upon the solid soil, 
 Hard by th' angelic post : Earth felt the shock 5 
 And, trembling to her centre, inly groan 5 d. 
 Nor did his haughty courage deign to crouch, 
 Or lurk with lion-watch, but firm of foot, 
 Erect and confident in arms he stood, 
 As one whose prowess all advantage scorn'd 
 And mean surprise of an unguarded foe. 
 Such arts to weaker spirits he resign'd ; 
 lie of his former self felt no decay, 120 
 
 Or, feeling, scorn'd confession ; for his pride 
 Still deem'd that heav'n, though lost, contain'd 
 
 no peer 
 To mate with him in hardihood and proof, 
 Save only the Almighty ; to such height 
 Of arrogance had pow'r long time usurped 
 
 P 
 
114 CALVARY; OH, [book iv. 
 
 Over the Gentile nations, and the sight 
 Of God's own Son, now, as he falsely deem'd, 
 Vanquish'd and prostrate, swell'd his impious 
 
 heart. 
 Our blessed Lord, mean while,having preferred 
 For the last time his interceding prayer, 130 
 Summon'd his strength, and, conscious that the 
 
 hour 
 Was come which finish'd or rcvok'd the task 
 Of man's redemption from the powers of hell. 
 Whose representative hard hy at hand 
 Stood eager to arrest the forfeit prize, 
 Put forth his hand, and as he took the cup, 
 Satan, who stood spectator of the deed, 
 Started aghast ! cold tremor shook his joints... 
 His threat'ning spear now droop'd, and his broad 
 
 shield, 
 So proudly borne aloft, weigh'd down his arm 
 Slack and unnerv'd ; confusion seiz'd his heart, 
 And his high courage quell'd. This Gabriel 
 
 saw, 
 Yet left he not his post till Christ had drain'd 
 The cup mysterious ; to its lowest dregs 
 He drank it ; now convulsion shook the fiend ; 
 Death shriek'd amain, and through his hollow 
 
 ribs 
 Drove his own ebon dart with desp'rate rage. 
 Bitter the draught and hateful to the taste. 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 1 15 
 
 But immortality had crown'd the cup, [forth, 
 And Light and Life, on phoenix wings, sprung 
 From the foul dregs, in new-horn glories bright. 
 Gabriel, who knew that by this solemn act 
 Thus happily perform'd his charge expir'd, 
 Now turn'd away in search of that fierce sp*rit, 
 Whom thro' tlie darkling coyert he had seen, 
 Whilst by the side of God's afflicted Son 
 Minist'ring he stood. Right well he knew the 
 
 form 
 And towering port of hell's terrific king ; 
 Nor had the dire confusion and dismay 
 Of that fell daemon scap'd the angelic glance. 
 Him now within a gloomy dell retir'd 
 To further distance, wrapt as it should seem 
 In pensive thought, the guardian seraph spy -d. 
 In the same moment Satan's ghastly eye 
 Glanc'd on his foe : bright in c senile an arms 
 Heav'n's champion shone, high o'er his crested 
 
 helm 
 The arch-angelic plume triformed wav'd, 
 Ensign of thron'd state and high command. 
 The grisly monarh gnash'd his teeth for spite 
 To find himself encounter'd at such odds ; 170 
 His foe fresh blooming in immortal youth, 
 Vigorous, in heav'nly-temper'd armour brae'd ; 
 Himself at this ill hour surprised. ..his strength 
 As by enchantment blasted, and that voice. 
 
116 CALVARY ; OR, [book iv. 
 
 Which in the ears of all hell's princes vouch'd 
 Such bold achievements, shrunk from its high 
 
 pitch 
 To feeble murmurs, and weak whining sighs. 
 
 So when on Z una-s plain the rival chiefs, 
 Home's consul and the Punic captain, met 
 To parley in mid-way 'twixt either camp, 180 
 T war-worn veteran, blighted anddefac'd 
 B ' int'rv marches over noisome fens 
 And snows on mountains pil'd, with envious eye. 
 Sole relic of his toil, survey' d the form 
 And blooming features of his youthful foe ; 
 Then to his mind recalling glories past, 
 "When his proud menace aw'd immortal Rome, 
 SigU'd to reflect how far in the decline [sunk ; 
 From that bright morn his evening sun had 
 Then eyed the youth again, and in his face, 190 
 Shadowed by fate, saw Carthage doom'd to fall, 
 And his own glories to a foe transferr'd, 
 Less than his equal once.. .his conqu'ror now. 
 
 But 'twas not long that Satan so endur'd, 
 For now the conscious sense of former deeds 
 Bold, though unblest, and high innate disdain 
 O lean capitulation and demur 
 T jus-d his proud heart, like ahot courser spurr'd^ 
 To chafe and lash his languid courage up. 
 Red'ninghe swelled, and gnaw'd his nether lip 
 For vengeance that it would not give him word? 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 117 
 
 To hurl defiance on th' advancing foe : 
 When Gabriel, noting his disorder'd mien 
 And haggard aspect, strait hespoke the fiend : 
 
 " Thus ever may the foe of Christ he found 
 Speechless, abash'd, struck down of Heav'n and 
 
 quell'd ! 
 How long, malicious sp'rit, wilt thou persist 
 To trouble this vex'd earth ? How long to haunt 
 This righteous person, whose strong virtue mocks 
 Thy faint attempts ? Warn'd by this shame, 
 
 avaunt ! 
 Hence, baffled Tempter ! roaming thus at large, 
 Thou dost but show, by melancholy proof, 
 That a tormented conscience never rests." [fix'd, 
 
 As the fierce panther, through the ribs trans- 
 Writhes round the bloody weapon in his side, 
 And tugs it to and fro with foamy teeth, 
 Mad'ning with pain and gnashing at his wound ; 
 So 'gainst himself and foe alike enrag'd, 
 Hell's gloomy lord, by this deserved taunt 
 Cut to the heart, with many a hard essay 2^0 
 Struggled for voice ; at length collecting breath, 
 These words disdainful, though of their full tone 
 And energy abated, found their way : 
 
 " Gabriel, the brave in danger earn renown ; 
 True valor spares the weak ; but thou more wise 
 Than valiant, studiest well the safer hour, 
 When to come forth and wage inglorious war 
 
Ii8 CALVABY; OK, [bdokiy. 
 
 'Gainst unprovided foes ; if Chemos then, 
 Or some slight Cherub, cross thy wary path, 
 Woe to the straggler ! if thy barbed spear 230 
 Can make safe tilt at his unweapon'd side. 
 But I, who day and night have pac'd this globe* 
 Found in all quarters — I, who never shunn'd, 
 Rather have sought thy walk, am left to roam 
 Free and of thee unquestion'd, from the hour 
 When on the confines of this new-made world 
 We parlied under Eden's shady fence, 
 To th' instant now, when faint and ill at ease, 
 Un warlike angel, thou hast found me here 
 Nerveless, and little more than match for thee." 
 To whom the indignant virtue thus reply'd : 
 " If Satan here is found in evil plight, [wiles, 
 He's found of me unsought. Thine own dark 
 Degen'rate sp'rit, and heav'n's all-ruling hand 
 Have cast thee in my way. Must I turn oft' 
 From duty's road direct, because forsooth 
 A wounded adder hisses in my path ? 
 Why didst thou press into tins place of prayer, 
 This hallow'd solitude, where Christ hath 
 
 breatii'd 
 A charm, that withers up thy blasted strength ? 
 Could'st thou not learn, by late experience 
 
 taught, 
 There is a sphere about the Son of God, 
 In which no sp'rit like thee accurst can draw 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. i 19 
 
 3 lis breath blaspheming ? At a word begone ! 
 Though with my foot I could have spurn'd thee 
 
 hence, 
 1 tread not on the fall'n ; nor do I vaunt 
 Conquest of thee, that to a mightier arm, 
 Rebel to God, to God's own Son thou ow'st — 
 To Christ, not Gabriel ; nor shalt thou alone 
 Stoop to his name, but every idol god, 2Q0 
 
 And ev'ry pow'r of darkness with their prince, 
 And sin hell-born, and tby foul offspring death." 
 
 Whereto, by these prophetic words appall'd, 
 Satan, with taunting argument, reply'd : 
 
 " Since this angelic form, from death exempt, 
 Sometimes shall yield to aches and transient 
 
 pains, 
 And natural ailments for awhile endur'd. 
 What wonder, if ethereal sp'rit like me, 
 Pent in this atmosphere, and fain to breathe 
 The lazy fogs of this unwholesome earth, S70 
 Pine for his native clime ? What if he droop. 
 Worn out with care and toil ? Wert thou as I 
 Driv'n to and fro, and by God's thunder hm I'd 
 From heav'n's high ramparts, would that silken 
 
 form 
 Abide the tossing on hell's fiery lake ? 
 Hudst thou, like me, travcrs'd the vast profound 
 Of ancient night, and beat the weary wing 
 Through stormy Chaos, voyage rude as tins 
 
ISO CALVARY; OR, [book iv. 
 
 Would ruffle those fine plumes. I've kept my 
 
 course 
 Through hurricanes, the least of which let loose 
 On this firm globe would winnow it to dust... 
 Snap like a weaver's thread the mighty chain, 
 That links it to heav'n' s adamantine floor, 
 And whirl it through the infinite of space. 
 And what hast thou, soft cherub, done the whilst? 
 What are thy labors ? What hast thou achiev'd ? 
 Heav'n knows no winter., .there no tempests 
 
 howl ; 
 To breathe perpetual spring.. .to sleep supine 
 On flowery beds of amaranth and rose, 
 Voluptuous slavery, was Gabriel's choice : 390 
 His bosom never drew the indignant sigh, 
 That rent my heart, when, call'd to morning 
 
 hymn, 
 I paid compulsive homage at God's throne, 
 Warbling feign'd hallelujahs to his praise, 
 Spirits of abject mould, and such art thou, 
 May call this easy sendee ; for they love 
 Ignoble ease ; to me the fulsome task 
 Was bitterest slavery, and though I fell, 
 I fell opposing ; exiPd both from heav'n, 
 Freedom and I shar'd the same glorious fall. 300 
 Go back, then, to thy drudgery of praise, 
 Practise new canticles and tune thy throat 
 To flattery's fawning pitch : leave me my groans, 
 
THE DEATH OE CHRIST. i 2 i 
 
 Leave me to teach these echoes how to curse ; 
 Here let me lie and make this rugged stone 
 My couch, my canopy this stormy cloud, 
 That rolls stern winter oer my fenceless head; 
 'TIs freedom's privilege.. .nor tribute owes, 
 Nor tribute pays to heav'n's despotic king." 
 
 Thus whilst he spake, the Saviour of mankind, 
 New ris'n from pray'r, drew nigh ; whereat the 
 
 fiend, 
 Or ere the awful presence met his eye, 
 Shivering as one by sudden fever seiz'd, 
 Turn'd deadly pale ; then fell to earth convuls'd. 
 Dire were the yells he vented, fierce the throes 
 That writh'd his tortur'd frame, whilst through 
 
 the seams 
 And chinks, that in his jointed armor gap'd, 
 Blue sulph'rous flames in livid flashes burst, 
 So hot the hell within his fueFd heart ; 
 Which like a furnace sev'n times heated rag'd. 
 Meanwhile the winged Messenger of heaven, 
 Gabriel, with horror and amazement fix'd, 
 Stood motionless behind his'orbed shield. 
 Not so the Saviour ; he, with look composed 
 And stedfast, noting the disastrous plight 
 Of that tormented fiend, these words address'd : 
 " Satan, thou see'st the serpent's primal cursp 
 At length falls heavy on thy bruised head ; 
 When man lost paradise, by thee be tray 'd 3 
 
 Q 
 
122 CALVARY; OR, [book it. 
 
 This was thy doom, deceiver ; and altho' 330 
 A.Tjes have roll'd on ages since, yet God, 
 Who from eternal to eternal lives 
 Blessed for evermore, computes not time [long. 
 As thou, whose mis'ry makes short years seem 
 Yet was the interim thine, and thou, who first 
 Bs*ought J st sin into the world, hast reign'd in sin: 
 Thou hadst the power of death, but I thro' death 
 Am destin'd to destroy that power and thee. 
 And now, my hour is come, I go to death, 
 That all thro* me may live ; therefore, begone ! 
 Get thee behind rne ! thou hast now no part 
 On earth ; thy dwelling is prepar'd in hell : 
 There, when we meet, expect to meet thy doom.'* 
 This said, the fiend reply'd not but with groans; 
 Nor staid the angel longer than to turn 
 One last sad look upon his prostrate foe, 
 Then flew to heav'n. The Saviour bent his steps 
 In search of his disciples ; them he found 
 Wrapt as before in sleep. " Sleep on," he cry'd, 
 " And henceforth take your rest : It is enough : 
 The hour is come. Behold ! the Son of Man 
 Into the hands of sinners is betray'd : 
 Rise, let us go ! The traitor is at hand." 
 And lo ! while yet he spake, a mingled crew, 
 Arm'd and unarnvd, approach ; before them all 
 Judas, advancing, thus bespeaks the throng : 
 " Whom I shall kiss is He, the Christ : Him 
 seize 
 
 ' 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 423 
 
 And in safe keeping hold." Upon the word 
 He gives the trait' rous greeting and exclaims, 
 " Hail, Master !" When at once the swarming 
 crowd 360 
 
 Bush in a space, then stand in circle round, 
 Like blood-hounds held at bay, their eager eye* 
 Fix'd on his face, which to behold they rear 
 Their flaming torches, whilst the prospect round 
 Glares with the ruddy blaze ; a ghastly troop, 
 Like that dread chorus, which the tragic bard 
 Pour'd on the scene, when the Athenian wives 
 Dropt their abortive burthens with affright, 
 To see their snaky locks and fiery brands 
 Kindle in Phlegethon's sulphureous waves ; 370 
 So glares that haggard crew ; in front they see 
 Jesus in conscious majesty unmov'd; 
 Behind him, to some little space withdrawn, 
 Peter, and James, and John, the chosen Three, 
 Small band ; but in their Leader's pow'r a host 
 Invincible, 'gainst whom whole armies leagu'd 
 Were but as chaff before the whirlwind's blast. 
 Had he so will'd. But now, with accent firm, 
 " Whom seek ve ?" he demands. Thev answer 
 
 make, 
 " Jesus of Nazareth." c; I am the man," 380 
 Jesus replies — " He, whom ye seek, is found." 
 His air, his utterance, and that voice divine 
 Which could have arm'd heav'n's legions in his 
 
 cause, 
 
124 CALVABY; Oii, [book iv. 
 
 Or gulph'd them to the centre at a word, 
 Swift as the vollied thunder smote their hearts, 
 And huri'd them to the ground. Ht Imigthey 
 
 fell 
 With hideous crash, nor ever thence had is'n, 
 Hud not his gracious purpose so decreed 
 For man's redemption. Up they rise from :h, 
 And in like manner to the same demand 890 
 A second time make answer 5 he repeats — 
 " T told you, and ye heard, i '.Iiat I am He : 
 If therefore me ye seek, let these depart." 
 Then hurst the chidden zeal of Peter forth ; 
 Arrn'd with a sword, he rusli'd upon the throng, 
 And at the foremost aim'd a random blow, 
 That gash'd the caitiff's head, but miss'd the life. 
 " Put up thy sword, rash man !" the Saviour 
 
 cries — - 
 " Did 1 want rescue, would I ask of thee, 
 With all my Father's angels at command ? 400 
 "No ! let me do His will and drink His cup : 
 And you, that here encompass me about, 
 As 'twere a felon ye came out to take, 
 With swords and staves, suffer thus far, behold ! 
 The wound his weapon makes, my touch shall 
 
 heal — [sword, 
 
 5 Tis done ! Know all, that they, who take the 
 Shall perish by the sword. What needs this stir? 
 This midnight plotting and this traitor's kiss* 
 
THE DEATH OF CHM8T. 125 
 
 These staves, these torches, and this arm'd array 
 To make one harmless. peaceful man your prize? 
 You saw me daily in my puhlic walks ; 
 Freely we commun'd, for you harm'd me not ; 
 You heard me in the temple ; for I taught 
 In very zeal the simple way of truth, 
 Lab'rine full hard to turn your hearts to God : 
 li diis were my offence, why not arrest 
 Your Preacher in the act, and drag* to death 
 Him, who would fain have trained vou in the road 
 To life eternal ? Never on the poor 
 Turn'd I my back ; I courted not the rich ; 420 
 Were this my fault, in the broad face of day 
 Ye might have smitten me, and earn'dthe praise 
 Of the proud Pharisee and braggart Scribe. 
 I fed the hungry, and I heal* d your sick — 
 I succour'd the tormented and possest ; 
 Are these the heinous acts for which I die ? 
 In field, in city, in frequented ways 
 The wretched flock'd around — if these he crimes. 
 Why is their punishment so long reserv'd 
 To this dark hour of night? The sun himself 
 Witness'd my doings, so might he my death. 
 But see ! my followers are dispers'd and fled, 
 And I stand in your peril here alone : 
 No need to fear him, who makes no defence : 
 Conduct me to my doom : God's will be done !" 
 This said, their sacrilegious hands they laid 
 
126 CALVARY; OR, [book iv. 
 
 Upon his sacred person : He in the midst, 
 With meek composure and submitted look* 
 March'd slowly onward, as they led the way 
 To the proud dome of Caiaphas, high-priest 
 Of Moloch than of God more fitly cali'd. 
 
 Oh, ye hard hearts ! was this the Paschal 
 Lamb, 
 Ye worse than pagan butchers, whom ye cull'd 
 Pure and unspotted for your bloody feast ? 
 Well did your law-giver decree this day 
 A record and memorial to be kept 
 Throughout your generations to all time ; 
 A memorable day, a noted feast 
 Your stubborn incredulity hath made it. 
 To you a day of darkness and disgrace ; 450 
 To us Salvation's glorious dawn — to us 
 By our great Captain led, the Lord of Life, 
 Who through the darksome avenue of death 
 And depths mysterious of the mazy grave, 
 Holding the clue of prophecy in hand, 
 TJ nravcli'd all the ways of Providence, 
 And to our view set ope the golden gates 
 Of paradise rcgain'd, whence light and life 
 And bliss eternal beam on all mankind 5 
 For all, who with their lips confess the Lord, 
 And in their hearts believe that from the dead 
 God in his pow'r hath rais'd him, shall be sav'd* 
 
 Meanwhile the prince of hell, whom Christ 
 had left 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 197 
 
 Rolling in torments on the stony rock, 
 Mad as Leviathan, when tempest-wreck'd 
 Flound'ring he lies upon the shoaly heach, 
 Now to one last and desperate effort driv'n, 
 Strainingeaeh nerve with many a dolorous groan, 
 Half his huge length had rear'd. His right 
 
 hand grasp'd 
 His spear, the other on his buckler propp'd 470 
 Pillow'd his head, raging with pain and tho'ts 
 Black as the night around him : To arise 
 And stand surpass'd his power ; in vain he 
 
 spread 
 His feath'ry vans to raise him in the air ! 
 About him all the ground, with azure plumes 
 Beat from his shatter' d pinions, was bestrewn. 
 Despair now seiz'd him — now too late he rued 
 His blasphemies and bold rebellious taunts 
 'Gainstheav'n's Omnipotent, his Judge incens'd* 
 Hopeless of mercy, now he curs'd his doom 480 
 Of immortality ; and as he roll'd 
 His haggard eyes in night, hell's flaming gulph, 
 Terrific vision, seem'd to burst upon him, 
 With treble horrors charsr'd : then with a si^h. 
 That strain'd his heaving cors'let, he breath'd 
 
 forth 
 In murmuring lamentations these sad words : 
 " Ah ! who will lift me from this iron bed, 
 On which, Prometheus-like, for ever link'd 
 
1S8- CALVARY; OB, [book iy, 
 
 And rivetted by dire necessity 
 I'm doom'd to lie. and wail the cruel boon 490 
 Of immortality, my baneful fate ? [vade 
 
 O earth', earth, earth ! Cannot my groans per- 
 Thy stony heart t' embowel me alive 
 Under this rock, before to-morrow's sun 
 Find me here weltering in the sordid dust, 
 A spectacle of scorn to all my host, 
 Wont to behold in me their kingly chief? 
 Will not some pitying earthquake gulph me 
 
 down 
 To where the everlasting fountains sleep, 
 That in those watery caverns I might slake 500 
 These fires, that shrivel my parch'd sinews up ? 
 Ah ! whither shall I turn ! who will unbrace 
 This scalding mail, that burns niy tortur'd brenst 
 Worse than the shirt of Nessus ? Oh ! for pity, 
 Grant me a moment's interval of ease, 
 Avenging, angry Deity 1 Draw back [arm'd 
 Thy red right hand, that with the lightning 
 Thrust to my heart makes all my boiling blood 
 Hiss in my veins ; or if thou wilt destroy 
 Whom thou hast vanquish'd, terminate these 
 
 feuds olC 
 
 'Twixtgood and evil — thee, and me ; reduce 
 This incorruptible to mould'ring dust, 
 Make Death a parricide, and so conclude 
 Me and mv sufferings and my sins at once, 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST* 1S» 
 
 But 'twill not be. Happy I might have been— ^ 
 
 Immortal I must be. God can create 
 
 Nt thing but bliss ; I made the pains I feel. 
 
 Sorrow had no existence— death no name, 
 
 Till I lost heav'n ; to be, was to be blest ; 
 
 And beings blest could never cease to be. 52Q 
 
 This earth and man its 'habitant were good, 
 
 Till envy, pride, rebellion, in my heart 
 
 Engend'ring.marr'd God's perfect work with sin ; 
 
 And but for sin the universe were heav'n. 
 
 So am I author of the hell within me, 
 
 And these tormenting fires God cannot quench; 
 
 For that would be to turn from what he is, 
 
 Parent of good, and to become like me, 
 
 Patron and friend of evil. Reas'ning thus 
 
 I must renounce all hope of future peace, 530 
 
 And wage eternal enmity with God, 
 
 Whom longer to oppose I now despair, 
 
 And under whose strong hand, weight down 
 
 to earth, 
 Prostrate, confounded, I can rise no more. 
 Must I be ever thus ? Must these fierce pangs 3 
 Or worse, if worse can be, torment me ever ? 
 
 Are there no means to make a truce witb 
 heav'n ? 
 
 Submission, penitence, atonement, pray'rs 
 
 And intercessions — Oh ! fallacious, vain, 
 
 Impracticable terms ! Can pride shed tears, £40 
 
 B 
 
130 CALVARY; OR, [book iv. 
 
 Falsehood keep faith, or perjury pass its oath 
 Upon that Judge, to whom all hearts are known ? 
 It cannot be. Ages of sin have roll'd 
 'Twixt me and pardon, gulph impassable* 
 Man's loss of Paradise, a delugM world, 
 Sin paramount on earth, the nations turn'd 
 From God to idols, scarce a remnant left 
 Of this his chosen race, corruption spread 
 Ev'n to the heart of Judah, and from this mount, 
 Sad witness of my overthrow and shame, 550 
 Scene of ray triumphs once, his standard torn 
 And hell's proud banners flaunting in its place ; 
 These, and a countless multitude of wrongs, 
 Cry in the catalogue so loud against me, 
 That, should the thunder of God's vengeance 
 
 sleep, 
 Mercy herself would seize th' uplifted bolt 
 And speed the ling-ring blow. What is my hope. 
 If such the task to purchase peace for man, 
 Man so subordinate in sin to me, 
 The spring and fountain-head of thatfoulstrearn, 
 Which he at distance drank? If Christ must die 
 For man — if nothing less than God's own Son 
 Can stand betwixt the Father's wrath and man, 
 What mediator can be found for me ? 
 None ; and no wonder if his wrath, withdrawn 
 From man now pardon'd, fall with worse recoil 
 On my devoted head : Ev'n now it falls. 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 1 3 1 
 
 Me like an eagle in my tow'ring flight, 
 From the proud zenith of the sun's bright sphere 
 Headlong he hurls to earth, with shatter'd wing 
 And plumes dishevelPd grov'ling in the dust; 
 Me, the sole mover of man's foul revolt, 
 He marks for tenfold vengeance ; for if Christ, 
 The patient, meek Redeemer, groans in pain, 
 What shall the tempter feel ? If on the rack 
 Of agony his guiltless brow sweats blood,. 
 Well may this body of sin burst out in flames — 
 A conflagration horrible to sight, 
 And blazing beacon to th' astonish'd world. 
 And what is this vile Judas, who, seduc'd 580' 
 By wily 3Iammon, sells his Master's life ? 
 What Peter's self, whom, had not Jesus pray'd, 
 I'd sifted into chaff? These purblind priests, 
 Who with their half-shut eyes askance behold 
 Their own Messias in his wondrous acts, 
 Yet give those wonders to the powers of hell, 
 And, trembling for their craft, complot his death, 
 What are they ? Whence but from myself their 
 
 lies ? 
 'Tis I in them, and not they of themselves, 
 That kill the Prince of Peace ; his guiltless 
 blood 590 
 
 Sprinkles their hands, but in a flood-gate tide 
 Redder than scarlet whelms my sinking soul." 
 He ceas'd, and in his mantle hid his face 
 
132 CALVAHY; 0&, OookiV, 
 
 For shame and sorrow to be thus surpris'd ; 
 For Mammon, ever on the foot by night, 
 Had spy'd him thro' the gloom, and thus began : 
 " What ails thee, prince of air, that here thou 
 liest 
 On the dull earth, not resting it should seem 
 From victory, but vanquish'd and o'erthrown ?" 
 " Vamjuish'd, alas ! and in the dust o'er- 
 thrown 600 
 By God's all-pow'rful Son," Satan reply'd, 
 u Too sure I am ; and how it wrings this heart 
 So to be found of thee Words cannot speak. 
 Yet thou of all the spirits heav'n hath lost 
 Art he, of whom my pride hath least to fear ; 
 Fa thou wilt not as others gall my spleen 
 With scorn and taunting : ThoUj a friendly 
 
 chief, 
 JHast pity for the sorrows of a friend ; 
 To thee my valour and deserts are known ; 
 For thou wert ever nearest where I fought, G10 
 In front of danger on the battle's edge ; 
 Thou know'st the hazard and the chance of war, 
 And with what malice fortune thwarts our best. 
 Our bravest efforts: Scarr'd thyself with wounds* 
 Thou from the wounded wilt not turn aside ; 
 Therefore, O Mammon, as my hand to thee 
 Were present, didst thou need it, so to me, 
 Thy sovereign in distress, reach forth thine 
 hand, 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 133 
 
 And, if thou canst, upraise me from this fall ; 
 If thou canst not, let not my armies know 620 
 Their leader's fate — be mindful of my fame, 
 And bury this sad secret in thy breast." 
 
 He said, nor need had he of further suit, 
 For Mammon now had put forth all his strength 
 To raise him from the ground ; in his strong 
 
 grasp 
 He seiz'd his giant limbs in armour clad 
 Of adamant and gold, a ponderous wreck : 
 Earth trembled with the shock ; dire were the 
 
 groans 
 Hell's monarch vented.. ..horrible the pain9 
 That rack'd his stiffen'd joints ; yet on he toil'd 
 Till by heavVs sufferance, rather than by aid 
 Of arm angelic, once again he rear'd 
 His huge Titanian stature to the skies, 
 And stood : yet not as late with look erect 
 And lofty mein, Ruin was in his face ; 
 Sordid and soil'd with ignominious dust 
 His robe imperial, and his azure wings 
 And glossy locks, that o'er his shoulders curl'd* 
 Dishevell'd now, and in like tatter'd trim 
 With vessel tempest-torn, or by the force 640 
 Of engines weigh'dfrom bottom of the deep, 
 Founder'd in creek or harbour, where she lay 
 Crulph'd in the slimy ooze ; when Mammon, thus : 
 " Joy to our gallant leader ! Once again 
 
134 CALVARY; OR, [book it. 
 
 "With firm foot planted on the subject earth 
 
 We stand as sp'rits by our strength redeem'd 
 
 Erect and dauntless. Wherefore droops thateye, 
 
 As it would root itself into the soil, 
 
 From which with vigor new restor'd you rise 
 
 Antaeus-like, indignant of defeat ? 650 
 
 Oft, when in search of gold or silver ore 
 
 In earth's metallic veins, I've labor'd long 
 
 And hard, in damp and darksome caverns pent, 
 
 Mining the solid rock, at length to light 
 
 And the free air emerg'd, I've found my limbs 
 
 Stiffen with cramps, or with cold ague numb-d : 
 
 Yet never did my patient courage droop 
 
 Or slack its gainful toil. I am not apt, 
 
 When wealth or glory can be bought with pain, 
 
 To stagger at the terms ; and if it please 660 
 
 Heav'n's Monarch in his vengeance to attach 
 
 To this eternal being eternal pain, 
 
 Good hope, as poisons may be sheath'd by use. 
 
 So long familiarity with pain 
 
 May draw its sting, and habitude convert 
 
 Its hostile property to friendly ease. 
 
 But thy great heart perhaps is rent with grief, 
 
 Of pain disdainful as of lesser ill : [heaven, 
 
 And wherefore grieve ? Our joys were lost with 
 
 Our passions all revers'd, our natures changM, 
 
 Virtues to vices, amity to hate ; [bell 
 
 Deeds, that in heav'n had been our shame, in 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 135 
 
 Become our glory ; and whilst the world endures, 
 
 Whilst evil is to good oppos'd, we keep 
 
 The fight at doubtful issue, oft-times win 
 
 The glorious field, and triumph over God. 
 
 Why did I tempt Iscariot to betray 
 
 His guiltless master ? 'Twas not that I lov'd 
 
 The traitor ; no, the treason was my joy ; 
 
 I laugh at fools in their own folly caught : 680 
 
 The wretch I tempted, him I shall destroy, 
 
 And like a worn-out weapon cast him by ; 
 
 He shall not live to see his master's fall, 
 
 And for the sorry purchase of his sin 
 
 He shall but touch the adder's sting and die : 
 
 So much for Judas ! Thus at once I slay 
 
 Two victims, and refine upon revenge." [cheer- d 
 
 To whom, with clouded brow, and nothing? 
 By this discourse, hell's gloomy power reply'd : 
 
 " Mammon, you well describe the rueful change 
 Wrought in us by our overthrow from heav'n, 
 And for such solace as in thought you find 
 Pondering the sad eternity of pain, 
 My argument shall never be em ploy 'd 
 To make that little less ; but when you vaunt 
 Iscariot's treason and th' impending fall 
 Of that just person, now before the bar 
 Of envious judges, who shall doom his death, 
 You vaunt a deed, which, though th* elect of helL 
 Jointly with nie advis'd, brings on us all 700 
 
136 CALVARY; OR, [book iv. 
 
 Ruin, with loss of empire, and all hope 
 So quenches, nought can stand us now instead 
 But patience and your reconciling rules 
 To wont our natures to eternal pain. 
 My potency you know, and can you think 
 Less than the hand of God could hurl me down 
 To misery like this ? It must be God, 
 Who speaks in Christ, the father in the Son : 
 Though meek, Almighty he controls the world, 
 And me, the world's late master ; he destroys 
 Sin, my begotten, and sin's offspring, Death, 
 Oh ! that I never had approach'd him more, 
 FoiPd in my first temptation. Now, ev'n now, 
 I feel a nature in me, not mine own, 
 That is my master, and against my will 
 Enforces truths prophetic from my tongue, 
 Making me rev'rence whom in heart I hate : 
 I feel that now, though lifted from the ground, 
 I stand or move or speak but as he wills, 
 By influence, not by freedom : I perceive 720 
 These exhalations, that the nightbreathes on me, 
 Are loaded with the vaporous steams of hell ; 
 I scent them in the air, and well I know 
 The angel of destruction is abroad. 
 I cannot fly from fate ; the man foredoom'd 
 To bruise my head is Christ : the time is come. 
 The prophecy is full ; exil'd from hence, 
 As first from heaVn. my reign on earth is p*er< 
 
THE DEATH OF CHBIST. 137 
 
 And my last care is for those hapless friends, 
 The partners of my fall, when I am gone 730 
 Left like a headless trunk. Warn them to fly 
 Impending ruin ; sure I am, when Christ 
 Breathes forth his sacred sp'rit into the air, 
 His dying gasp shall hlow them like a spell 
 To the four winds of heav'n. Let them he gone 
 In time, and ply the wing ; there's shelter yet 
 In this wide world for them. Though I must 
 
 hence, 
 They may ahide; and though theirnames he lost, 
 Their altars leveli'd, and their idols maim'd, 
 Yet shall their arts and offices endure, 740 
 Ther influences still shall draw the hearts 
 Of many ; sin shall not at once secede 
 From earth, nor darkness wholly yield to light. 
 To thee, auspicious sp'rit, whose potent arm 
 Hath raised me from the ground, I can assure 
 A longer term of residence and power : 
 Thy empire in earth's inmost centre roots — 
 Thy influence circulates through all her veins. 
 Nor earth alone, but ocean wafts to thee 
 Continual tribute ; commerce hails thy name : 
 In thee war triumphs — thee fair peace adores, 
 And gilds the feathers of her dove with gold, 
 To dedicate to thee her worldly god — 
 Thee, the last foe whom Christ shall chase 
 from earth." 
 
 S 
 
138 CALVARY ; OK, [book iv. 
 
 So spake the parting fiend in his last hour 
 Prophetic, father though he were of lies. 
 To him the inferior daemon answer none 
 Attempted ; but in ghastly silence stood 
 Gazing with horror on his chieftain's face, 
 That chang'd all hues by fits, as when the north, 
 With nitrous vapours eharg-d, convulsive shoots 
 Its fiery darts athwart the trembling pole, 
 Making heav'n's vault a canopy of blood ; 
 So o'er the visage of the exorcis'd fiend 
 Alternate gleams like meteors came and went ; 
 And ever and anon he beat his breast, 
 That quick and short withlab'ring pulses heav'd. 
 One piteous look he upward turn'd...one sigh 
 From his sad heart he fain had sent to heav'n ; 
 But ere the hopeless messenger could leave 770 
 His quiv'ring lips, by sudden impulse seiz'd, 
 He finds himself uplifted from the earth ; 
 His azure wings, to sooty black now chang'd, 
 In wide expanse from either shoulder stretch 
 For flight involuntary. Up he springs 
 Whirl'd in a fiery vortex round and round ; 
 As when the Lybian wilderness, caught up 
 In sandy pillar by the eddying winds, 
 Moves horrible, the grave of man and beast ; 
 Him thus ascending the forked lightning smites 
 With sidelong volly, whilst loud thunders rock 
 Heav'n's echoing vault, when all at once. behold! 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 139 
 
 Caught in the stream of an impetuous gust 
 High in mid-air, swift on the level wing 
 Northward he shoots, and like a comet leaves 
 Long fiery track behind, speeding his course 
 Straight to the realms of Chaos and old Night, 
 Hell-bound, and to Tartarean darkness doom'd. 
 
 His sad associate, left on earth, look'd up, 
 And v. itli like conscious terror eyed his flight ; 
 As when the merchant, trembling for his freight, 
 Looks seaward, from some promontory's top, 
 And thence descries his gallant bark a wreck 
 Driving* at mercy of the winds and waves 
 Full on the rocky shoal, her certain grave y 
 Then, having bid farewell to all his hope, 
 In this one bottom stor'd, now lost to sight, 
 Turns with a sigh aside y and o'er the strand 
 With heavy heart takes homeward his slow way. 
 
 So sigh'd the fiend ; and for his own sad fate 
 Trembling, yet fearful to attempt the wing, 
 Slunk cow-ring off, veil'd in the shades of night, 
 
 END OF THE FOURTH BOOK. 
 
I r ; 
 
 OR, 
 
 THE DEATH OF CHRIST, 
 
 BOOK V. 
 
ARGUMENT OF THE FIFTH BOOK. 
 
 This book, proposing to treat of the trial end condemnation of Christ, 
 opens with an invocation to the Evangelists, the sacred historians of that 
 event. Christ, brought before the priests and elders in council, accused 
 by the witnesses, interrogated by Caiaphas, persists in keeping silence, 
 till being solemnly called upon to declare himself, he answers by an af- 
 firmation of the truth. Instantly all voices are let loose upon him, ac- 
 cusing him of blasphemy, and pronouncing him worthy of death : He 
 is delivered over to mockery and insult. The jews resolve to ar- 
 raign him before Pilate on the following morning. He turns and looks 
 upon Peter, who, according to prediction, had three several limes deni- 
 ed him. The sorrow and contrition of that disciple is described ; he 
 retires apart to bewail his crime and supplicate forgiveness. His prayer 
 and confession in the temple-porch. The council of the Jews resort to 
 Pilate next morning, and appeal against Christ. He informs them, 
 that, by the Roman law, no judgment can be givftn, till the accused is 
 confronted with his accusers and heard in his defence. Now commen- 
 ces the trial of Christ before Pilate, who, finding nothing worthy of 
 death in that just Person, refers hirn to Herod, as belonging to his ju- 
 risdiction. Herod, after mocking him, arrays him in a gorgeous robe, 
 and in that apparel sends him back to Pilate. He again appears in the 
 judgment-hall, before Pilate, who, after many fruitless efforts to save 
 him, the Jews still urging him by their clamorous importunity to cruci- 
 fy him, finding no other way to prevent a tumult of the people, after de- 
 claring himself innocent of the blood of Jesus, by the ceremony of 
 washing his hands before the multitude, delivers him to be crucified. 
 
CALVARY, &c, 
 
 OOKV, 
 
 THE CONDEMNATION OF CHRIST. 
 
 x E sacred Guides, whose plain, unvarnish'd 
 
 page, 
 Penn'd by the hand of Truth, records the scene, 
 Where Christ before the bar of impious men, 
 Patient of ail their scorn, arraign'd, betray'd, 
 And of his own abandon'd, silent stands, 
 You I invoke ; so from the same pure source, 
 Whence my faith flows, shall also flow my song ; 
 ]S r ot idly babbling, like that shallow rill 
 Trickling at foot of the Parnassian Mount ; 
 But deep, serene, to hallow -d airs attun'd : 10 
 Aid me from heav'n, where now before God r s 
 
 throne 
 In evangelic attributes ye stand, 
 Six-wing' d and thick bespangled o'er with eyes, 
 Ranging all points before you and behind, 
 Seraphic minstrels, chanting day and night 
 Yourceasless hallelujah's to the name 
 Of Him, who was, and is, and is to come. 
 Led by your hand, with trembling step I, pies* 
 
144 CALVARY 5 OR, [book v. 
 
 The sacred ground, which my Redeemer trade, 
 Now like a lamb to slaughter led, and now SO 
 Pendent (Oh horror!) on the bloody tree ; 
 And whilst to tell his sacrifice of love, 
 His soul-dissolving agonies, I strive, 
 My heart melts into sorrows deep as those 
 When the sad daughters of Jerusalem 
 Water'd his passage to the cross with tears, 
 
 Musing my pious theme, as fits a bard 
 Far onward in the wint'ry track of age, 
 I shun the Muses' haunts, nor dalliance hold 
 With fancy by the way, but travel on 30 
 
 My mournful road, a pilgrim grey with years ; 
 One that finds little favour with the world, 
 Yet thankful for its least benevolence 
 And patient of its taunts ; for never yet 
 Lur'd I the pop'lar ear with gibing tales, 
 Or sacrific'd the modesty of song, 
 Harping lewd madrigals at drunken feasts, 
 To make the vulgar sport, and win their shout. 
 Me rather the still voice delights, the praise 
 Whisper'd, not pnblish'd by fame's braying 
 
 trump : 40 
 
 Be thou my herald, Nature ! Let me please 
 The sacred few — let my remembrance live 
 Embosom'd by the virtuous and the wise ; 
 Make me, O Heav'n ! by those who love thee, 
 
 lov'd 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 145 
 
 Bo when, the widow's and the children's tears 
 Shall sprinkle the cold dust, in which I sleep 
 Pompless and from a scornful world withdrawn, 
 The laurel, which its malice rent, shall shoot 
 So water' d into life, and mantling throw 
 Its verdant honours o'er my grassy tomb. 50 
 
 Here in mid- way of my unfinish'd course, 
 Doubtful of future time whilst now I pause 
 To fetch new breath and trim my waning lamp. 
 Fountain of Life, if I have still ador'd 
 Thy mercy, and remembered Thee with awe 
 E'en in my mirth, in the gay prime of youth — » 
 So conscience witnesses, the mental scribe, 
 That registers my errors, quits me here — 
 Propitious Pow'r, support me ! and if death, 
 Near at the farthest, meditates the blow 6Q 
 
 To cut me short in my prevented task, 
 Spare me a little, and put by the stroke, 
 Till I recount his overthrow, and hail 
 Thy Son victorious rising from the grave. 
 
 Now to that dismal scene return, my thoughts ! 
 Where Christ, in midst of an irreverent crew, 
 Usher'd by torches through the darkling streets. 
 And now at summit of the holy Mount 
 Arriv'd, before the pontiff's lofty gate, 
 Waiting the call of impious pride, attends. 70 
 The halls and lobbies vomit forth a swarm 
 Of saucy servitors, with idiot stare 
 
 T 
 
146 CALVARY; OK, [book v. 
 
 Gazing the wond'rous Man, and venting lend 
 Their coward mockeries : He stands unmov'd. 
 Great is the stir within, and on the post 
 Through all the palace runs the buzzing news 
 Of this great Prophet r s capture, circling round 
 With ever new enlargement of strange sights 
 And fearful doings in the garden, seen 
 Of those who took him. Caiaphas meanwhile 
 Summons the temple-chiefs, elders, and scribes. 
 A hasty Sanhedrim : No longer now 
 With stately step in measur'd pace they march ; 
 Huddled together by their fears they flock, 
 They cluster in a throng, safest so tleem'd, 
 And fill the council seats. In speech abrupt 
 And brief their hierarch the cause expounds 
 Of their so sudden meeting — Christ is seiz'd... 
 The Prophet, whom they dreaded, is in hold... 
 Tli' Enchanter, who, by league with Beelzebub, 
 Scar'd them with magic spells, is at their door ; 
 Now is the time to put his art to proof — 
 Now is the moment to decide if thus 
 Their unreveal'd Messias shall appear 
 After long promise in this abject state 
 A shackled prisoner, or a conquering king. 
 "Admit him !" with faint voice some two or three 
 Of the least timorous cry, " Behold, he comes !" 
 The rabble throng rush in, and at the bar 
 Of the immur'd divan present him bound 100 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 147 
 
 With en tls, his raiment soil'd with hands pro- 
 
 i tne, 
 His head uncover^ and his sacred locks 
 P the rude winds and ruder men despoil'd 
 Of their propriety disheveli'd, spread 
 Like shattered fragments on the branching top 
 Oi' piny Lebanon after a storm. 
 
 Silence now reiirn'd...the roar of tongues was 
 
 hush'd, 
 And expectation, with suspended hreath, 
 Sate watchful when some sign or word of power 
 Should in a miracle break forth upon them. 110 
 None such that patient Sufferer rouchsaf'd, 
 Nor menace nor complaint his eye bespake, 
 But meek, serene composure. Noting this, 
 As cowards out of danger loudest vaunt r [heard 
 The council now took heart : Then soon were 
 The lying tongues of witnesses suborn'd 
 Various and loud ; but these no order kept ; 
 Falsehood with falsehood clash'd, and each to 
 
 each 
 Irreconcileable, as all to truth : 
 Shame held the council mute ; for vilest hearts, 
 Cloak'd in the robes of judgment, will affect 
 Some outward shew of what they ought to be, 
 Then most malicious when most seeming just. 
 Confusion now ensu'd, and perjury 
 In its own labyrinth had lost itself. 
 
148 CALVARY; OR, [book v. 
 
 When some of graver note, within the pale 
 Of justice seated, but far thence remov'd 
 In conscience and in heart, started new charge^ 
 Averring they had heard the pris'ner say, 
 " I will destroy this temple made with hands, 
 And within three days will another build 
 Made without hands." The charge was grave- 
 ly urg'd, 
 And, coiour'd to the semblance of a plot, 
 Breath'd sacrilegious menace to God's house. 
 Fit matter for descant pontifical : 
 When Caiaphas, as foremost in degree^ 
 So, to souud forth danger first, and affix 
 Solemnity to malice, from his state 
 With magisterial dignity arose, 
 And sternly fixing on the face divine 140 
 
 His eye inquisitorial, thus began : 
 
 " Hear*st thou what these alledge : the words 
 in charge 
 Stand witness'd by these present : Face to face 
 Th' accusers they and thou th' accused meet : 
 Justice is open. What is thy defence ? [he, 
 Answerest thou nothing?" — Nothing answer'd 
 But as a lamb before its shearer 's mute 
 He open'd not his mouth ; the mystery couch-d 
 Under those words, prophetic of his death 
 And following resurrection, to expound 150 
 To their perverted minds beseem'd not him. 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 149 
 
 Searcher of hearts, and Saviour of mankind : 
 Silent not pertinacious he endur'd 
 Their scorn ; nor did his meek demeanor shew 
 More than the dignity of conscious truth, 
 Which knows itself prejudg'd, and scorns a plea. 
 
 But Caiaphas, who brook'd not this repulse. 
 And still occasion sought from his own lips 
 By subtlety t' ensnare him, thus rc-urg'd 
 Question with solemn adjuration back'd ; 160 
 u Hear me, thou man accus-d, and answer make 
 I do adjure thee by the living God 
 To what I now demand. Art thou the Christ. 
 The very Christ, Son of th' eternal God, 
 Or art thou not ? Resolve us who thou art I" 
 
 Then Jesus, by this solemn adjuration urg'd, 
 Lifting his eyes to heav'n in mute appeal. 
 Whilst all his Father's virtue in his face 
 Effulgent beam'd, these glorious words pro- 
 nounc'd : [earth, 
 
 " Hear them, O heav'n, and Oh ! record them, 
 Write them, ye mortals, on your hearts — I am, 
 1 am the Christ ; all that you ask I am ; 
 And ye shall see me coming in the clouds 
 Of Heav'n, enthron'd at the right hand of 
 Pow'r.'* 
 
 As when on rapine bent, a savage horde, 
 Arab or Indian, in some sandy dell 
 Or by the sedgy lake in ambush lodg'd, 
 
150 CALVARY; OR, [book v 
 
 Upon the watch-word by their leader giv'n 
 Leap from their treach'rous lair, with sudden 
 
 yell 
 
 And bloody weapons waving to surprise 180 
 And overpower th' unguarded trav'ller, 
 Fatally trapp'd into their murderous snare ; 
 So at the signal of their priestly chief 
 Up rose the dire divan with rushing sound, 
 Like roar of distant waters. Terror-struck, 
 Frantic as Bromius, with furious hands 
 Th' enthusiastic hierarch seiz'd his robes, 
 And into tatters, like a cancell'd scroll, 
 Tore them, exclaiming vehement and loud, 
 That all might hear—" What need of further 
 
 proof? [sirs ? 
 
 Ye have heard his blasphemy. How think ye, 
 What may such crime deserve ?" Th' infuriate 
 
 priests, 
 Seiz'dby like phrensy, with one voice pronounce, 
 " Death be his sentence !" Death through all 
 
 the hall 
 Rebounding echoes back th' accurs'd decree. 
 Horrible sentence ! Murder hatch'd in hell ; 
 Libation for the fiends ! Daemons, on you 
 And on your generations to all time 
 His righteous blood shall rest. Now uproar wild 
 And horrid din succeeds. The scoffing crowd 
 Rush to the bar, so privileged, and there 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 151 
 
 With scurril taunts and blasphemies revile 
 The patient Son of God. Oh ! thought of horror-! 
 The Saviour of mankind revil'd by man, 
 The just by th' unjust ! Others, more profane, 
 Vent their vile rheum upon his sacred face, 
 Or smite him with their palms, then gibing cry, 
 t: Tell us who smote thee ; prophesy, thou 
 Christ." [doom 
 
 Monsters, that Christ hath prophecied, your 
 Already by that prophet is pronounc'd, 210 
 
 The lips you strike have utter'd it : Behold ! 
 Jerusalem is fall'n, her towers arc dust, 
 Your city smokes in ruin : Lo ! what piles 
 Of mangled carcases : what horrid scenes 
 Of violated matrons : Hark ! what screams 
 Of infants butcher'd in their mothers' arms ; 
 And look ! your temple blazes to the sky ; 
 Its beams of cedar overlaid with gold, 
 Its fretted roof with carvings rich emboss'd, 
 And all its glorious splendor feed the flames 
 Insatiate ; mark how high their serpent spires 
 Hissing ascend : God fans them in his ire : 
 Thither the wild beasts of the desart hie... 
 There carrion owls by midnight haunt.. .there 
 
 dwells 
 The dragon and the satyrs dance : 'Tis done ! 
 That prophecy is seaPd. There yet remains 
 An awful consummation un reveal'*]. 
 
i52 CALVARY; OR, [book v. 
 
 Till God shall gather up your seatter'd race 
 Still vagrant o'er th' inhospitahle earth. 
 Ah ! wretched people, broken and dispersed. 
 Did ye preserve the oracles of God 
 But to convict your own obduracy ? 
 Sad nation, on whose neck the iron yoke 
 Of persecution hard, too hard, hath lain. 
 And yet lies heavy, will ye not accept 
 A High Priest, holy, harmless, undefil'd, 
 From sinners sep'rate, and exalted high 
 Above the heavens ? And do ye not perceive 
 The word of Jesus in yourselves fulfill'd ? 
 Rue then the prophecy, which you provok'd, 
 Of faithless fathers ye still faithless sons ! 
 Whilst shuddering I recount the impious taunts 
 Of that blaspheming rout : But neither taunts 
 Nor violence could shake the Saviour's peace ; 
 He in his own pure sp'rit collected stood, 
 Nor of their base revilings took account, [ny'd 
 'Twas now that Christ, knowing himself de- 
 Three times of Peter, turn'd and look'd upon 
 
 him. 
 He from the garden, where his Lord was seiz'd, 
 Following at distance Judas and his band, 250 
 Had kept his eye upon their moving fires, 
 And up the sacred Mount pursued their track, 
 Till at the palace-door he stood and sought 
 Admission with the crowd ; when there, behold ' 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 153 
 
 A damsel at the portal scans him o'er 
 With scrutinizing eye, and straight exclaims, 
 M Thou too wert in this Galilean train ; 
 Thou art of Jesus."— Sudden to his heart 
 The coward tremor runs, and there suggests 
 The fear-conceived lie ; before them all 260 
 With confidence to falsehood ill apply'd, 
 "I know not what thou say'st," he straight avers, 
 And to the porch goes forth. There in his ear 
 The cock his first shrill warning gives, and sings 
 The knell of constancy's predicted breach — 
 Of constancy, alas ! too strongly vouch'd 
 By him in rash and over-weening zeal, 
 Boasting like martyrdom with Christ himself. 
 Sole sacrifice appointed for mankind. 
 But he, though of presumption warn'd, by fear 
 Still haunted and the guilty dread of death, 
 Straight to a second questioner replies— 
 " I do not know the man*' — and to engage 
 Belief, binds down the falsehood with an oath... 
 Fatal appeal to Heav'n ! insult to God 
 And his all-righteous ears ! Is this the man, 
 Wiio with such glowing ardour, self-assur'd — 
 4 - Though all shall be offended, I will not" — 
 Proudly averr'd, and for that pride reprov'd — 
 fi Though I should die with thee," dauntless re^ 
 join'd, 280 
 
 ^ Yet will I not deny thee" ? — Man, weak man, 
 
 U 
 
154 CALVARY; OR, [book y, 
 
 Piide was not made for thee. If Peter fell 
 Presuming, who shall say, Behold! I stand 
 In my own strength, nor ask support of God ? 
 And now, as if devoted to his shame, 
 Curious to pry, yet fearful to he seen, 
 He mixes with the throng that crowd the hall ; 
 And there once more is challenged for his 
 
 speech, 
 As fav'ring of the Galilean phrase ; 
 Then with reiterated oaths ahjures 290 
 
 His Master the third time ; when hark ! again 
 The cock's loud signal echoes hack the lie 
 In his convicted ear ; the prophet hird 
 Strains his recording throat, and up to heav'n 
 Trumpets the trehled perjury, and claps 
 His wings in triumph o'er presumption's fall. 
 
 Oh ! fall'n how low, is this thy proinis'd faith, 
 Favour'd of Christ so highly ? Know'st thou 
 
 not, 
 Disciple, thine own Lord ? or know'st him only 
 In safety.. .in prosperity.. .in power, 300 
 
 For thine own selfish ends. ..a summer guest, 
 Prone to desert him in the wint'ry hour 
 Of tribulation, poverty, and woe ? 
 Is thy frail mem'ry of that slipp'ry stuff, 
 That a friend's sorrow washes out all trace 
 Of a friend's features? Look upon his eyes ! 
 Behold, they turn on thee : Them dost thou 
 
 know ? 
 
THE DEATH OF CHEIST. 155 
 
 Their language canst thou read, and from them 
 
 draw 
 The conscious reminiscence thou disown'st ? 
 Mark, is their sweetness lost? Ah ! no ; they 
 
 he am 310 
 
 Celestial grace, a sanctity of soul 
 So melting soft with pity, such a gleam 
 Of love divine attempting mild reproof, 
 "Where is the man, that to obtain that eye 
 Of mercy on his sins would not forego 
 Life's dearest comforts to embrace such hope ? 
 O death, death ! where would be thy sting, or 
 
 where 
 These awful tremblings, which thy coming stirs 
 In my too conscious breast, might I aspire 
 To hope my Judge would greet me with that 
 
 look ? 
 Vaunt not yourselves, ye scorners, nor exult 
 In this recital of a good man's fall, 
 Faithful historian of his own offence : 
 But rather let it physic your proud spleen 
 To mark how mean, prevaricating, false 
 And despicable a vain-glorious man. 
 Peter's denial, David's heinous sin, 
 And all the guilty lapses of man's heart, 
 Though summ'd together into one account, 
 Each spot and blemish malice can search out 
 To tarnish the fair lustre of a name, 
 
136 CALVARY; OR, [book v. 
 
 Stand but as lessons of humility, 
 Warnings of frailty to o'er-weening man ; 
 And if our mournful page hath now set forth 
 The fail of virtue, let it next record 
 Its glorious resurrection : We have shewn 
 Th' offender in his shame ; what now remains 
 But to display the penitent ? Behold ! 
 Abash'd he stands, bath'd in remorseful tears : 
 One glance from his beloved Master's eye, 340 
 Like Nathan's parable, hath rous'd from sleep 
 His drowsy conscience. Mark, where he retires 
 To weep in Solitude, and purge his heart 
 By sorrowful repentance of its guilt. 
 O Peter ! could my verse fit offering make, 
 That verse should be bestow'd upon thy tears* 
 Now the assembled elders and their chief, 
 After short consultation had, resolve 
 With the next dawn of morning to arraign 
 Their Prisoner at the praetorian bar 350 
 
 Of Pilate, procurator for the State 
 Imperial of Rome and Caesar ; he 
 Held judgment sovereign of life and death 
 In tributary Jewry... judge corrupt, 
 And, like Rome's venal emissaries, prone 
 To every sordid purpose ; train'd in blood 
 And for tribunal bloody therefore fit. 
 
 Meanwhile, forth issuing from the fatal hall> 
 Scene of his shame, the sad disciple took 
 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 157 
 
 His pensive way across the temple-court 300 
 Silent and solitary, seeking where 
 T' unbosom his full sorrows and give up 
 His soul to prayer, and pardon seek of God 
 For his revolt. Pale through night's curtain 
 
 gleam'd, 
 By fits, the lunar intermittent ray ; 
 That quiv'ring serv'd to light his lonely steps 
 To the fair gate call'd Beautiful, whose porch 
 High over arch'd, on writhed columns propp'd 
 Of spiral brass convolv'd, was for its shade, 
 Of Christ and his disciples, much in quest. 370 
 
 Hither he came, and falling on his knees, 
 Like th' humble publican, smote on his breast, 
 And this confession self-accusing made : 
 
 ' ; Here let me fall, and in repentant tears 
 Weep out my soul upon these pit'less stones. 
 Made sacred by his steps, whose awful name 
 Thrice blasphem'd, thrice abjur'd, I dare not 
 
 speak, 
 Though in my supplication. Can I say, 
 Spare me, O God of mercy ? Can I ask 
 Pardon of God, unpardon'd of myself ? 380 
 
 Oh ! wretched recreant creature as I am, 
 What shall redeem me from this misery, 
 And reconcile my conscience to itself.., 
 A perjur'd conscience ? Never more can peace 
 Dwell in this bosom : never can my soul 
 
158 CALVARY; OR, [book v. 
 
 Ascend out of the dust, or lift a thought 
 
 In hope tow'rds heav'n. With Judas let me 
 
 dwell, 
 Colleague in treason ; with his sin my sin 
 In th' execration of all time be link'd. 
 Or shall I venture to look up and say, 390 
 
 God, behold a wretch, who dares not sue 
 For mercy but for mitigated wrath — 
 
 For punishment proportion^ to my bearing, 
 
 Protracted, not too sudden, lest it take 
 
 My senses from me, and with them all power 
 
 Of meditation, penance, and atonement ? 
 
 Spare me a little to abhor myself; 
 
 And if the arrow which my conscience drives 
 
 Into this guilty heart, draws not enough 
 
 Of its vile blood to purify what r s left, 400 
 
 Let the strong hand of justice force it home 
 
 And finish me at once. Was I not warn*d 
 
 Of my presumption, and a signal set 
 
 To number my denials, when I swore 
 
 "Never to swerve, but follow him to death ? 
 
 Mine, like Iscariot's, was predicted sin: 
 
 1 spar'd not him — I call'd his wilful guilt, 
 Obstinate malice ; and can I now urge 
 Necessity my plea ? All things are known 
 
 To Christ : the evil motions of my will 410 
 He saw, not over-rui'd. I might have pray'd 
 For grace, support, prevention ; I pray'd not. 
 
THE DEATH OF CHKIST. 159 
 
 But heedless of the prophecy, and blind, 
 Rush'd into sin prepense, self-wuTd, sell-lost. 
 What fascination seiz-d me to draw forth 
 The sword in rash defence of Ilim, whose word 
 Legions of angels could have call'd from heav'n ? 
 And what prevaricating* daemon breath'd 
 The lie into my lips, when the same night, 
 Nay, the same hour, that saw mc prompt t' op- 
 pose 420 
 My life to danger, saw me meanly shrink 
 From what I courted, and behind a lie, 
 Three times repeated, like a coward sculk ? 
 And did I not know Christ whom I deny'd ? 
 Did I not know the Master whom I serv'd, 
 Who call'd me to him, pour'd into my heart 
 His heav'nly doctrines, rais'd my lowly thoughts 
 From the mean drudg'ry of a fisher's trade, 
 And taught me, in the energy of faith, 
 To walk upon that sea, in which ere-while 430 
 1 dragg'd the net, and toil'd for daily bread ? 
 
 mem'ry, once my glory, now my curse, 
 To what sad purpose do I call thee home, 
 Absent in danger, present in despair ? 
 
 Is there a wonder done by Christ on earth 
 
 1 have not witness'd ? Did I not behold 
 Dead Lazarus revive at his command ? 
 What shall T say to him, whom I saw die, 
 When living he arraigns me face to face ? 
 
160 CALVARY; OR, [book v, 
 
 What answer make to those, whom I have 
 serv'd [sands ? 
 
 From one small wallet with the bread of thou- 
 The very blind, ere they receiv'd their sight, 
 Saw more than I, and hail'dhim Lord and Christ, 
 Who shall believe when I renounce belief ? 
 The very devils own him whom I deny'd. 
 Can I call these accurst, whose impious cry 
 Dooms him to death ; who smite him with their 
 palnis [heart. 
 
 Blaspheming? Harder than their hands my 
 Wretch, 'twas my false tongue train'd them on 
 
 to murder ; 
 On me, me only all their sin rebounds : 450 
 I stand condemned — they free. Can I forget 
 How oft my lips confess'd him Son of God ? 
 Perish that tongue, which could revoke its faith, 
 Disown confession and belie my heart. 
 Denied of me on earth, when in the clouds 
 Of heav'n he comes at the right hand of Pow'r, 
 And sends his Angels with the trumpet's sound 
 To gather his elect from the four winds, 
 When, as a shepherd culling out his flock, 
 To separate all nations, and divide 4Gd 
 
 The good from evil, he proceeds, Ah ! then. 
 Then will he not retort the fatal words 
 First us'd of me, " I know thee not ! Depart, 
 Thou wiokcd «ervani, into outer darknc>s 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 16 1 
 
 There weep and gnash thy teeth, in fires prepar'd 
 For Satan and his out-cast crew accurst ?" 
 Thus he all night, with deep remorse o'er- 
 whciin'd, 
 Mournfully kneeling at God's temple-gate, 
 Bewail'd his crime, and supplication made 
 For pardon ; and let after-times attest 470 
 How full a portion of God's sp'rit abode 
 In this blest penitent, when, with the sound 
 Of rushing mighty winds, it was pour'd down 
 On him and on his fellows, thence install'd 
 Apostles, and with gifted tongues inspir'd 
 To speak all languages and preach the word 
 Of Christ throughout the whole converted 
 
 world. 
 Here in this very spot, where now he kneels 
 Repentant, fill'd ere long with pow'r divine, 
 He bade the cripple, in the name of Christ, 480 
 Rise up and walk. He at the word, in sight 
 Of all the people, rose, and stood, and walk'd, 
 And in the temple gave loud praise to God. 
 Then let not his offence, pardon'd of God, 
 By man but for example's sake be nam'd, 
 And once more, hail, thou renovated saint ! 
 Made brighter by repentance. Enter thou 
 Into thy Master's joy once more ; resume 
 Thine apostolic primacy, and feed, 
 Shepherd of Christ deputed, feed his flock : 490 
 
 X 
 
162 CALVARY; OK, [book v. 
 
 'Nov shall thy faith once faulter, nor thy zeal 
 Shrink from the test of martyrdom, resery'd 
 To glorify thy Master on the cross. 
 
 Ji"ow morning from her cloudy harrier forth 
 Advancing, crimson'd all the fiecker'd East, 
 As blushing to lead on the guilty day. 
 With the first dawn the wakeful elders meet... 
 Short council hold ; for little time sumc'd 
 To take their voices, whose relentless minds 
 In the same bloody league were banded all ; 500 
 And now, unanimous with their high priest, 
 In stately, grave procession forth they march 
 To find their heathen judge, and at his bar 
 Arraign the Holy One. — But check, my heart, 
 Thine indignation ; let the verse proceed ! — 
 Him, in his seat of judgment high enthron'd, 
 With axes and with lictors round embay'd 
 In martial state, witli reverence they salute, 
 And lowly stoop their tributary heads 
 To his vicegerent majesty. With smile 5L0 
 Of condescending favour he accepts 
 Their abject greeting, and to his right hand 
 Their chief advances ; others in their ranks 
 And orders he disposes ; then with feign'd 
 Solicitude, as if to seek the cause 
 Of this concerted meeting, he begins : 
 
 " What cause so weighty brings Jehovah's 
 priests 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 163 
 
 With these wise elders and time-honor'd scribes 
 Thus early to seek justice at my bar? 
 Appeal so reverend, with such leader grac'd, 520 
 And by such followers witness'd, well demands 
 Of Caesar's servant his most equal ear." 
 
 Whereto th' high-priest, second to none in 
 
 craft, 
 With solemn accent and demeanor grave 
 Masking his base collusion, thus replies : 
 
 t; When he, whose hand the sword of justice 
 
 sways, 
 Her balance also holds in equal poise 
 Over this realm provincial, we have cause 
 To thank the master of our liberties. 
 Who, by such delegation of his power, 530 
 
 Makes light that yoke, which else would gall our 
 
 necks, 
 Though Csesar lays it on us. Then let praise 
 Be giv'n to Caesar for the love we bear 
 To Pontius Pilate. Have I leave to say, 
 That we, your servants, a peculiar race, 
 Pay worship to one God, and hold at heart 
 As sacred that commandment handed down 
 From our forefathers, which forever makes 
 His undivided Unity the creed 
 Of all our nation ; and whoe'er blasphemes 540 
 His name and controverts our holy faith,. 
 Dies by our law ? This sentence we have pass'd, 
 
l?4 CALVAJtY; Ott, [book v. 
 
 But execution staid, so bound in duty, 
 Upon a certain Nazarite, by name 
 Jesus, obscure of birth, but of our peace 
 Ko ? ^ht disturber ; for the common herd, 
 A v ister as you know with many heads, 
 And every head with twice as many ears 
 It I ig for novelties, have rais'd this man 
 To dang'rous eminence ; and (for he cheats 550 
 Their gross credulity with juggling sleights 
 Whfcli they call miracles) have blown his pride 
 To such a monstrous bulk, he now scales heav'n, 
 There seats himself — Oh ! where shall I find 
 
 words 
 To speak his blasphemy ?— at God's right hand; 
 His Son. obis equal. ..sharer of his throi e... 
 Judge of the world. If this he not a crime 
 For death to expiate we are slaves indeed, 
 And every statute, ordinance, and law 
 Borne leaves inviolate, Jesus shall break 560 
 Unpunish'd : Nor is this, dread sir, the whole 
 Of his presumption ; mark, I pray, the height 
 To which his phrensy rages ; mark his threat ! 
 He will put down this temple in three days, 
 And in like time, with hands invisible, 
 Erect another.— Patron of our laws, 
 Fountain of justice ! ought this man to live ? 
 Such madness breath'dinto our people's minds 
 Will spur them to the deed,. .break every band 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 165 
 
 That ties them down to order, and turn loose 
 Their fury, not on us alone, but Rome ; 
 Not on our temple only, but perhaps 
 On this tribunal, which heav'n guard ! And now 
 Take the whole matter of our charge at once : 
 This Jesus hath pronounc'd himself a king... 
 Our king, your masters rival : You best know 
 If your great cmp'ror abdicates his right 
 To our allegiance, which we fain would hold 
 Where we have vow'd it, to imperial Caesar, 
 Not to this mean mechanic, Joseph's son. 580 
 This is our plea, O Pontius, why we claim 
 Justice against the Pris'ner, who now waits 
 Your sentence under guard and bound, as fits 
 Delinquent so atrocious : I have said." 
 
 To him the Roman — " Be it known to all, 
 The sentence, which you urge against the life 
 Of your now absent pris'ner, cannot pass 
 By practice of our law, till face to face 
 "With his accusers he shall stand at bar, 
 And licence have to answer for himself 590 
 Touching the crime in charge ; therefore these 
 
 words, 
 Which you have largely spent, are spent in air, 
 Else might the ear of justice be forestall'd 
 By the empleader's charge, and so perchance 
 Let fall the axe upon the guiltless head. 
 Much knowledge of your laws I cannot boast, 
 
166 CALVARY; OH, [book y. 
 
 Nor with these learned scribes hold argument ; 
 
 For so much therefore as to them pertains, 
 
 I on the part of Csesar am no judge ; 
 
 His tributes, his supremacy and rights, 600 
 
 Disputed or oppos'd, I shall uphold 
 
 'Gainst all offenders. Let th* aecus'd appear !'* 
 
 This said, behold the blessed Son of God 
 TJragg'd to a pagan bar ! There whilst he stood 
 A spectacle of pity, patient, meek, 
 Submitted to his fate, Pilate, who knew 
 Hiin innocent and his accusers false, 
 Envious and cruel, eyM him o'er and o'er, 
 And as he ponder' d in his mind how base 
 The sentence he was now requir'd to give, 610 
 Some sparks of Roman virtue, not quite dead, 
 Though faintly felt in his degen'rate breast, 
 Revolted from the deed : Soft was the touch, 
 Though ineffectual, which sweet pity gave 
 To his stern heart : He wish'd, yet knew not 
 
 how, 
 T' unfold the gates of mercy, and through them 
 Let pass the rescued Innocent to life ; 
 The son of Epicurus could no more. 
 Upon the sufferer's brow serene he saw 
 Where innocence and sanctity enthron'd $20 
 Sate >isible, and claiin'd his just award : 
 He turn'd him to th' accusers and beheld 
 Such malice, as brought up to view a groupe 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 1G7 
 
 Of his own furies from their fabled hell ; 
 Then with a frown he cries, " What law is your'sS, 
 Which makes this man a culprit ere he's tried ? 
 Unman acle his limbs ! A Roman judge 
 Hears no man plead in shackles ; he who speaks 
 In life's defence, hath call for every aid 
 That nature can bestow, free use of limbs, 630 
 Action and utterance to grace his cause, 
 And hold him up against the world's contempt ; 
 I will not hear a man that pleads in bonds. 
 Cut those vile cords asunder : Set him loose !" 
 And now our blessed Lord, his arms releas'd 
 From the harsh {hongs, which the malignant 
 
 Jews 
 Had bound about them, *gan to recompose 
 His decent vesture, and with calm survey 
 To note his persecutors, those dire priests 
 And cruel hypocrites that bay'd him round. 640 
 In every breast, transparent to his eye, 
 Malice, and craft, and envy he discern'd : 
 In Pilate's face the shifting hues bespoke 
 Internal strife of passions all in arms- — 
 Combat 'twixt good and evil : In his hand 
 He held a scroll, which with intentive eye 
 And thoughtful brow deep pond'ring he perus'd : 
 The writing well he kuew, but the contents, 
 Thus worded, much perplex'd his wav'ring 
 
 thoughts : 
 
168 CALVARY; OR, [book v. 
 
 " O Pilate, if thy wile was ever held 650 
 In honor, love, or trust, I do adjure thee 
 This once take warning from her voice inspir'd 
 To snatcli thee from destruction. Oh ! withhold 
 Thine hand from that just person, harm not him, 
 That holy Jesus, who now stands before thee ; 
 Touch not Iiis sacred life, or on thine head 
 A fearful judgment thou shalt else pull down : 
 A mighty Pow'r protects him, what I know not, 
 But mightier sure than all the gods of Rome ; 
 For I have seen his glory in a dream, [ware !" 
 And dreams descend fromheav'n. Pilate, be- 
 
 Such was the warning scroll he now perus'd. 
 Ev'n on the judgment seat, by timely hand 
 Sent for his rescue : Happy ! had he turn'd 
 His heart so warn'd to justice, and obey'd 
 The visitation of the spirit vouchsafe : 
 But he, like Csesar, deem'd his manhood pledg'd 
 To make slight 'count of a weak woman's dream , 
 Yet much confus'd, uncertain and perplex'd, 
 He look'd around and saw all eyes upon him : 
 The Jews impatient, Jesus at the bar 
 Prepared for trial : What shall he resolve ? 
 Break up the court and judgment put aside 
 For a mere vapor — for no better plea 
 Than to indulge a woman's fond caprice, 
 And bid the law stand still and wait the time 
 "Till Pilate's wife shall meet with better 
 dreams r" 
 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 169 
 
 Such scorn he dar'd not to provoke ; and now 
 Loud murmurs fill'd his ear : Compell'd to rise, 
 Though uncollected, and in mind disturbed, 680 
 He thus address'd the Lord : " Art thou a king', 
 And of this nation, who accuse thee to me, 
 King of the Jews ?" — "Thou say'st it," Jesus 
 
 cry'd : 
 " But say'st thou of thyself this thing, or, taught 
 Of others, art thou prompted so to speak ? — 
 Am I a Jew ?" the fault'ring judge reply'd 5 
 M Not I, but these, who if thou wert a king 
 Were thine own subjects, elders, priests and 
 
 scribes, 
 These have accus'd thee. Not of them am I ; 
 Nor in this business covet further share, 690 
 Than, on the part of justice, to demand, 
 What hast thou done ? How answer'st thou 
 
 their charge ?" [Lord, 
 
 " Of this world were my kingdom," said our 
 
 "My servants would defend their King, and 
 
 fight 
 To save me from my oppressors : But I reign 
 Not on this earth, nor is my pow'r from hence." 
 " Art thou a king, then ?" — interpos'd the 
 
 judge : 
 u Thou say'st," cry'd Jesus, " that I am a king 5 
 And truly to this purpose was I born, 
 And for this cause came I into the world, 700 
 
 Y 
 
170 CALVAHY; Oil, [book v. 
 
 That I should witness bear unto the Truth ; 
 A id all, that to the Truth belong, hear me." 
 " What is the Truth ?" said Pilate ; but his 
 
 voice 
 Now faulter'd, and his thoughts unsettled, wild 
 And driv'n at random like a wreck, could grasp 
 No helm of reason ; only this he knew, 
 There was no fault before him : This aloud 
 To all he published, and pronounc'd him clear. 
 Whereat, with rage and disappointment stung, 
 Furious as wolves defrauded of their prey, 710 
 Uprose the priests appellant, and afresh 
 Urge o'er and o'er their aggravating charge, 
 Forging new falsehoods and re-forging old : 
 The Preacher of forbearance, peace and love, 
 Perverter of the nation now they call, 
 Fomenter of sedition, spreading wide 
 From Galilee, the cradle of his birth, 
 Throughout all Jewry to the capital ; 
 Where now assuming to himself the name, 
 Prerogative, and state of King and Christ, 720 
 He stirreth up the people to revolt, 
 Forbidding them to pay their rightful dues 
 Of tribute to Rome's emperor, himself 
 Exalting above Csesar. This, and more 
 In the like strain of virulence, with lips 
 In aspic venom steep'd, they now depose ; 
 Nor had they brought their malice to a pause. 
 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 171 
 
 When Pilate, hoping he had now found plea 
 To shift the dreaded sentence from himself, 
 Thus interposing, check'd their clam'rous 
 spleen : 730 
 
 " Break off, and let your tongues take rest a- 
 while : 
 It is not at this bar you must implead 
 This man, a Galilean as it seems : 
 Whom, being such, it is not mine to hear, 
 !3ut Herod's : Let his special tetrarch judge 
 ■Twixt him and you : Thither remit your suit." 
 
 This said, he rose, preventing all reply, 
 Whilst they, though by procrastination gall'd, 
 Yet of their tetrarch confident, submit : 
 But nor with Herod could their malice speed 
 To its main purpose : Little care had he 
 For all their priestly clamour ; in his thoughts 
 Religion had no interest.. .truth no weight: 
 For prophets and for prophecies no ear 
 Had he, alike regardless how Christ preach'd, 
 Or they complain'd ; yet much he wish'd to see 
 Some splendid miracle of him performed — 
 Something to strike his senses with surprise 
 And satisfy a wanton curiosity, 
 Made eager by the fame of those great works, 
 Whereof lie much had heard, and nothing seen, 
 But when our Lord to all his questions mute 
 Nor word nor sign vouchsafe, to wrath impeH'u\ 
 
173 CALVARY ; OR, [book v. 
 
 What by enticements he had fail'd to gain 
 By taunts he hop'd to extort ; and now his 
 
 spleen 
 To impious scorn and mockery gave the reign : 
 Forthwith his pris'nerin a gorgeous robe 
 AppareM'd as a king, to all his court 
 H id up for sport and laughter, he expos'd. 
 Loud was the roar of blasphemy the whilst, 760 
 And wild the revels of the scoffing throng 
 As the lewd orgies of the frantic god, 
 Or clamour of that sacrilegious rout, 
 When their mad rage theThracian minstrel tore, 
 Whose wonder-working harp could charm the ear 
 Of hell, and call dead nature into life. 
 The priests look'd on and grinn'd malicious joy ; 
 Yet would not Herod execution doom ; 
 Or willing to appease the jealousy 
 Of Pilate, or content to mark his scorn 770 
 Of Jesus by this arrogant display 
 Of mercy, as not dreading whom he spar'd. 
 
 Now once again at Pilate's bar he stands, 
 Not as before like malefactor ty'd 
 And round begirt with cords, but overlaid 
 With a rich load of sumptuous mockery ; 
 A lamb compell'd to carry the proud spoils 
 And guilty trappings of the tyrannous wolf. 
 Again the judge with slow unwilling step 
 To his tribunal mounts, and thus he speaks : 
 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 173 
 
 "You still persist to bring this man to me 
 As a pcrverter of your nation's faith 
 And loyalty : Your witnesses I've heard, 
 Ponder'd their depositions, and throughout 
 Examin'd ev'ry tittle of your charge : 
 Him too I've question'd in the ears of all 
 Here present, and no shadow of offence 
 Can I discern to warrant your appeal 
 For execution, and pass judgment on him : 
 IVo, nor yet Herod, for to him I sent 790 
 
 You and your Pris'ner, and behold him freed ; 
 Nothing is done unto him worthy death : 
 I will chastise him therefore and release ; 
 Yet this chastisement, rather to allay 
 Your anger, than so merited of him, 
 I shall inflict. Remember this your feast 
 Hath the long plea of custom to be mark'd 
 With pardon and forbearance : To reprieve 
 One culprit from his sentence I am bound 
 No less by inclination than by rule 800 
 
 And usage immemorial : Make your choice ! 
 But let it fall on innocence, not guilt." 
 
 Instant all voices echo'd forth a cry — 
 "Hence with this man ! away with him to death ! 
 Give us the murd'rer....set Barabbas free : 
 Let Jesus perish !" — " Wherefore ; for what 
 
 crime ?" 
 Pilate exclaim'd : "What evil hath he done ? 
 
174* CALVARY; OR, [book v. 
 
 Ko cause of death in Jesus can I find, 
 
 Be witness for me, justice, none in him ; 
 
 But for that wretch, on whom ye would bestow 
 
 Pardon misplac'd, so various are his crimes, 
 
 So black their quality, ye cannot name 
 
 A death more terrible than he deserves. 
 
 Take of the guiltless blood what stripes can draw 
 
 To satisfy your longing, but forbear 
 
 To take the life, if not for pity's sake, 
 
 In honor of yourselves, that ye may say, 
 
 There was one prophet, whom ye did not kill." 
 
 Loud as the winds that lash the raging seas, 
 And ail as deaf, redoubling now the roar, 820 
 Th' infuriate Jews rend their blaspheming throats 
 Howling for blood \ 'till deafen'd with the din 
 Of Crucify him ! crucify him / (dreadful cry,) 
 Pilate, who 'twixt their tumult and the death 
 Of that just person saw no middle course, 
 By which t' escape, one solemn act prepar'd, 
 By expiatory washing of his hands 
 In presence of the multitude, to purge 
 His soul, and therefore God alone is judge, 
 From the pure blood of that devoted Lamb. 830 
 
 "Behold!" he cries, "I pour this water forth. 
 And therein make ablution of my soul 
 From all participation in your crime, 
 Bv washing of my hands from every stain 
 Of this inhuman sacrifice, each spot 
 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 175 
 
 And sprinkling of this guiltless Victim's Wood. 
 Rest on your heads the murder ! I am clean." 
 
 "This said, he turn'd and fix'd a pitying look 
 Upon the Lord ; then sigh'd and gave the word ; 
 Eager as hounds, when slipp'd upon their prey, 
 In rush the throng, and soon the hissing scourge 
 Whirl'd with impetuous swing aloud resounds 
 Gashing that sacred flesh, whose bleeding-stripes 
 Heal'd our sin-wounded souls : upon his brow 
 A thorny crown they fix, whose tort'ring spikes, 
 Thrust rudely in by sacrilegious hands, 
 Furrow his temples, and with crimson streams 
 Cover his face divine : Him thus abus'd, 
 Mangled with stripes and all o'erbath'd in blood, 
 In purple robe they scornfully array 850 
 
 And drag to public view, — "Behold the man !» 
 Pilate proclaim'd, with horror in his voice 
 And out-stretch'd arm, that pointed to a sight 
 Which had to pity mov'd their steely hearts, 
 Had they not been of metal forg'd by fiends 
 And temper'd in the sternest fires of hell. 
 Dry-eyed, as rock of adamant unmov'd, 
 Obdurate to his sorrows they look'd on, 
 Nor from their crucifying clamour eeas'd. 
 Till Pilate, now all hope for Jesus lost, 8 GO 
 
 Yielding to their tumultuous fury, cry'd : 
 
 " Take him, and do your bloody work your- 
 selves : 
 
176 CALVARY; OR, [book y. 
 
 Impose it not on me ; I find no cause 
 Of death, no fault in Jesus. Take ye him 
 And crucify him ! Of his guiltless hlood, 
 Lo ! I am innocent ; see ye to that !" 
 
 " On us and on our children be his blood !" 
 Then answer'dallthe Jews. Tremendous words, 
 Tremendously fulfill'd ! And now afresh 
 They clamour for the cross ; when thus the 
 
 judge-— 
 " Would you that I should crucify your King ?>» 
 " We have no king but Caesar," they rejoin, 
 " Nor art thou Caesar's friend to spare this man." 
 ? Twas past ; to that dread name the Roman 
 
 bow'd 
 Obedient, and from his sad heart sigh'd forth 
 Th' extorted doom — death to the Lord of Life ! 
 
 END OF THE FIFTH I5O0K. 
 
OR, 
 
 THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 
 
 BOOK VI 
 
 z 
 
ARGUMENT OF THE SIXTH BOOK. 
 
 Judas Iscariot, seized with remorse, returns the thirty pieces of silver to 
 the priests, and departs. Mammon re-assumes the habit of a Levite, 
 and meeting Judas, after he had returned the -money to the priests, in- 
 stigates him to destroy himself. That evil spirit now takes wing and 
 repairs to the wilderness. ..convenes the daemons from all parts of Pales- 
 tine, and, informing them of Satan's expulsion from earth, warns them 
 by his command to betake themselves to flight, before the hour of 
 Christ's crucifixion This is no sooner announced, than the whole in- 
 fernal host breaks up in disorder, and disperses to various parts of the 
 world therein described. The subject of the crucifixion is now brought 
 forward : The procession sets out for Mount Calvary : Christ, bearing 
 his cross, is bisvailed by the spectators as he passes ; He is seen by Ga- 
 briel and the angels with him from the mount, on which they were sta- 
 tioned : He addresses himself to the daughters of Jerusalem : The ex- 
 ecutioners pail his hands and feet to the cross ; the priests revile him, 
 and call upon him to comedown ; one of the malefactors crucified with 
 him, casts the same in his teeth ; he is reproved by the other, whose 
 penitence is rewarded by the promise of immediate salvation and glorj . 
 Christ from the cross recommends his mother to John, the beloved dii- 
 ciple. Christ dies. The sun is darkened. ..the earth quakes. ..the rocks 
 are rent, and the bodies of the saints and prophets are raised from the 
 dead and appear upon earth. The priests and elders, alarmed by these 
 prodigies, resort to Pilate and demand a guard cf Romans to defend tlu: 
 sepulchre, lest the disciples should take away the body of Christ, and 
 pretend that he was risen : Pilate replies, that they have a watch ; bids 
 them see to it themselves, and dismisses them. 
 
BOOK Vic 
 
 THE CRUCIFIXION. 
 
 ""I.JN us and on our children be his blood!" — • 
 Such was jour imprecation, O ye Jews, 
 When in your sight the world's Redeemer stood 
 Gasli'd o'er with wounds, mid emptying* e\ 7 vy 
 
 vein 
 For man's redemption ; and behold ! it flows.., 
 It whelms upon you in a flood-gate tide; 
 Stccp'd to the lips ye are in all the blood 
 Of all the righteous shed upon the earth, 
 From blood of righteous Abel to the blood 
 Of Zecliariah, whom your fathers ston'd 10 
 
 Betwixt the altar and the house of God. 
 Ye have enonjHh : the mark is on your race : 
 Ye have drawn down the judgment ye provok'd; 
 It rests upon you : Yet for you no rest, 
 No station, no abiding-place is found ; 
 Strangers and weary wand'rers upon earth, 
 if in the dust of your Jerusalem 
 With foot proscrib'd ye dare to tread, ye die j 
 A savage race usurps your sacred mount, 
 
180 CALVARY 1 ; OR, [book vi. 
 
 And Jordan echoes an unhallow'd name ; SO 
 Should ye hut stop to shed a filial tear 
 Upon the soil where your forefathers sleep, 
 Woe to the circumcis'd that so is found ! 
 Oh ! si w of heart, when will ye understand, 
 That thus afflicted^ scatter'd and dispers'd 
 Through every clime and kingdom of the world; 
 Ye are sent forth to publish, as ye pass, 
 How truly Christ predicted of your fate ; 
 And though your lips deny, your sufferings prove 
 That prophet Jesus, whom your fathers slew, 30 
 Was Saviour, Christ, Messiasj Son of God. 
 
 Amidst the throng that fill the judgment hall 
 Stood Judas ; he upon the watch t J avoid 
 The Master's eye, with caution took his post ; 
 Yet was his ear to all that Jesus spake [strong 
 Still present, and, though few the words, yet 
 And potent of those few th' impressive truth* 
 There was a magic sweetness in his voice, 
 A note that seem'd to shiver every nerve 
 Entwin'd about his heart, though now corrupt} 
 Debas'd, and hardened. Ill could he abide, 
 Murderer although he were, the dying tones 
 Of Him, whom he had murder'd : 'Twas the 
 
 voice 
 As of a spirit in the air by night 
 Heard in the meditation of some crime, 
 Or sleep-created in the troubled ear 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 1 8 i 
 
 Of conscience, crying out, Beware ! It smote 
 Upon the soul, for it was Christ who spake ; 
 Well then might Judas tremble : 'Twas the 
 
 traitor 
 JList'ning the plea of innocence betrayed ; 50 
 Well might that plea awaken his remorse. 
 When the perverting witnesses depos'd 
 To crimes of which lie knew his Master free^ 
 The refutation quiver-d on his lips, 
 And hard he struggled to bring forth the words. 
 Yet could not, tongue-ty'd with despair . and 
 
 shame. 
 Bat if his hearing so alarm-d his heart, 
 What were his feelings, when at times his eye 
 Glanc'd on the sacred person of his Lord, 
 Bound like a felon, his defenceless hands 60 
 In manacles, confin'd behind his back, 
 His cheeks with blows sufflated, and his face 
 (Oh, piteous !) with blaspheming slaver stain'd : 
 Then-stripp'd, transform'd, in purple stole ar- 
 ray 'd, 
 Saluted with the insolent "All-hail, 
 King of the Jews !" — a spectacle of sport 
 And merriment to all the scoffing crowd ? 
 Could heart of man bear this, who had beheld 
 His miracles. ..his mercies ; prov'd his love... 
 iTis patience. ..his forbearance ; shar'd his care?. 
 His labours and his watching? : heard his voice, 
 
18* CALVARY; OB, [book vi. 
 
 When tempest-tost, rebuke the elements, 
 Though silent now amidst the roar of tongues ? 
 'Twas all that priestly malice could inflict, 
 But more than Mammon's convert could support. 
 Yet worse hud these tormentors in reserve 
 To agonize his soul.. .another scene 
 To shift new horrors on that bloody stage : 
 Tiie torturing scourge now sounded in his cars. 
 The mangled flesh flew off in tatter'd stripes.... 
 The crimson stream ran down. ..the pavement 
 
 drank 
 Libation of his immolated blood : 
 The hall rebellow'd with the echoing cry 
 Of monsters who applauded every stroke ; 
 Wolves, vultures ; Oh, for words to speak them 
 
 worse ! 
 Men turti'd to daemons. Traitor tho' he were} 
 Son of perdition, this was all too much. 
 
 "Take hence, 1 ' he cry-d, "take back your 
 
 bribe accurst* [coin ; 
 
 Damxi'd price of damning deed ! Tell o'er your 
 Count out your thirty pieces ; for each piece 90 
 Is thirty thousand daggers to ray heart : 
 Burthen'd too much already with my sins, 
 I should but into worse damnation sink, 
 Under this mercenary load opprest. 
 1 have betray'd the innocent ; too late 
 For pardon, I am past redemption lost : 
 
THE DEATH OF CHBIST. 1S3 
 
 Ye may redeem the time, if ye reeal 
 
 Your fatal condemnation, and atone 
 
 To that just Person ye have doom'dto deatli ; 
 
 If not, ye crucify the Lord of Life." 100 
 
 This said, he threw the thirty pieces down 
 jtn ! strait departed ; they to his retort 
 Short answer made, remorseless and malign. 
 And now disburtheird of his filthy bribe, 
 It seem'd as though his conscience would permit 
 A momentary pause, for one short gleam 
 Of hope to visit his benighted soul : 
 "Twas something like atonement; 'twas one step 
 Turn'd backward from the precipice of sin, 
 And pointed tow'rds repentance ; ! tw;;s the last 
 Faint effort that reluctant nature made 
 Tp struggle 'gainst self murder : but how vain ! 
 For Mammon, once the tyrant of man's heart, 
 111 brooks expulsion thence ; from youth to age, 
 From age to life*s extremest hour he holds 
 Absolute empire ; nor does hell contain 
 Spirit so jealous of usurp'd command. 
 He in the bosom of those impious priests 
 Held high pre-eminence, and them amidst, 
 Himself unseen, had noted all that pass/d ; 120 
 And much indignant to be now abjur'd 
 Of that compunctious traitor, swift as thought. 
 (Such was iiis power of motion.) took the form 
 And habit of that Levite, firs t assnm'd. 
 
18* CALVARY ; OR, [book vi. 
 
 And him close following to the outward hall, 
 There with these taunting words assail'd his ear: 
 " A losing game, friend Judas, thou hastplay'd, 
 To set thy soul upon a desperate cast, 
 And after pay the stake on either side. 
 What folly is it to be knave by halves ! 130 
 
 Who would strike virtue in the face, and then 
 Ask pardon for the blow — -fall oft' from truth, 
 Enlist with falsehood and take pay for treason, 
 Then by a paltry plea of restitution, 
 Think to compound one tresspass by another... 
 Desertion by desertion? Get thee hence, [dregs 
 Thou shame to manhood ! wring out the sad 
 Of thy detested life in hopeless tears, 
 For thou hast thrown away both worlds at once ; 
 All gain in this. ..all glory in the next." 140 
 
 " And what art thou," cried Judas, " so to gal) 
 A wounded spirit, wounded by thy arts, 
 Tempter accurst ? Human thou canst not be, 
 Else thou would'st find some pity in thy heart 
 For wretch like me. Who but thyself seduc'd 
 My loyalty from Christ ? Who sapp'd my faith < 
 Who fix'd this adder to my breast, but thou ? 
 Thou, daemon as thou art, hast hurl'd me down 
 From my high hope to fathomless abyss 
 Of misery and despair.. .from hcav'n to hell." 
 
 ' ; Rail not on me," quoth Mammon," but thyself 
 And thine own folly ; there the charge were just. 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 185 
 
 Didst thou not sell thy Master for a bribe ? 
 My part was faithfully perform'd ; the price 
 Conditioned for was paid. What would'st thou, 
 
 more ? 
 1 needed treason, and I sought out thee 
 As fittest for my purpose. Envious, proud, 
 Lustful of pelf, a villain ready made 
 And ripe for mischief, such I marked thee down \ 
 Nay, and yet better ; for I thought thee w hole 
 And perfect villain with no rotten part 
 Of penitence to mar thee ; but, behold, 
 Thou hast deceived me vilely, and hast got 
 A blinking vice about thee, a perverse 
 And retrograde depravity of soul, 
 That makes thee hateful to my sight. Begone \ 
 That thou art wicked put not me to blame ; 
 JIadst thou been constant I had made thee rich, 
 And riches would have sav'd thee from con- 
 tempt ; [vaunt ! 
 Now thou art poor and loathsome. Hence ; a- 
 One remedy I'll give thee for despair... 
 This cord, a remnant of thy Master's bonds— T 
 A legacy most opportunely left 
 To heal thy cares and recompense thy love : 
 Take, and apply it to its proper use ; 
 Jt t>'d his limbs : Let it encase thy throat." 
 H'j said, and, stooping, from the pavement 
 took 
 
 A 3 
 
186 CALVARY; OB. [book yi. 
 
 The cord there left, andhinlii ; it with scori* 
 To the desponding traitor, disappear'd. 
 Sordid that wretch tli^ Fatal gift reject, 180 
 But eager seiz'd the instrument • death, 
 And soo f i within a darksome vault beneath 
 The judgment-hall, fit solitude lie found, 
 And beam appropriate to his desperate use ; 
 Whereto tpperidant he breath'd out his soul, 
 Not daring to put up o prayer for peace » 
 At his dark journey's end ; but trembling, wild, 
 Confus'd, of reason as of liopfc bereft, 
 With' heaving breast and ghastly staring eyes, 
 There betwixt heav'n and earth, of both e- 
 
 nouncd, )0 
 
 Hung, terrible to sight, a bloated corpse, ["sumo 
 Oh! how shall rash and ignorant man pre- 
 To judge for God, and on his narrow scale 
 Think to mete out, by limits and degrees, 
 Immeasurable mercy? Who can tell 
 Hnv high the sorrows of man's suffering heart 
 Ascend tow'rds heaven.. .how swift contrition 
 
 Hies... 
 What words find passage to the throne of grace, 
 What in mid-way are lost, dispers'd in air, 
 And scatter'd to the winds ! Oh ! that my harp 
 Could sound that happy note, which stirs the 
 
 string 
 Responsive, that kind Nature hath entwin'd 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 187 
 
 About the human heart, and by whose clue 
 Bop ntance, heav'nly monifress, reclaims 
 The youthful wand*i rfrom his dang'ffous maze 
 To tre A her peace; >aths, and seek his God : 
 So could my fervent, i effectual verse 
 Avail, posterity should then engrave 
 That verse upon my tomb, to tell the world 
 I lid. not live in-vain. But heedless man, 210 
 D if to the music of the moral song, 
 By Mammon or by Belial led from sin 
 To sin, runs onward i i his mad career ; 
 Nor once takes warning of his better guide, 
 Till, at the barrier of life's little span 
 Arriv'd, he stops : Death opens to his view 
 A hideous gulph ; in vain he looks around 
 For the lost seraph, Hope ; beside him stands 
 The tyrant fiend and urges to the brink ; 
 Behind him black despair with threatening frown 
 And gorgon shield, whose interposed orb 
 Bars all retreat, and with its shade involves 
 Life's brighter prospects in one hideous night. 
 So Judas fell ; so like him every wretch, 
 By the same filthy Mammon lur'd, shall fall. 
 
 Meanwhile the vengeful daemon unappcas'd, 
 Pond'rinff the warning of his Stveian lord 
 Late driv*n from earth, and mindful that the 
 
 charge 
 And conduct of hell's host on him devolved 
 
188 CALVARY; OR, [book ti. 
 
 Nowclaim'd his wariest thoughts, upon the wing 
 Sets forth full sail to summon his compeers, 
 As many as in that quarter might be found, 
 And them apprize of their foul loss incurr'd 
 By their great captain's fall, and what dispatch 
 Behoves them now put forth timely to 'scape 
 Impending danger of their chief foreseen, 
 If Christ's death-hour should unawares surprize 
 Them idlv station'di or with curious gaze 
 Hovering about his cross. So forth he goes : 
 But first to spy the land he wheels his flight 
 Athwart Mount Calvary, and there on guard 
 A file of lieav'nly warriors he descries 
 Covering the sacred hill, and at their head 
 Gabriel, in golden panoply array'd, 
 Arm'd at all points, commander of the band. 
 The fate of Satan and the recent sight 
 Of Chemos' ghastly wound, with guilty fears 
 Haunting his coward fancy, warn'd him fly 
 Beyond the range of that strong spear, from 
 
 which 
 Spirit more warlike than himself had fled. 250 
 As when a pirate galley on the scout, 
 Roving the seas of some strong-guarded coast 
 In bay or inlet moor'd under the lee 
 Of headland promontory at anchor spies 
 A warlike fleet, whose tow'ring masts and sail* 
 Unbent for sea, bespeak their ready trim-, 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 189 
 
 Down goes the helm at once, the felon crew 
 Bestir all hands and veer the vessel round 
 To seaward, then ply oars and sails for life : 
 So at the sight of that angelic band, 260 
 
 The Stygian scout wheel-d round and sped his 
 
 flight 
 Sheer to the wilderness on swiftest wing, 
 There on the watch Azazel haply found. 
 He hade sound forth the loud Satanic trump. 
 Heard through all Palestine, at call whereof 
 Sp'rits, to whatever element aflix'd, 
 In troops swift-posting on the charmed winds, 
 Came from all parts ; from Sidon and from Tyre 
 New ris'n amidst the waves ; from Gaza r s coast^ 
 Meridian limit, to the snow-capt mounts 270 
 Hermon and Libanus, and them beyond 
 From Epidaphne on Orontes' stream, 
 Fam'd for its grove prophetic ; from the banks 
 Of Pharphar and Abana, Rimmon's haunts ; 
 From Byblus, where Astarte's wanton train 
 Howl for the death of Thammuz, yearly lost 
 And found as oft by the love-frantic dames. 
 These on the desart heath alighting stand 
 Obedient to the signal ; all around 
 Expectant of their arch-angelic chief 280 
 
 They cast an anxious look, but look in vain : 
 Him in far other region they shall find 
 h\ chains fast bound amidst eternal fires^ 
 
190 CALVARY; OR, [book vi. 
 
 His dismal dwelling, for them also reserv'd 
 In God's appointed time. To whom the fiend : 
 " I muse not, warriors, that ye stand amaz'd 
 To see yourselves in absence of our chief 
 Here summon'd by this arch-angelic trump, 
 "Which other breath than his before ne'er fiil'd ; 
 But public danger urges this bold step, 290 
 In me presumptuous, had I not to plead 
 Your safety for my warrant, and withal 
 His last sail mandate earnestly bequeath'd 
 At parting, when, sole witness, I beheld 
 His utter loss, discomfiture and flight. 
 Ah. friends ! how sympathetic with my soul 
 Is that deep general groan, which now I hear ! 
 Fall cause, immortal mourners, have we all 
 To groan and beat our breasts ; nor I the least, 
 Whose melancholy task it is to pour 300 
 
 These heavy tidings in your grieved ears. 
 But let us yet remember what we are, 
 And be not therefore heartless, though bereft 
 Of him, who was the head and brain of all. 
 Many and mighty are the chiefs yet left, 
 Though he, prime chief, no longer shall review 
 This widow -d host. Of Satan the return 
 Is desp'ratc, such a whirlwind caught him up, 
 So strong a southern blast at Christ's command 
 Blew him beyond the stretch of angel ken 3 10 
 Right onward to the realm of ancient Night 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 191 
 
 Impetuous through the empyrean void 
 Sheer on the level wing. Of him the fate 
 Is worse than doubtful ; of his Victor's power 
 And Godhead irresistible what proof 
 Greater than this sad downfall can we need, 
 Or after such example what provoke ? 
 Behoves us now prepare for instant flight ; 
 This our late chief, prophetic in his fall, 
 With his last words enjoin'dme to propound 320 
 To these our legions scattered o ? er the coasts 
 OP Palestine, whom else the coming hour 
 Of Christ's mysterious passion shall involve 
 In like disgrace and ruin with your prince, 
 Who to his latest moment upon earth 
 Waa studious of your safety. I have now, 
 In words unworthy of my charge, yet such 
 As heart o'erwhelmn'd with sorrow can supply, 
 Surrendered to your ears my painful trust. 
 I5ut whither to repair, whom to elect 330 
 
 As captain and conductor of this host, [inand 
 Now heedless, conscious that such high com- 
 With none but with the worthiest should be 
 
 lodg'd, 
 I, as becomes me, to Your wiser thoughts 
 Submit, and with the general choice shall close. " 
 No more : for now, with sudden panic seiz'ih 
 The Stygian host, no voice imperial heard 
 Nor rule nor order kept, uprose at once, 
 
192 CALVARY; OR, [book vj. 
 
 Disbanded, lawless ; dreadful was the yell 
 Of that infernal rout — a swarm as thick 340 
 As locusts, making* horrid night beneath 
 Their wings, that with like clangor beat the air. 
 As of a flock of cormorants disturbed 
 From some lone island on the rocky coast 
 Of Chili, where they haunt ; so they with cry- 
 More hideous mount, there hover for a while, 
 Then to all points disperse, as chance falls out, 
 Or short consult prescribes. Some to the south. 
 With Isis and Osiris at their head, 
 To Memphis, Thin and Tamis take their flight 3 
 There with the bestial deities to herd, 
 Birds, serpents, reptiles, monsters of the Nile ff 
 Gods that would half unfurnish Noah's ark : 
 Some with Meloartus, demi-god of Tyre, 
 Light short, and in its temple refuge take, 
 Where, arm'd with massy club and lion hide, 
 His huge athletic idol frowning stands : 
 Others with Rimmon eastward wing their way 
 To fam'd Damascus ; there in bow'ring shades 
 By rilling fountains on the flow'ry turf 366 
 
 To doze away the soft oblivious hours, 
 A siumb'ring synod : Some the golden spires 
 Of Nineveh attract and Nisroc's fane, 
 Stain'd with Sennacherib's imperial hlood s 
 Thereby the parricidal princes shed. 
 To Byblus and Belitns others speed. 
 
THE DEATH OF CHttTST. 198 
 
 Light feathery wantons, by Astarte led, 
 With loose-love ditties and soft smiles lur'd on 
 To page her pride and dcek her am'rous sports ! 
 But of the rest far greater part repair 370 
 
 To high Olympus, where presides the power 
 Of thund'ring Baal ; he that station keeps 
 Pre-eminent, o'er all the idol gods, 
 And in his festive hall rich nectar quaffs 
 With purple lips, and midnight revels holds. 
 Luxurious, sensual, lewd, in vice immers'd : 
 Yet some there were, and of no vulgar note, 
 Who, (grief to tell !) to the biforked mount 
 Flew off, and there with the Parnassian maids 
 Held shameful dalliance ; from whose lewd em- 
 brace 380 
 Descended a whole family of bards 
 Corruptive, illegitimate, and base ; 
 A spurious breed of wickedness and wit ; 
 A Muse's genius with a daemon's heart : 
 Mammon, meanwhile, a solitary sprite, 
 Selfish, morose, and e'en by dev'ls abhorr'd, 
 Hied him alone, on sordid thoughts intent, 
 To rummage in Pactolus' sands for gold ; 
 None join'd, nor sought he partner in his flight, 
 His sole ambition to engross and hoard. 390 
 
 Now came the awful consummation on, 
 The hour of promise, dimly shadow'd out 
 Bj* types and prophecies, when from the worn!) 
 
 B2 
 
194 CALVARY; OR, [book vi. 
 
 Of mystery, long travailing* in pains [forth 
 
 And groanings, now in ripe time should spring 
 Her full form'd revelation, to dispel 
 The Obscure of ancient days, and usher in 
 Twin birth of Immortality and Life. 
 JN T ow God, by th' off 'ring of his only Son, 
 The type of Abraham's sacrifice fulfilled, 400 
 Who, though unconscious of that type, by faith 
 Righteous, was of the promises made heir. 
 And now, as Moses in the wilderness 
 Lifted the serpent, so the son of Man 
 Exalted on the cross shall heal the world 
 Of sin, and expiate the wide-wasting plague. 
 Now the peace-offering of the spotless Lamb, 
 By one conclusive Passover, shall rend 
 The law's symbolic veil, and all absolve, 
 Whose consciences are sprinkled with his blood, 
 From punishment entail'd upon the world 
 By man's first disobedience. Forth he comes 
 From condemnation : Ye, too, from your tombs 
 Come forth, ye prophets ! — Son of Amoz, thou 
 Prepare for resurrection : Come and see, 
 Not darkly as in a glass, but face to face, 
 The object of thy vision — Him, the man 
 Of sorrows — Him, who like a lamb is brought 
 To slaughter : Mark the travail of his soul : 
 Witness how he is stricken for our sins, 420 
 Witness how we are healed by his stripes, 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 105 
 
 And by the note and comment of his death 
 Construe thine own predictions. Forth he 
 
 comes, 
 From condemnation, under Roman guard, 
 Bearing* his cross : Upon his bleeding brow, 
 Ensign alike of royalty and woe, 
 A thorny crown ; no friendly hand is found 
 To wipe away the tear, mingled with blood, 
 That hangs upon his cheek : The soldiers cry, 
 t; Room for the criminal !" and rest their pikes 
 To keep the crowd aloof; staggering beneath 
 The ponderous burthen of his cross he faints. 
 And sinks to earth o'erspent, till one is found, 
 A sturdy stranger ofCvrenian birth. 
 On whom to lay the venerable load. 
 Hail, Simon ! blessed above men wert thou, 
 If faith in Him who sufter'd on that cross 
 Glow'd in thy heart and furnish- d thee with zeal 
 To render this last service to thy Lord. 
 
 Without the city walls there was a Mount 440 
 Call'd Calvary : The common grave it was 
 Of malefactors ; there to plant his cross 
 It was decreed : Long was the way to death, 
 And, like the ascent to glorv. hard to climb. 
 L'pon the summit stood the angel troop, 
 Of Mammon seen, though to man's filmed eve 
 Invisible. Here Gabriel, from the height 
 Noting the sad procession, had espy r d 
 
495 CALVARY ; Oft, [book n. 
 
 The suffering Son of God amidst the throng, 
 Dragged slowly on by rude and ruffian hands 
 To shameful execution : Horror-struck, 
 Pierc'd to the heart, th' indignant seraph shook 
 Ills threatening spear, and with the other hand 
 Smote on his thigh, in. agony of soul 
 For man's ingratitude ; glist'ning with tears 
 His eyes, whence late celestial sweetness 
 
 beam'd, 
 Kow shot a fiery glance oh them below, 
 Then raising them to heav'n, he thus exclaim'd I 
 
 " Oh ! that the Everlasting would permit 
 His angels to chastise these impious men, 460 
 And from their hands his holy Son redeem, 
 Whom in the heav'n of heav'ns we have beheld 
 Beloved of the Father, ever blest, 
 At the right hand of powV in glory thron'd ! 
 But this for purposes beyond our reach' 
 God, ever wise, forbids ; and who against 
 God's interdict shall stir ? Therefore retire, 
 Stand off and wait the time ! If Christ com* 
 We are his ministers to do his will, [mands, 
 Be it to lift this mountain from its base 470 
 And whelm it on his murderers ; if not, 
 Patient spectators We must here abide, 
 And let the sacrilegious work proceed ; 
 Knowing that God hath said, I will revenge : 
 Vengeance belongeth to the Lord alone-.'* 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. i 9? 
 
 Now on the news of their great Prophet's fate 
 Each heart with fearfulness and trembling seiz'd, 
 Through all Jerusalem the tumult ran 5 
 Native or stranger, aged or infirm, 
 None in the Holy City now kept house : 480 
 Where'er the Saviour pass'd, his presence drew 
 Thousands to gaze ; and many an aching heart 
 Heav'd silent the last tributary sigh 
 In memory of his mercies : zealous some 
 Rush'd in the grateful blessing to bestow 
 For health, or limbs, or life itself rcstor'd : 
 But these the soldiers rudely thrust aside, 
 And some with brutal violence they smote, 
 Thick'ning their files to hem their pris'ner close, 
 As fearful of a rescue. Loud the cry 490 
 
 Of women, whose soft sex to pity prone, 
 Melts at those scenes, which flinty-hearted man 
 Dry-ey'd contemplates : Mothers in their arms 
 Held up their infants, and with shrill acclaim 
 Begg'd a last blessing for those innocents, 
 Whose sweet simplicity so well he lov'd, 
 And ever as he met them laid his hands 
 Upon their harmless heads, with gentle love 
 And gracious benediction, breathing heav'n 
 Into their hearts. Oh! happy babes, so blest ! 
 
 Fenc'd in with shields and spears, and com- 
 pass' d round 
 pith Roman guards, the persecuting priests, 
 
10$ CALVARY; OR, [book vi. 
 
 Elders and scribes follow'd their victim's steps 
 Amidst the scoffs and hissings of the crowd ; 
 And still as Christ approach'd the fatal spot, 
 Loud and more loud the sadlamcntings grew, 
 Till at the foot of the funeral mount 
 Arriv'd he stopt, and turning to the group 
 Of mourners, these prophetic words address'd r 
 "Daughters of Solyma, weep not for me, 510 
 Weep rather for yourselves and for your babes ; 
 For lo ! the dawn of sorrows is at hand ; 
 The dread prediction presses to the birth, 
 "When through Jerusalem a voice shall cry, 
 Give thanks, ye childless matrons, and confess 
 A barren bed, your worst misfortune deem'd, 
 Now your best best blessing : Break forth into 
 
 Ye, at whose breasts no infant ever hung, 
 
 For }*e have none to mourn. Now to the clefts 
 
 And caverns of the mountains they shall say 520 
 
 " Fall on us, cover us, ye rocky vaults, 
 
 And hide us from this wrath ! For if with us 
 
 Already it begins, what shall the end 
 
 Of the ungodly and the sinner be ! 
 
 If the green tree cannot abide the storm, 
 
 How shall the dry escape?" — And now no more. 
 
 Upon the summit of Mount Calvary 
 
 They rear his cross ; conspicuous there it stands 
 
 An ensign of salvation to the world. 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 199 
 
 Kneel, all ye Christian nations ! bow your hearts 
 And worship your Redeemer, in whose death 
 Ye live, and Irom whose issuing wounds flows 
 life, [flows 
 
 By his blood purchased ; hope's best promise 
 Of joys immortal for the just reserv'd. 
 
 The soldiers, now by their centurion form'd 
 In hollow orb around the cross, begin 
 Their horrid prelude to the murd'rous scene ; 
 And first his vesture, their accustom'd spoil 
 And perquisite, they part ; but for his coat 
 From top to bottom woven without seam, 540 
 That they rend not, but on it cast their lots 
 Whose it shall be entire. Upon his cross 
 In Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, they inscribe, 
 (So Pilate whTd, though by the priests oppos'd) 
 "Jesus of Nazaeeth, King of the Jews !" 
 This title in three several tongues display'd, 
 Read all those crucifyers of their King, 
 And murmur'd as they read ; hard to the last, 
 Obdurate, unbelieving. Now began 
 The executioners to spread his arms [palms, 
 Upon the beam transverse, and through his 
 (Monsters of cruelty !) and through his feet 
 They drove their spiked nails ; whilst at the 
 
 clang 
 Of those dire engines every feeling heart 
 Utter'd a groan, that with the mingled shrieks 
 
200 CALVARY; OB, [book yi. 
 
 Of mothers and of children pierc'd the air. 
 The priests and elders gnash'd their teeth for 
 
 rage 
 And rancorous spite to hear him so bewa 'I'd : 
 Women dropp'd down convuls'd, and on the spot 
 Let fall their burthens immature for birth; 560 
 Words fail to paint the horrors of that scene : 
 The very soldiers paus'd and stood aghast, 
 Musing what these lamentings might portend j 
 Scarce dar'd they to pursue the dreadful work, 
 Awe-struck, and gazing on the face divino 
 Of the suspended Saviour. He, tho' stretch'd 
 Upon the rack of agony, to heav'n 
 Raising his eyes — " Father of mercy," cry'd, 
 " Forgive them, for they know not what they 
 
 do !" 
 O ruthless murd'rers ! could ye hear these 
 
 words 570 
 
 And yet persist ? Blasphemers ! can ye read 
 And not adore ? The people stand at gaze : 
 The rulers, eager to provoke anew 
 Their quailing resolution, with one voice 
 Cry out amain — " Ah ! thou, that on the cross 
 Now hangest.. ..thou, that boastedstto destroy 
 Our temple and rebuild it in three days, 
 Where art thou ? If thou be the very Christ, 
 The King of Israel, now come down, descend 
 And save thyself : this seeing, we will then 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 80i 
 
 Confess thee and believe. But 'tis in vain ; 
 He hears not. .he replies not,. .he expires : 
 Others he sav'd ; himself he cannot save." 
 
 Peace, peace, revilers ! nor expect reply : 
 Think not that Christ, thus dying for mankind, 
 Will from his great commission turn aside 
 And stop the sacrifice and quit the cross, 
 On which his body offer'd up for sin 
 As on an altar lies. Your taunts he hears ; 
 Yet will he not descend call'd down by you, 590 
 Nor at the door of death shrink back and leave 
 Short of perfection bis all-glorious work. 
 But wait the time, and greater sign than this 
 Ye shall behold, when, rising from the dead 
 And incorruptible, he shall return 
 On earth, triumphant o 5 er the cross and death. 
 Yet, such is the perverseness of your hearts, 
 Jiim nor descending would ye now believe, 
 JSov re-ascending would ye then confess. 
 
 And now behold ! on either side the cross 600 
 Of Christ a wretched malefactor hung, 
 Groaning and writhing in the pangs of death : 
 When one of these, encourag'd by the taunts 
 Of the reviling priests, scornful exclaims — 
 " Hear'st thou not what they say ? If thou be 
 
 Christ, 
 Why art thou in this torture ? Save thyself, 
 And us thy fellows from this cross redeem," 
 
 C % 
 
203 CALVARY ; OK, [book vi. 
 
 This when his penitent companion heard, 
 New horrors smote his heart.. .his fault?ring voice 
 He . iis'd, and thus the blasphemy rebuk'd : 610 
 
 " Hast thou no fear of God. expiring wretch? 
 Stretch'd as thou .art upon the tree of death, 
 Hast thou no terror for the wrath to come ? 
 And truly we the merited reword 
 Of our ill deeds receive ; hut this just Man, 
 What hath he done ? In him no fault is found." 
 
 This said, the penitent, with faith inspired, 
 Upon the Saviour turri'd his dying eyes, 
 And, " Lord !" he cry'd, with supplicating voice, 
 "When to thy heavmiy kingdom thoushalt come, 
 Oh then remember me !" — To him the Lord- — 
 " I tell thee of a truth : this very day 
 Thou shalt be found in paradise with me." 
 
 Oh ! words of joy, that breathe into the ear 
 Of the expiring penitent the pledge 
 Of pardon and acceptance : Words, that waft 
 The soul, yet hovering on the lips of faith, 
 Into the heav'n of heav'ns ; with grateful heart 
 We hail the glorious promise, which unfolds 
 Tiie gates of bliss, and present entrance gives 
 To the repentant sinner. Now no more 
 Conjecture ponders on the life to come ; 
 Our dying Saviour draws aside the veil, 
 Through which dim reason caught a doubtful 
 glimpse 
 
THE DEATH OF CHUIST. soi 
 
 Of shadowy realms, that, stretclrd beyond the 
 
 grave, 
 
 Elysian scenes in clouds and mist involv'd. 
 Yet with tliis comfort take the caution too ; 
 For who shall say what penitence was his, 
 That earn'd this promise ? Fatally he errs, 
 Whose hope fore-runs repentance — who pre* 
 slimes t5t0 
 
 That God will pardon when he's tir'd of sin, 
 And like a stale companion casts it off. 
 Oh ! arrogant, delusive, impious thought, 
 To meditate commodious truce with heav'n, 
 "When death's swift arrow smites him unprcpar'd, 
 And that protracted moment never comes, 
 Or comes too late. Turn, then, presumptuous man, 
 Turn to the other sinner on the cross, 
 Who died reviling : there behold thy doom ! 
 Thou, too, the Virgin Mother of our Lord, 650 
 By the angelic salutation haii'd 
 Blest above women, thou amidst the group 
 Of sympathizing mourners at that hour 
 Wast present, when th' incarnate Virtue, born 
 Of thine immae'late womb, impregn'd of heav'n, 
 Hung on the cross expiring. He from thence 
 On thee, disconsolate, a dying look 
 Of tenderest pity cast, and at thy side 
 Noting the meek disciple whom he lov'd, 
 Tims both addressed; t; Woman, behold thy Son; 
 
£04 CALVARY; Oft, [book vl 
 
 Soi)j look upon thy mother !" — Sacred charge. 
 And piously fulfill'd. — Now darkness fell 
 On all the region round 5 the shrowded sun • 
 from the impendent eartli withdrew his light i 
 K I thirst !" the Saviour cry'd, and lifting up 
 His eyes in agony, " My God, my God ! 
 Ah ! why hast thou forsaken me ?." exclaim'd. 
 
 Yet deem him not forsaken of his God : 
 Beware that error I 'Twas the mortal part 
 Df his compounded nature breathing forth Q70 
 Its last sad agony* that so complained : 
 Doubt not that veil of sorrow was withdrawn, 
 And heav'nlv comfort to his soul vouchsafed, 
 Ere thus he cried — "Father ! into thy hands 
 My spirit I commend :*? Then bow*d his head 
 And died. Now Gabriel and his heav'nly 
 
 choir 
 Of ministering angels hov ? ring o'er the cross 
 Ileceiv'd his sp'rit, at length from mortal pangs 
 And fleshly pris'n set free, and bore it thence 
 Upon their wings rejoicing. Then behold 680 
 A prodigy that to the world announced 
 A new religion and dissolv'd the old : 
 The temple's sacred vail Was rent in twain 
 From top to bottom 'midst th' attesting shocks 
 Of earthquake and the rending up of graves : 
 Now those mysterious symbols, heretofore 
 Curtain'd from vulgar eyes, and holiest deem'd 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 205 
 
 OF holies, were display'd to public view : 
 The mercy-seat with its cherubic wings 
 O'ershadow'd and the golden ark beneath 690 
 Covering the testimony, now through the rent 
 Of that dissever'd vail first saw the light ; 
 A world redeem'd had now no further need 
 Of types and emblems, dimly shadowing forth 
 An angry Deity withdrawn from sight. 
 And canopied in clouds I Him face to face 
 Now in full light reveal'd the dying breath 
 Of his dear Son appeas'd, and purchas'd peace 
 And reconcilement for offending man. 
 Thus the partition wall, by Moses built, 700 
 By Christ was levell'd, and the Gentile world 
 Enter'd the breach by their great Captain led 
 tip to the throne of grace, opening himself 
 Through his own flesh a new and living way. 
 Then were the oracles of God made known 
 To all the nations, sprinkled by the blood 
 Of Jesus, and baptiz'd into his death ; 
 So was the birth-right of the elder-born, 
 Heirs of the promise, forfeited ; whilst they, 
 Whom sin had erst in bondage held, made free 
 From sin, and servants of the living God, 
 Now gain'd the gift of God, eternal life. 
 Soon as these signs and prodigies were seen 
 Of those who watch'd the cross, conviction smote 
 Their fear-struck hearts : The sun at noon-day 
 dark, 
 
&0& CALVARY; OR, [book vl 
 
 The earth convulsive underneath their feet, 
 And the firm rocks, in shiver'd Fragments rent, 
 Rous'd them at once to tremble and believe. 
 Then was our Lord by heathen lips confess'd, 
 When the centurion crv'd : " In verv truth 720 
 This righteous Person was the Son of God ;" 
 The rest, in heart assenting, stood abash'd, 
 Watching in silence the tremendous scene. 
 The recollection of his gracious acts, 
 His dying pray'rs and their own impious taunts 
 Now rose in sad review ; too late thev wish'd 
 The deed undone, and, sighing, smote their 
 breasts. [forth, 
 
 Straight from God's presence went that angel 
 Whose trumpet shall call up the sleeping dead 
 At the last day, and bade the saints arise 730 
 And come on earth to hail this promis'd hour, 
 The day-spring of salvation. Forth they came 
 From their dark tenements, their shadowy forms 
 Made visible as in their fleshly state, 
 And through the holy Q\ty here and there 
 Frequent they glcam'd, by night ,by day with fear 
 And wonder seen of many : Holy seers, 
 Prophets, and martyrs from the grave set free, 
 And the first-fruits of the redeemed dead. 
 They, who with Ciitust transfigur'd on the 
 
 mount 
 Were seen of his disciples in a cloud 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 207 
 
 Of dazzling glory, now, in form distinct, 
 Mingling amidst the public haunts of men, 
 Struck terror to all hearts : Ezckiel there, 
 The captive seer, to whom on Chchar's banks 
 The heav'ns were open'd, and the fatal roll 
 Held forth, with dire denunciations fill-d 
 Of lamentation, mourning and of woe, 
 Now falling fast on Israel's wretched race : 
 He too was there, Hilkiah's holy son, 750 
 
 With loins close girt and glowing lips of fire 
 By God's own finger touch'd : There might be 
 
 seen 
 The youthful prophet, Beltcshazzar nam'd 
 Of the Chaldees, interpreter of dreams, 
 Knowledge of Godbestow'd, in visions skili'd 
 And fair and learn'd and wise : The Baptist 
 
 here, 
 Girt in his hairy mantle, frowning stalkHl, 
 And, pointing to his ghastly wound, exclaim'd : 
 " Ye vipers ! whom my warning could not 
 
 move 
 Timely to flee from the impending wrath 700 
 Now fallen on your heads ; whom I indeed 
 With water, Christ hath now with fire haptiz'd : 
 Barren ye were of fruits, which I prescribed 
 Meet for repentance ; and behold ! the axe 
 Is laid to the unprofitable root 
 Of every sapless tree, hewn down, condemu'd, 
 
308 CALVARY; OR, [book vi. 
 
 And cast into the fire. Lo ! these are they, 
 These shadowy forms now floating in your sight, 
 These are the harhingers of ancient days, 
 Who witness'd the Messias, and announc'd 770 
 His coming upon earth. Mark with what scorn 
 Silent they pass you by : Them had ye heard.,. 
 Them had ye noted with a patient mind, 
 Ye had not crucified the Lord of Life : 
 He of these stones to Abraham shall raise up 
 Children, than you more worthy of his stock ; 
 And now his winnowing fan is in his hand, 
 With which he'll purge his floor, and having* 
 
 stor'd 
 The precious grain in garners, will consume 
 With fire unquenchable the refuse chaff. 7^0 
 
 Thus the terrific Vision in the ears 
 Of the astonish'd multitude declaim'd 
 With threat'ning voice, and wrung their con ? 
 
 scious hearts ; [scorn 
 
 Whilst the blaspheming priests, who in their 
 Triumphant saw the Saviour of the world 
 Expiring on the cross and deem'd him lost, 
 Now by the resurrection of the saints, 
 Usher'd on earth with prodigies and signs, 
 Confounded and amaz'd, began to doubt 
 If yet the sepulchre had power to keep 790 
 Its crucified possessor safe in hold, 
 And with these thoughts porplex'd, masking 
 
 their fears 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. S09 
 
 Under pretence of caution, they repair 
 
 To Pilate and demand a Roman guard 
 
 To watch the tomb of Christ ; and then they 
 
 add— 
 (C For we remember that Deceiver said, 
 Whilst lie was yet alive, " after three days 
 I will again arise :'' therefore we pray 
 Command the sepulchre to be made sure 
 Till the third day, lest his disciples come 800 
 By night, and craftily remove him thence ; 
 So the last error shall ontsro the first." 
 
 But Pilate, whose unrighteous judgment 
 still 
 Sate heavy on his heart, had little care 
 For what might them befal, and to their suit 
 Briefly reply 'd — " Why do ye ask of me 
 That custody, which in yourselves ye have? 
 Take your own watch and to their charge com- 
 
 . mit 
 The safeguard of that body, which, though dead, 
 Keeps yet alive your fears : 'Tis your own cause. 
 As such I leave it with you : so begone !" 
 
 He said, and turn'd aside; nor did they tempt 
 Farther discourse, but murm'ring went their 
 way. 
 
 END OF THE SIXTH BOOK, 
 1)3 
 
AJu; 
 
 OR, 
 
 THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 
 
 BOOK VII. 
 
ARGUMENT OF THE SEVENTH BOOK. 
 
 This book opens with the scene of Mount Calvary at the coming on of 
 evening : Christ still hanging dead upon the cross, the disciples stand- 
 ing apart, and the holy women watching, amongst whom is the Blessed 
 Virgin, supported by St. John, Christ having bequeathed her to his care. 
 His address to her on this subject, and her reply. The soldiers come 
 and break the legs of the two malefactors ; but finding Christ already 
 dead, they pierce his heart with a spear, and blood and water issue 
 from the wound. They take him down from the cross, and lay him in 
 the sepulchre. His spirit, in the meanwhile, is conveyed by the angels 
 into the regions of Death ; that region described, and the distant pros- 
 pect of the bottomless pit, where the souls of the wicked are in tor- 
 ment. Christ points out those scenes to Gabriel, and instructs him a3 
 to the future objects of hisdescent into this gloomy region. Satan, ex- 
 pelled from earth, fails prostrate at the foot of the throne of Death ; he 
 makes suit to that power for protection. Death rejects his interces- 
 sions. The person and palace of the King of Terrors described. The 
 triumphant entry of Christ Satan is hurled into the bottomless pit, 
 and there bound by the strong angel ; the horrors of that dreadful abode 
 are represented. Death humbles himself before the Redeemer of man- 
 kind, and, conscious that his power is overthrown, tenders his crown to 
 Christ as his conqueror. He lays the key at his feet, which sets free 
 the souls of the Saints, who are destined to be partakers of the first res- 
 urrection. This key is given to Gabriel, with instructions for their re- 
 lease. Christ, in his reply to Death, forwarns him of his doom; but 
 signifies to him that the dissoluron of his power will not be immediate. 
 The approach of the Saints concludes the book. 
 
 
CALVARY, &c. 
 
 BOOK VII. 
 
 THE DESCENT INTO IIELE. 
 
 JN OW Hesperus renew'd his evening lamp, 
 And hung it forth amid the turbid sky, 
 To mark the close of this portentous day : 
 The lab'ring sun, in his mid-course eclips'd, 
 Darkling at length had reach'd his western goal ; 
 And now it seem'd as if all nature slept, 
 O'erspent and wearied with convulsive throes. 
 Upon his cross the martyr' d Saviour hung ; 
 Pale thro' the twilight gleam'd his breathless 
 
 corpse 
 And silvery white, as when the moon-beam plays 
 On the smooth surface of the glassy lake ; 
 His thorn-crown'd head upon his breast reclin'd; 
 His arms were wide out-spread, as if in act 
 T' embrace and welcome the converted world : 
 So were they late expanded, when he cry'd — 
 " Come, all ye heavy laden, come to me, 
 And [.will give you rest !" Death hath not dar'd 
 To rob those features of one heav'nly grace ; 
 Nor had the worm authority to taint 
 
&14 CALYARY; OR, [bookvii. 
 
 That incorruptible and hallow'd shrine 20 
 
 Wherein his purity had deign'd to dwell. 
 The living saints here mingling with the dead 
 Stood round, in pensive meditation wrapt, 
 Silent spectators of the awful scene : 
 There his disciples, in a group apart, 
 Like frighted sheep that cluster in a storm, 
 Throng'd each on other, interchanging looks 
 Of sorrow and despair : no voice was heard, 
 Ko utterance hut of sighs ; though ail had need 
 Of comfort, none had comfort to bestow. 30 
 
 Bui: Peter, in whose self-accusing breast [out 
 Grief roll'd in tempests, had the whilst chos-n 
 A solitary spot, where at his length 
 Outstrctch'd,witli face incumbent on the ground. 
 He lay like one whom fortune had cast off, 
 Of all hope 'reft, most wretched and forlorn. 
 
 There too the holy Mother might be seen, 
 Like Rizpah, watching o'er her murdcr'd son, 
 Hooted in earth, a monument of woe. 
 Reside her, bath'd in sympathizing tears, 40 
 First in his Master- s love, as meek of soul, 
 Stood John, adopted by his dying Lord 
 Son and supporter of that mournful saint. 
 At length with reverend love he turn'd his eyes 
 Upon the Tirgin Mother, and thus spake : 
 
 44 Oh thou ! participant with God himself 
 In his incarnate Offspring, if I claim 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 3 1 5 
 
 The glorious title, which my dying Lord 
 On me, thy servant ever, now thy son, 
 Gracious bequeuth'd, let not my words offend. 50 
 High honor, and a trust than life more dear, 
 Hath Cueist by this adoption deign'd to east 
 On me unmeriting ; yet well I heard 
 Those sacred words — c; Mother, heboid tliy soa ; 
 Son, look upon thy mother !" Yes, I heard, 
 And treasuring in my heart the rich bequest, 
 B»w T d andobey'd : E'en then my zeal had spoke 
 The dictates of devotion, had I dar'd 
 To break the awful silence of that hour, 
 Or sacrilegiously divert the ear 60 
 
 Of mute attention, whilst those lips divine, 
 Those living oracles, had breath to move ; 
 Now mute, alas ! for He is now no more, 
 Who had the words of life: Our hope is queneliM, 
 Our glory tanish'd. See ! the dwd. is done : 
 Those murderers have kill' d the Prince of Peace. 
 Cold on the cross, and stiff 'ning in the wind, 
 To the rude elements his corpse is left ; 
 Nor is there found, who shall provide a grave 
 For the sad relies of the Son of God. 70 
 
 But lo ! the heav'ns, that three long hours have 
 
 mourn* d 
 In darkness, now throw off their sable shroud : 
 The earth no longer quakes beneath oar feet— 
 The shatter'd rocks subside — Nature U calia, 
 
216 CALVAHY; OR, [bookvii. 
 
 The sun unmasks, and through disparted clouds 
 With ruddy twilight streaks the western sky. 
 And may not we, since God hath now withdraw: 
 His terrors and assuag'd the wrathful sky, 
 May not we hope, that as his light revives 
 At the third hour, so of his blessed Son 
 The promised resurrection to new life 
 At the third day shall also come to pass ? 
 When, as the sun emerging from eclipse 
 Darkness dispels, so Christ from out the gftive 
 Arising, shall dispel our dark despair ?" 
 To him the holy mother thus replied : 
 " Thou meek disciple, in thy Master's love 
 Pre-eminently blest, since He, whose will 
 Should govern, so decrees it, from this hour 
 Henceforth I lodge thee in a mother's heart 90 
 And hold thee as my son ; for I perceive 
 Christ from his human nature is withdrawn. 
 And to mortality hath rendered back 
 All that from me a mortal he received : 
 His incorruptible now lives with God, 
 And in that glory I no part must claim ; 
 Flesh cannot share with spirit. Henceforth 
 
 thou, 
 Thou art my son adopted in the place 
 Of that incarnate Virtue? of whose birth 
 Miraculous the eastern star gave sign, 100 
 
 And angels witness'd him the Son of God. 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 217 
 
 And now, behold ! what wonders mark his death : 
 Whence are these prodigies ? What but the hand 
 Of God can shake the pillars of the earth, 
 Seal up the sun, and rend these rocks in twain... 
 Turn day to night, tear down the temple veil, 
 Break up the graves and bid the saints come 
 
 forth ? 
 Lo, where they pass as sensible to sight 
 As in broad day substantial man to man. 
 And can we ask if he be very Christ, 110 
 
 Whom stars and angels usher'd into birth ? 
 Can we doubt Him on whom the Sp'rit of God 
 Dove-like descended ? Can we stop our ears 
 Against a voice from heav'n ? Are we so blind, 
 Dull, and insensible, not to behold 
 That sun emergent, and these moving shapes, 
 That to re-visit earth have left their graves, 
 Awaken'd as from sleep ? If these can rise — 
 If these, whose bones are moulder'd into dust, 
 On whom the worm hath fed for ages, men 120 
 As mortal as ourselves, can re-ascend 
 Out of the pit, do not these signs bespeak 
 His second coming, who Is Lord and Christ? 
 He shall, He shall return upon the earth 
 Victorious over death, and we, though now 
 Humbled in heart and for a season sad, 
 Yet wav'ring not in faith and holding fast 
 Tiie anchor of our hope, shall yet again 
 
 E2 
 
218 CALVARY; OR, [bookvii. 
 
 Behold his glory ; and as now his death 
 Tarns day to night, his resurrection then 130 
 Shall into joy convert our present gloom. 
 But see, where Peter prostrate on the earth 
 Is lost in sorrow : Haste and hid him rise ; 
 Tell him the day's at hand when he must work. 
 Hath he not heard, the servant shall not sleep 
 In his Lord's ahscnce ? Strengthen thou his 
 
 heart !" 
 So spake these saints, and each to other gave 
 Alternate solace ; faith inspiring hope, 
 And hope assuaging woe. At Peter's side 
 Behold the meek disciple — " Up !" he cries, 
 " Awake and put on strength : The Virgin 
 
 Saint, 
 The Mother of our Lord, hids thee awake. 
 Unprofitable grief availeth nought, 
 But godly sorrow is approv'd in works [dead, 
 Meet for repentance. Up ! for Christ, though 
 Yet speaketh, and shall come again on earth : 
 Woe to that servant, therefore, whom his Lord 
 Shall find thus sleeping ; great shall be his 
 
 wrath." [up ; 
 
 This said, he reach'd his hand and raisd him 
 
 He stood and spake — " Servant, of Christ ap- 
 
 prov'd, 150 
 
 Thee and thy blessed Sender I obey : 
 Yet doth my heart, by deep remorse subdu'd. 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 219 
 
 Press downward to the dust. A. wretch t am, 
 Who hath deny'd his Lord : What can I do, 
 A miserable man ? O righteous John, 
 When thou shalt spread abroad, as sure thou wilt, 
 The direful doings of this fatal day, 
 And publish to mankind the w ond'rous love 
 Of Christ thus dying for them, I conjure thee 
 15.- faithful to the truth — screen not my crime, 
 Foul though it he, but let the nations know 
 Peter, who vaunted of himself, was false ; 
 So shall they reap instruction from my shame, 
 And by despising me correct themselves." 
 Thus spake the contrite saint, when now the 
 priests, 
 Whose custom was upon this solemn eve 
 To purge their Golgotha from human blood, 
 Sent forth their guard official to remove 
 Christ and the slaves convict before the dawn 
 Of that great day, too haliow'd to permit 170 
 Their bodies fest'ring on th' ill-omen'd cross. 
 And lo ! the soldiers so encharg'd arrive, 
 Survey the victims and begin the work : 
 But first the ponderous sledge with horrid crash 
 Descending breaks the knees and ankle joints 
 Of these two criminals ; for stubborn life- 
 Still hover'd on their lips, and now and then 
 Their heaving bosoms fetch'd a deep-drawn sigh, 
 like the «low swell of seas without a wind. 
 
%20 CALVAHY; OB, [book til 
 
 But when the Saviour's body they approach'd 
 And saw there needed not a second blow 
 To make his death secure, the word of God 
 Prophetic mov'd their else obdurate hearts 
 To break no limb ; yet one so destin'd, thrust 
 His spear into his side, and forthwith flow'd 
 Water and blood from the heart-piercing wound : 
 So deep the stab, that to life's citadel, 
 Had life remain'd, the mortal point had reached 
 And there had finish'd it. Meanwhile, behold ! 
 Joseph arrives ; a counsellor was he, 190 
 
 But not for death, and rich and just withal ; 
 In Ramath born, where Samuel first drew breath, 
 And as his heart in righteousness and faith 
 Stood firm with Christ whilst living, so his zeal 
 An honorable interment to bestow 
 On his dead master, prompted him to make 
 Bold suit to Pilate for the lifeless corpse, 
 Kor fuil'd he of his suit ; therefore he came, 
 So favor'd, to receive the precious charge 
 Of those dear relics, and with decent rites 200 
 Commit them to the grave : Spear' d to the 
 
 heart, 
 And death with double diligence ensur'd, 
 The body they take down ; the hands and feet 
 Pierc'd thro' with nails, and all besmear'd with 
 
 blood, 
 (O piteous spectacle !) which to behold 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 22 1 
 
 Bathes every angel face in heav'n with tears ! 
 Accursed deicides ! the time comes on, 
 When every mark your sacrilegious hands 
 Have printed on that corpse, shall he a seal 
 To testify against you, every gash 210 
 
 Unclos'd shall with its living lips proclaim 
 Christ in his human attributes renew 'd, 
 Corporeal, yet immortal : Then the hand 
 Of him who doubts shall probe those gaping 
 
 wounds, 
 And by the evidence of sense compel 
 The faithless and reluctant to believe. 
 And now they place the body on the bier, 
 Cleans'd of the blood, and wrapt in seemly cloths : 
 Then under guard convey it to the vault 
 Hewn in the rock, where never corpse was laid, 
 And there consign it to its dark abode, 
 Rolling a massy fragment to the door, 
 Unwieldy, vast ; and having seal'd the stone, 
 They post their centinels, and so depart, [free 
 Meanwhile th' unhoused spirit of Christ, set 
 From gross communion with his earthly clay, 
 Borne with the meteor's speed upon the wings 
 Of mightiest cherubim, had now approach'd 
 The dark confines of Death's engulph'd domain : 
 Here at the barrier of that vast profound 230 
 On the firm adamant, from whence uprose 
 The tow'ring structure of hell's ebon gate, 
 
222 CALVARY; OR, [bookyii. 
 
 The heav'nly visitant descending bade 
 His cherub bearers stoop their wings, on which 
 As in a plumy chariot he rode ; 
 And now alighted on the dreadful brink, 
 The Saviour paus'd and downward cast his eye 
 O'er that immeasurable blank, the grave 
 Of universal Nature, founded then 
 And charter'd to the gloomy powers of sin 240 
 And Death, sin-born, when the primeval pair 
 Lost immortality and fell from God. 
 The starry lamps of heav'n here lost their light, 
 No sun-beam ever reach'd this dismal realm : 
 Yet in Christ's sp*rit divine that living light, 
 Whichfrom the father of creation ilow'd 
 Before all time, inherently supplied 
 Sclf-furnisliM vision to explore the bounds 
 Of that oblivious pit, in whose dark womb 
 Myriads of unredeemed souls were plung'd ; 
 All who of human birth had pr.ss'd that gate 
 From righteous Abel, the first fruit of death, 
 To him, whose heart had newly ceas-d to beat, 
 Were in that gulph immers'd. At farthest end 
 Of that obscure apillary cloud arose [stcam-d; 
 Of sulphurous smoke, that from hell's crater 
 Whence here and there by intermittent gleams 
 Blue flashing fires burst forth, that sparkling 
 
 blnz'd 
 Up to the iron roof, whose echoing vault 
 
THE DEATH OF CHEIST. 223 
 
 Resounded ever with the dol'rous groans 260 
 Of the sad crew beneath : Thence might he 
 
 heard 
 The wailing suicide's remorseful plaint.... 
 The murderer's yelling scream, and the loud cry 
 Of tyrants in that fiery furnace hurl'd, 
 Tain cry ! the unmitigated furies urge 
 Their ruthless task, and to the cauldron's edge 
 With ceasless toil huge hlocks of sulphcr roll, 
 Pil'd mountains high to feed the greedy flames : 
 All these, th* accursed brood of Sin, were once 
 The guilty pleasures, the false joys, that lur'd 270 
 Their sensual vot'ries to th' infernal pit : 
 Them their fell mother, watchful o'er the work. 
 With e} T e that sleep ne'er clos'd and snaky 
 
 scourge 
 
 Still waving o'er their heads, forever plies 
 To keep the fiery deluge at its height ; 
 And stops her cars against the clam'rous din 
 Of those tormented, who for mercy call, 
 Age after age implor'd, and still dehy'd. 
 
 These when th' all-present Spirit of Christ 
 
 descry r d 
 At distance tossing in {lie sulph'rous lake *2S0 
 And heard their dismal groans, the conscious 
 
 sense 
 Of human weakness by experience earn'd 
 In his own mortal body now put oil*. 
 
224 CALVARY; OB, [bookvii. 
 
 And recollection that Himself of late 
 In his sublunar pilgrimage had prov'd 
 Temptations like theirs, drew from his soul 
 A sigh of nat'ral pity as from man 
 To man although in merited distress : 
 But when his human sympathy gave place 
 To judgment better weigh'd, and riper thoughts 
 Congenial with the Godhead re-assum'd, 
 The justice of their doom, th* abhorrence due 
 To their vile deeds, by voluntary act 
 Of will, left free, committed in despite 
 Of conscience moving them to better thoughts, 
 Turn'd him indignant from the loathed sight 
 Of these impenitents : when, after pause, 
 To Gabriel, chief of the cherubic host 
 And late his strengthening angel, thus he spake : 
 " Gabriel, or e'er from this high steep we 
 launch 300 
 
 With prone descent into this gloomy vast, 
 This shadowy dark inane, the realm of Death ; 
 After so swift a race through all the spheres 
 From earth to this hell's portal, it behoves 
 Thee and thy plumed cohort to recruit 
 The vigor of your wings ; for sure I am 
 That in this subterranean we shall find 
 Xo breeze from heav'n's pure sether to give aid 
 To motion, or uphold in steady poise 
 Your feath'ry vans outstretched ; nor may we 
 look 310 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 225 
 
 For star or planet, or one straggling ray 
 From circumlucent sun, to guide our course 
 Through this obscure domain of Night and 
 
 Death. 
 Nor less behoves thee, gentle as thou art, 
 Friendliest to man of all heav'n's angel host, 
 And for each task of mercy and of love 
 First in the choice of God, to arm thy heart 
 For the sad spectacles, the dismal scenes, 
 Which we must needs encounter in this gulph 
 Of human misery, this world of woes, 320 
 
 Fit residence for Satan and his crew 
 Of outcast angels ; sad reverse to thee, 
 Inhabitant of heav'n : And now, behold ! 
 Where hell's infernal pit with horrid glare 
 Flames through the dismal gloom ; there, but 
 
 that God 
 In mercy films thine arch-angelic eye, 
 Such myriads in that ever-burning lake 
 Of souls tormented thou would'st else discern, 
 As would appal thy nature ; but these scenes 
 From thee, a sp'rit so loving to mankind, 330 
 So melting soft to pity, are withheld : 
 No mercy can I meditate for them 
 Impenitent.. .no embassy of peace 
 Have I in charge.. .no respite, till the trump 
 Of general resurrection calls them up 
 At the last day of judgment, then to hear 
 
 F 2 
 
226 CALVARY; OR, [bookvij. 
 
 Their crimes rehears'd... their blasphemies ex- 
 posed... [plots, 
 Their envyings, frauds, revilings, treach'ries, 
 And ev'ry secret of their hearts unmask'd 
 By an all-righteous Judge, who shall pronounce 
 Their final condemnation, and decree 
 Their present pains perpetual. We, meanwhile, 
 To other regions shall divert our course, 
 From them and from their torments far apart, 
 Regions of night and silence, where the souls 
 Of righteous men in their oblivious caves 
 Sleep out the time till their Deliv'rer comes 
 To wake them from their trance. ..dissolve the 
 
 spell 
 Of their enchanter, Death, and set them free 
 To range the fields of Paradise, where flows, 350 
 As from a fountain by God's presence fed, 
 Beatitude surpassing human thought, 
 Pleasures unseen, unnumber'd, unconceiv'd." 
 
 This said, from those high battlements the 
 Dove 
 Of Peace, upon Redemption's errand sent, 
 Borne on the wings of his cherubic choir, 
 Descended swift, and through the drowsy void 
 To Death's terrific palace steer'd his flight. 
 
 Here the arch-foe of man, from earth expell'd 
 By man's Redeemer, newly had arriv'd. 360 
 But fear-struck, and in like disastrous trim 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 227 
 
 With war-worn Siscra, when in his flight, 
 
 From the victorious Naphtalite he came 
 
 To ask protection at false Jael's tent, 
 
 And rain found instead. The whirlwind's blast 
 
 Had shatter'd his proud form ; now scorch'd by 
 
 fires, 
 Xow driv'n to regions of perpetual frost 
 Beyond extremest Saturn's wlnt'ry sphere, 
 No middle course kept he, nor had his feet 
 From their serial journey once found rest, 370 
 Till, at the threshold of Death's gloomy throne, 
 Down on the solid adamant he fell 
 Precipitate at once, and lay entranc'd, 
 Of arch-angelic majesty the wreck. 
 
 Scar'd at the hideous crash, and all aghast, 
 Death scream'd amain, then wrapt himself in 
 
 clouds, 
 And in his dark pavilion trembling sate 
 Mantled in night. And now the prostrate fiend 
 Ilear'd his terrific head with lightnings scorch'd, 
 And furrow'd deep with scars of livid hue ; 380 
 Then stood erect and roll'd his blood-shot eyes 
 To find the ghastly vision of grim Death, 
 "Who at the sudden downfal of his sire 
 Startled, and of his own destruction warn'd, 
 Had shrunk from sight, and to a misty cloud 
 Dissolv'd, hunglow'ringo'er his shrouded throne. 
 When Satan, whose last hope was now at stake, 
 
228 CALVARY; OR, [bookvh. 
 
 Impatient for the interview, exclaim'd — 
 
 ' ; Where art thou, Death ? Why hide thyself 
 from him [king ; 
 
 Of whom thou art ? Come forth, thou grisly 
 And though to suitor of immortal mould 
 Thy refuge he denied, yet at my call, 
 Thv father's call, come forth and comfort me. 
 Thou gaunt anatomy, with one short glimpse 
 Of those dry bones, in which alone is peace 
 And that oblivious sleep, for which I sigh." 
 He said, and now a deep and hollow groan, 
 Like roar of distant thunders, shook the hall, 
 And from before the cloud-envelop'd throne, 
 The adamantine pavement burst in twain 400 
 With hideous crash self-open-d, and display'd 
 A subterranean chasm, whose yawning vault, 
 Deep as the pit of Acheron, forbade 
 All nearer access to the shad'wy king. 
 Whereat the imprison'd winds, that in its womb 
 Were cavern'd, 'sj-an to heave their veastv waves 
 In bubbling exhalations, till at once 
 Their eddying vapors working upwards burst 
 From the broad ventenfranchis'd, when, behold ! 
 The cloud that late around the throne had poured 
 More than Egyptian darkness, now began 
 To lift its fleecy skirts, till through the mist 
 Th' imperial phantom glcam'd ; monster do- 
 form'd, 
 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 2S9 
 
 Enormous, terrible, from heel to scalp 
 One dire anatomy ; his giant bones [hung 
 
 Star'd through the shrivell'd skin, that loosely 
 On his sepulchral carcass ; round his brows 
 A cypress wreath, tiara-like, he wore, 
 "With night shade and cold hemlock intertwin'd ; 
 Behind him hung his quiver'd store of darts 420 
 Wing'd with the raven's plume ; his fatal bow 
 Of deadly yew, tall as Goliah's spear, 
 Propp'd his unerring arm ; about his throne, 
 (If throne it might be caU'd,which was compos'd 
 Of human bones, as in a charnel pil'd,) 
 A hideous group of dire diseases stood, 
 Sorrows and pains and agonizing plagues, 
 His ghastly satellites, and, ev'n than these 
 More terrible, ambition's slaught'ring sons, 
 Heroes and conquerors styl'd on earth ; but here 
 Doom'd to ignoble drudgery, employ'd 
 To do his errands in the loathsome vault, 
 And tend corruption's ne*ver-dying worm, 
 To haunt the catacombs and ransack graves, 
 Where some late pop'lous city is laid waste 
 By the destroying pestilence, or storm'd 
 By murd'ring Russ or Tartar blood-besmear'd. 
 And furious on the desp'rate breach to plant 
 His eagle or his cresent on the piles 
 Of mangled multitudes, and flout the sky 440 
 With his victorious banners. Xow a troop 
 
330 CALVARY; OR. [bookvii. 
 
 Of shrouded ghosts, upon a signal giv'n 
 By their terrific monarch, start to sight, 
 Each with a torch funereal in his grasp, 
 That o'er the hall dkTus'd a dying light, 
 Than darkness' self more horrible : The walls 
 Of that vast cenotaph, hung round with spears 
 Falchions and pole-axes and plumed helms, 
 Shcw'd like the arm'ry of some warlike State : 
 There every mortal weapon might he seen, 450 
 Each implement of old or new device, 
 Which savage nature or inventive art 
 Furnish'd to arm the ruffian hand of war, 
 And deal to man the life-destroyim? stroke : 
 And them betwixt at intervals were plae'd 
 The crowned skeletons of mighty kings, 
 Csesars and caliphs and barbarian chiefs, [shrink, 
 Monsters, whose swords had made creation 
 And frighted peace and science from the earth. 
 Pondering the scene, in mute amazement rapt, 
 The lost arch-angel stood, when soon the voice 
 Of Death, as from the tombs low murmuring, 
 
 thus 
 Bespoke attention — " What uncivil cause, 
 Prince of the air, provokes thee to offend 
 Against the peaceful charter of these realms 
 By voice thus rude and clam'rous ? Knpw'st 
 
 thou not 
 I reign by privilege, though son not slave 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 231 
 
 Of thee, heav'n-exil'd ? Here no place hast thou, 
 For here is peace ; no part in this domain 
 To thee and to thy rebel host belongs : 470 
 They in the flames of Tartarus, but we 
 Dwell with the silent worm : The pow'r we have 
 O'er man's corruptible and mortal part 
 Ends with the body ; here the bones may sleep. 
 For these anatomies disturb us not : 
 But for the spark unquenchable, the soul 
 Immortal, which survives the fleeting' breath, 
 Of that we take no charge ; that must abide 
 In other regions, its appointed lot 
 Of misery or bliss. What then hath Death 430 
 To do with Satan ? Can the son, who drew 
 Existence from the father, quench that sp'rit 
 Which God decreed eternal ? Will those lircs 
 Cease at my word ? Hell will not hear my voice, 
 Nor can the bowlings of the infernal pit 
 Sinter my cars. Ask not repose of me, 
 Tormented fiend : There is no grave for sin, 
 IS'o sleep for Satan ! fall'n from heav'n thou art; 
 There thou hast no abode ; fall'n now from 
 
 earth, 
 Where is thy lod^ino; ? Where, but in these 
 
 flames. 
 Pass on, then, in thy course, nor loiter here, 
 For hell expects thee : Wert thou here to stay. 
 Death in destroying thee himself destroys." 
 
232 CALVARY; OR, [booktii. 
 
 Whereto th' unwelcome visitant replied : 
 " Inhospitable pow'r ! and is it thus 
 Thou greet'st a father in his extreme need, 
 Suppliant for leave to draw a moment's breath 
 In thy pale presence, 'till this furious blast, 
 That follow'd me from earth, shall spend its rage 
 And cease to howl through the profound of hell ? 
 If in thy heartless trunk no mein'ry dwells 
 Of what I was, Oh ! teach me to forget 
 What now I am, and make my senses dull 
 To pain, as thine to gratitude are lost : 
 But if thy mind be present to record 
 My fall from bliss, will it not also serve 
 To put thee in remembrance how that Ml 
 Bestow'd on thee a station and a name ? 
 Had I not fall'n from heav'n, man had not lost 
 The joys of Paradise, immortal joys, 510 
 
 Till I destroy'd them ; who then but myself, 
 Exil'd from God, brought death into the world... 
 Gave thee the sepulchre for thy domain, 
 And every mortal body for thy prey ? 
 Whose hand but Satan's, thankless as thou art, 
 Plac'd that victorious wreath upon thy brow, 
 Arm'd thee for war and bade thee be a king ? 
 And what doth Satan now demand of Death ? 
 What, but a moment's respite, the small boon 
 Of hospitable shelter, where to lay 520 
 
 3Iy aching head and rest my weary wing ? 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 233 
 
 This to the father can the son refuse ? 
 
 I ask no more. If Christ, from whom I fly, 
 
 Pursues me te this pit, and into hell 
 
 Descending shall repass her gloomy gates 
 
 Guarded hy sin, that barrier lost, farewell 
 
 To all thy greatness ! Where shall be thy sting, 
 
 Death, and where thy victory, O Grave ? 
 Then to have harbor'd Satan shall not add 
 One feather to the balance of thy fate ; 530 
 All must be lost together ; I to flames 
 Consign'd ; thou, phantom, into air dissolv'd." 
 
 "No more of this vain arguing," Death re? 
 ply'd ; 
 Ji My peace and my repose I can but deal 
 As God decrees, and as he wills withhold : 
 Thus wrangling to the latest hour of time, 
 Nothing, O Satan, could'st thou wring from me 
 But the same answer, and the same despair : 
 
 1 with mortality alone confer ; 
 
 Thou art a deathless spirit : If my pow'r 540 
 Cannot annihilate the soul of man, 
 How then of angel ? Guilty thou hast been, 
 Conscious must ever be, and therefore curst. 
 Of me complaining thou condemn'st thyself, 
 The righteous ever are at peace with Death ; 
 Thou art not of their number. Sp'rit unbiest, 
 Author of man's revolt and all things ill, 
 The hell which thou hast peopled, is thine own, 
 
 G % 
 
234 CALVARY; OR, [book mi. 
 
 Earth thou hast made a ruin. ...men, by thee 
 Perverted, turn to monsters ; Heav'n itself, 550 
 Disturb'd by thy rebellion, for a while 
 Suffer'd convulsion, and her thrones besieg'd, 
 Echo'd the din of battle ; the fair bloom 
 Oi paradise was blasted by thy spells, 
 And man driv'n forth to till th' unthankful earth, 
 And toil and sweat for a precarious meal, 
 Degraded from his origin, at length 
 To me and to corruption was consign'd. 
 These were thy doings, this was my descent, 
 And my inheritance the loathsome worm, 560 
 The throsie funereal, and this yawning gulph 
 Impassable, which I am yet to thank, 
 For that it holds thee at a distance from me : 
 This is thy bounty. — Look upon these bones, 
 Survey this dread anatomy, and say 
 If son so fashion'd owes his father thanks : 
 Proportion'd to thy goodness I accord 
 My gratitude by bidding thee avaunt ; [earth 
 Hence from my sight, intruder ! Thrust from 
 As heretofore from heav'n, and tempest torn, 
 With bruised head and shatter'd, flagging wing, 
 Hither thou com'st, a fugitive from Him, 
 "W bom in the wilderness for forty days 
 Tempting thou didst annoy : Hull, doating spirit! 
 Blind to thine own destruction, not to see 
 God's power in Christ, nor understand that he, 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 235 
 
 Who foil'd thy cunning, might defy thy strength : 
 Bat neither strength nor cunning shall prevail 
 To draw me forth upon a losing side, 
 And set this empire on adesp'rate cast : 580 
 I lack presumption to oppose that power, 
 Which puts hell's monarch to inglorious flight. 
 What shelter canst thou find hehind a shade, 
 An airy phantom ? Such thou say'st I am... 
 Such let me be ! That phantom will not tempt 
 The furious hlast of God's avenging breath, 
 Nor, mov'd to pity by thy treacherous plaints, 
 Tender oblivion's boon to soul accurst : 
 Such favor when thou would' st extort from Death, 
 That phantom will be adamant to thee. 590 
 Now learn a truth : Christ in the flesh is dead ; 
 Yet long I cannot hold him in the grave ; 
 His body, interdicted to the worm, 
 For some mysterious purpose is reserv'd 
 From all corruption free, and sure I am 
 He will not leave his enemy at large 
 In this obscure domain, where sleep the souls 
 Of righteous men ; fly then, whilst yet the hour 
 Serves thee for flight — And hark ! the angel 
 trump [curst !" 
 
 Sounds his approach. Now tremble, thou ac- 
 
 No more ; cncanopy'd beneath the wings 
 Of mighty cherubim, with sounding trump 
 And joyful chaunt the Lord of Life came on : 
 
S36 CALVARY; OR, [bookvii. 
 
 "Lift up your heads,- ' the heav'nly chorus sung, 
 " Lift up your heads ye everlasting gates, 
 And Christ the King of Glory shall come in :" 
 Bright as the sun his presence ; darkness fled 
 Down to the centre ; Satan on the earth 
 Fell motionless ; Death trembled on his throne, 
 Ami call'd his shadowy guards — they with loud 
 shrieks 6 1 
 
 Vanished in air, whilst from the gulph profound 
 Blue lightnings flash'd and deep-mouth'd thun- 
 ders roar'd, 
 "When Christ, with eye severe on Satan turn'd, 
 Bade the storm cease, and thus address'd the 
 fiend : [brink 
 
 " Well art thou found, thou serpent, on the 
 Of thy last home, this horrible abyss, 
 For thee and for thine impious crew prepared. 
 Man, from his God by thy corruption turn'd, 
 Is by my death receiv'd into the peace 
 Of his offended Maker, and if faith 620 
 
 Opens his way to heav'n in righteousness 
 And true conversion, Death cannot retain 
 His soul in darkness, nor thy crafty wiles 
 Puzzle his path and damp his glowing zeal ; 
 But thou presumptuous, who hast had the world 
 To range at will, and from God's altars pluck'd 
 Their consecrated honours, falsely view*d 
 Those spoils, by sufferance yielded, as the prize 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 337 
 
 Of thine own proper victory. Behold ! 
 These are thy triumphs ; in this pit receive 630 
 Thy folly's confutation, and the doom 
 Of woe eternal on thy sin denounc'd." 
 
 He said, nor other answer Satan gave 
 Than one deep groan rent from his lab'ring 
 
 breast. 
 The strong, vindictive Angel, to whose charge 
 The key of that infernal pit belong'd. 
 Now seiz'd him in his grasp, and from the 
 
 ground 
 Lifting his pond'rous bulk, such vigor dwelt 
 In arm celestial, headlong down at once, 
 Down lmrl'd him to the bottom of the gulph, 
 Then follow'd on the wing : His yelling cries 
 Death heard, whilst terror shiver'd every bone : 
 Not so the choir cherubic ; they with joy 
 Beheld Redemption's triumph in the fall 
 Of that Great Dragon, enemy of man, 
 That ancient Serpent, now, with bruised head 
 And sting-bereft, hurl'd down into the pit : 
 Whereat, in heav'nly concert they begin 
 To raise their tuneful voices, and sing forth 
 Praise to the Lamb of God, and joyful strain 
 Of gratulation to the saints redeem'd — 
 
 " Now is salvation come and strength and 
 
 power... 
 The kingdom of our God and of his Christ : 
 
238 CALVARY; OR, [bookvii. 
 
 Xow is that railing and malignant foe 
 
 Cast down into the pit, which day and night 
 
 Accus'd our righteous brethren to their God : 
 
 Now are they made victorious hy the hlood 
 
 Of the Redeeming Lamh, and in the word 
 
 Of Truth, their fearless witness, thro' the world 
 
 Go forth against the anarchy of Sin, 660 
 
 A host of martyrs, faithful unto death ; 
 
 Therefore rejoice, ye heav'ns, and ye of earth 
 
 Inhabitants, awake to joy and hail 
 
 The day-spring of Salvation from on high." 
 
 Satan, meanwhile, ten thousand fathoms deep 
 At bottom of the pit, a mangled mass 
 With shatter'd brain and broken limbs outspread, 
 Lay groaning on the adamantine rock : 
 Him the strong angel with ethereal touch 670 
 Made whole in form, but not to strength restored, 
 Rather to pain and the acutcr sense 
 Of shame and torment ; hideous was the glare 
 Of his blood-streaming eyes, and loud he yell'd 
 For very agony, whilst on his limbs 
 The massy fetters, such as hell alone 
 Could forge in hottest sulphur, were infixed 
 And rivetted in the perpetual stone : 
 Upon his back he lay extended, huge, 
 And hideous ruin : not a word vouchsaf Hi 
 That vengeful angel, but with quick dispatch 
 Ply'd his commission*d task, then stretch'd the 
 wing 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 239 
 
 And upward flew ; for now th' infernal cave 
 Through all its vast circumference had sriv'a 
 The dreadful warning, and began to close 
 Its rocky ribs upon th' imprison'd fiend : 
 Fierce and more fierce as it approach'd became 
 The flaming concave ; thus comprest, the vault, 
 Red as metallic furnace, glow'd intense 
 With heat, that had the hideous den been less 
 Than adamant it had become a flood, 690 
 
 Or Satan other than he was in sin 
 And arch-angelic strength pre-eminent, 
 He neither could have suffer'd nor deserv'd. 
 Pan tin"; he roii'd in streams of scalding sweat, 
 Parch'd with intolerable thirst, one drop 
 Of water then to cool his raging tongue 
 Had been a boon worth all his golden shrine. 
 Vain wish ! for now the pit had clos'd its mouth, 
 Nor other lijyht remain'd than what the glare 
 Of those reverberating fires bcstow'd : 700 
 
 Then all the dungeon round was thick beset 
 With horrid faces, threat'ning as they glar'd 
 Their haggard eyes upon him ; from hell's lake 
 Flocking they came.whole legions of thedaum'd, 
 His worshippers on earth, sensual, profane, 
 Abominable in their lives, monsters of vice, 
 Blood-stuin ? d murderers, apostate kings, 
 And crowned tyrants some, tormented now 
 For their past crimes and into furies turn'd, 
 
240 CALVARY; OR, [bookvii. 
 
 Accusing their betrayer. Curses dire, 710 
 Hissings and tauntings now from every side 
 Assail'd bis ear ; on him, on him alone, 
 From Cain, first murderer, to Iscariot, all, 
 All with loud voices charg'd on him their gins, 
 Their agonies, with imprecations urg'd 
 For treble vengeance on his head accurst, 
 Founder of hell, sole author of their woe, 
 And enemy avow'd of all makind. 
 
 Now when the King of Terrors had perceiv'd 
 The pow'r of his new visitant, and saw 720 
 Satan engulph'd, and the devouring pit, 
 Best barrier of his throne, forever cios'd, 
 Descending from his state with heart abash'd, 
 Conscious that pride would ill befriend him now 
 In presence of his conqueror, at the feet 
 Of Christ with low obeisance he put off 
 The trophies of his brow, and on the knee, 
 Stooping his vassal head, low homage paid, 
 And suppliant thus his humble suit preferr'd j 
 
 " Immortal King ! all glorious and all good, 
 At whose great name befits that every knee 
 In heav'n or earth or in these realms beneath 
 Should bend adoring, let thy will prevail 
 Here, as wherever else ! And sure I am 
 'Tis not my power, but thine own wond'rous love ? 
 Consenting to the deed, hath brought thee here 
 In pity to mankind to taste the cup 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 241 
 
 Of agony, and visit these sad shades, 
 
 Though deathless ; thence to re-ascend, as soon 
 
 Thou shalt, victorious to the realms of light. 740 
 
 I know thee for the Christ the Son of God, 
 
 Messias of the prophets long foreseen, 
 
 Yet of the unbelieving Jews despis'd, 
 
 Rejected ; for thou cam'st not in the pomp 
 
 Of temp'ral majesty, and only great 
 
 In patience, in humility, in love 
 
 And miracles of mercy. At thy feet, 
 
 This head uncrown'd thus stooping, I resign 
 
 All empire ; not on me let fall thy wrath 
 
 As on that bruised serpent. What am I ? 750 
 
 What is the sword, what is the pestilence, 
 
 And all my host of mortal ministers, 
 
 But servants of thy providence, a scourge 
 
 And rod of vengeance, wherewith to chastise 
 
 Presumptuous, guilty pride ? Whose hand but 
 
 mine 
 Strikes terror to the atheist's harden'd heart ? 
 Who plucks the tyrant from his bloody car 
 And rolls him in the dust ? or at a blow 
 Strangles the curse in the blasphemer's throat ? 
 Tf on the martyr's head my axe descends, 760 
 The same hand plants a crown of glory there ; 
 And if in my dark caves the righteous sleep, 
 Peaceful they sleep : I break not their repose, 
 For silence dwells with me, and night and rest, 
 
 II 2 
 
243 CALVARY; OR, [boqkvii. 
 
 Behold the key inviolate that guards 
 
 Their hallow'd slumbers ; never did I yield, 
 
 Though oft solicited, this sacred pledge 
 
 To Satan or his sin-defiled crew ; 
 
 Faithful I've kept it ever.. ..faithful now 
 
 To thee their Saviour I resign my charge." 770 
 
 This said, the golden badge of his command, 
 Rich and of heav'nly workmanship, with gems 
 Of azure, green, and purple thick emboss'd, 
 Humbly he laid at the Redeemer's feet : 
 He to the zeal of Gabriel straight consign'd 
 Th' enlargement of those sp'rits to bliss pre- 
 ferred, 
 Fit minister for office so benign : 
 Whereat he bade sound forth the signal trump 
 Of the First Resurrection, heard of none 
 Save of those holy saints, elect of God, 780 
 
 Martyrs and prophets, call'd^to live with Christ 
 In antecedent glory, till the day 
 Of gen'ral Resurrection shall awake 
 And summon into judgment all mankind. 
 Swift hied that friendly angel on the wing, 
 Swifter, for that, on gracious errand sent, 
 Joy urg'd him to put forth his utmost speed ; 
 Meanwhile, the heav'nly Yisitant of Death 
 Upon that ghastly Vision turn'd his eyes, 
 And thus, in accent mild, addressed the shade : 
 
 " That I came down from heav-n and am the 
 Christ, 
 
THE DEATH OF CHMST. 243 
 
 Higlitly, O Death, thou hast pronounc'd ; vet 
 
 hei 3 
 1 come not to destroy thy power at once, 
 Ditto set free the saints thou hold'st in thrall, 
 And call them to my peace ; but ev°n of these, 
 Part till my second coming must abide : 
 Of thee and all tilings of corruption bred 
 The term is ilx'd ; God must be all in all : 
 But time, as man computes, hath yet to roll 
 Through numerous ages ere the final trump 800 
 Shall sound thy knell. I brought not upon earth 
 Peace, but the sword ; the gospel I have preach'd 
 Man will corrupt, misconstrue and pervert ; 
 Nor shall my Church be only drench- d with 
 
 blood 
 Of its own martyrs — zealots shall arise, 
 Aliens to my humility and peace, 
 With more than pagan enmity enflam'd 
 Each against other ; then shall ruthless war 
 And persecution, and fierce civil rage 
 Ravage the Christian world ; intol'rant pride, 
 Usurping pow'r infallible, shall send 
 Its heralds forth with cursing in their mouths, 
 And fetters for man's conseienc e in their hands ; 
 They in the battle's front shall plant the cross, 
 And bid the unconverted nations kneel 
 Under their conq>ring standard, and adopt 
 The creed of murderers, who, in the place 
 
844* CALVARY; ^c. [bookvii. 
 
 Of the pure bond of charity, present 
 A forged scroll blurr'd and defac'd with lies, 
 And impiously inscribe it with my name. 820 
 These are religion's traitors, and from them 
 Ad ample harvest shalt thou reap, O Death ; 
 Suffice it thee to know that for a while 
 Thoa shalt be spar'd : And now no more : Be- 
 hold ! 
 Gabriel leads on the congregated Saints. 
 Vanish, pale phantom ! Give the ranSom'd place.' 5 
 
 end of The seventh book. 
 
CALVARY; 
 
 OR, 
 
 THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 
 
 BOOK VIII. 
 
ARGU3IENT OF THE EIGHTH BOOK. 
 
 Christ, having closed his interview with Death, prepares to receive the 
 Saints of the First Resurrection, now approaching, under the conduct 
 of the angel Gabriel, and having ascended a mount in the midst of the 
 congregation, appears to them in glory. They pay homage to their 
 Redeemer in a hymn of praise and thanksgiving. He addresses them 
 in reply, and assures them of the blessings of immortal life bestowed 
 upon them by the Father as the reward of their righteousness. The 
 patriarch Abraham enters into conference with Christ, in the conclusion 
 of which the Saviour of the world shews him, in the glorious vision of 
 the heavenly Jerusalem, the holy city, as described in the Apocalypse. 
 When this beatific vision is passed away, Christ re-ascends to earth in 
 view of the whole assembly of Saints. The angel Gabriel, who is left 
 behind, addresses them from the mount, and expounds the purposes of 
 the Saviour's resurrection from the dead and return to earth. Moses re- 
 capitulates the events of his life, instances the frequent rebellions of the 
 Lord's unfaithful people, and laments their future impenitence and in- 
 credulity. Gabriel replies, and, from the nature of man's free will, ex- 
 plains the origin and necessity of evil, from which he deduces the ben- 
 efits of Christ's death and redemption. And now the spirit of God de- 
 cending on the hearts of the righteous, inspires them with all under- 
 standing and knowledge, fitted to their happy condition. A Paradise 
 arises within the regions of Death ; Gabriel addresses them for the last 
 time, and upon his departure the Poem concludes. 
 
CALVARY, &c. 
 
 BOOK VIII. 
 
 THE RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD. 
 
 IN 0\V had the Saviour by the word of pow r r 
 Wafted the magic phantom into air, 
 And all the horrors of the scene dispelled : 
 Swift as the stroke of his own winged dart, 
 Or flitting shadows by the moon-beam chas'd, 
 Death on the instant vanish'd : What hadseem'd 
 A citadel of proud and martial port, 
 With bastions fene'd, and pow'rs impregnable 
 Of adamant compos'd and lofty dome 
 Covering the throne imperial, now was air ; 10 
 And, far as eye could reach, a level plain, 
 In the interminable horizon lost, 
 Unfolded its vast champaign to the view, [rays, 
 Darkness, twin-born with Death, had fled ; the 
 Thrit from the Saviour's sun-crown'd temples 
 
 beam'd, 
 With dazzling lustre hrighten'd all the scene. 
 There, just emerging to the distant view, 
 And glitt'ring white, a multitude appeared, 
 Strctch'd east and west in orderly array. 
 
248 CALVARY; OB, [bookvih. 
 
 Swift marching underneath the mighty wings 
 Of the protecting angel, who in air 
 Soar'd imminent, and with the broad expanse 
 From flank to flank envelop'd all the host : 
 He with the blast of the awak'ning trump 
 Gave note of their advance. In the mid-plain 
 There was a mount ; thither the Saviour hied 
 With his cherubic guard, and there in view 
 Of the assembled myriads stood sublime. 
 The saints in order form'd themselves around, 
 Orb within orh, each in his proper sphere 30 
 Instinctively arrang'd ; then all at once, 
 As by one soul inspir'd, with bended knee 
 And forehead prostrate on the earth, they paid 
 Joint homage and ador'd. Oh ! who shall dare 
 With bold conjecture to compute the list 
 Of that blest multitude, or say, who first, 
 Who last, receiv'd the glorious All-hail, 
 Ye blessed of my Father ? Yet perchance, 
 So warranted by scripture, and so taught 
 By moral sage experience, we may doubt 4Q 
 If many rich, if many great or learn'd 
 Were of that righteous company ; be sure 
 The lover of this world had there no place... 
 He barter'd it for gold.. .he pass*d it off 
 To Belial for a perishable toy... 
 He sold it to a wanton : There the proud 
 Were brought down, and the meek and lowly 
 rais'd : 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 249 
 
 The conq'ror not of others but himself 
 There found pre-eminence : All joy to him, 
 Who rear'd the orphan, dry'd the widow's tears. 
 And sought affliction in her secret haunts, 
 Not for the praise of men ; and may not we, 
 Born in an age when mild philanthropy 
 Hath taught a better lesson to the heart— 
 May not we foster a kind hope that some 
 Of Pagan name were call'd, who, thro' the maze 
 Of dark Idolatry, took Reason's clue, 
 And found a mental avenue to God ? 
 Here with the father of the faithful stood 
 A host of patriarchs, prophets, judges, saints : 60 
 Noah, who perfect in the time of wrath 
 And righteous found, was left unto the earth 
 A remnant when the waters fell from hcav'n, 
 And was in covenant with the Most High 
 That man no more should perish by the flood : 
 Moses, the faithful servant of the Lord, 
 Meekest, though mightiest, of the sons of men, 
 And glorious in the sight of dreadful kings : 
 Joshua, th' avenger of th' elect of God, 
 Whose voice upon Mount Gibeon staid the sun 
 In the mid-heav'n, and bade the moon stand still 
 (n Ajalon's dark vale, till Israel ceas'd 
 From slaughter and the conq'ring sword was 
 
 sheath'd : 
 Here Samuel, in his linen cphod girt, 
 
 I a 
 
250 CALVARY; OR, [bookyiii. 
 
 Thrice call'd of God, amid the foremost stood : 
 He, who with Baal's priests contending, rear'd 
 His rival altars and brought fire from heav'n 
 To vindicate his God : The Psalmist King, 
 And he at whose sick prav'r the sun went hack, 
 And he, surnam'd the Good : Uaniel the seer, 
 And they, who in the furnace walk'd unhurt ; 
 All in the sacred page recorded just 
 And faithful servants of the living God : 
 For who ean douht the holy word of truth 
 Attesting their salvation ? Yet there is 
 One, who, by promise, sacredly assur'd 
 Of bliss immediate, heard the glorious call 
 Whilst hanging on the cross, by penitence 
 And faith obtained from the all-gracious lips 
 Of God's own Son, expiring at his side. 90 
 
 Hail, holy congregation, elder-born 
 Of righteousness and first-fruits of the ffrave. 
 Elect unto salvation ! Hail, blest saints, 
 Now cloth'd in white robes, as in your lives 
 With purity, sound forth your praise to God 
 And to the Lamb, in whose blood ye are wash'd ; 
 Wave high your brandies of victorious palm, 
 Hymning the strain, which he in Patmos heard, 
 What time the glorious vision was reveai'd. 
 " Hail, First and Last !" the immortal chorus 
 sung, 100 
 
 t; Of all things the beginning and the end ; 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 251 
 
 For thou art he, who. livest and wast dead, 
 And lo ! thou art alive for evermore, 
 And hold'st in hand of hell and death the keys, 
 Salvation to our God and to the Lamb 
 At his right hand, who sitteth on the throne ; 
 Blessing and glory, wisdom, honor, pow'r, 
 Might and thanksgiving evermore to God 
 And to his Christ ! Father, we give thee thanks, 
 Lord God, who wast, and art, and art to come, 
 For this thy mighty pow'r in us fulfill'd. 
 Now are the kingdoms of this world become 
 The kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, 
 And he shall reign forever ; now thy wrath 
 On the rebellious nations is let loose ; 
 Now is the first call of the sleeping saints, 
 And all thy servants faithful unto death 
 Thou hast rewarded with eternal bliss. 
 Henceforth forever blessed are the dead, 
 Thus dying in the Lord, for they shall rest ISO 
 From labour, and their good works are not lost !" 
 
 Their hymn perform'd, the whole redeemed 
 host, 
 With hands uplifted and all eyes direct 
 Upon the glorious Preseuce, bent the knee 
 Silent, whilst thus the Lord of Mercy spake : 
 
 " Ye blessed of my Father, prophets, saints 
 And martyrs ; ye of Abraham's faithful stock. 
 And ye, though wild by nature, grafted in 
 
&5S CALVARY; OR, [bookvih. 
 
 Upon the parent tree, and bearing fruits 
 To life eternal, welcome to my peace ! 130 
 
 Now are your watchings and your labours past... 
 Your tribulations, self-denials, pains 
 And mournings recompens'd ; never again 
 Shall ye know thirst or hunger, nor the sun 
 Light you by day* nor yet by night the moon ; 
 For ye sliail dwell before the throne of God, 
 And I will feed you : I will lead you forth 
 To living founts, and wipe away all tears. 
 Come, enter ye into your Master's joy*— 
 Come, for the throne awaits you ; take the crown 
 Of glory.. k take the kingdom from all time 
 For you prepar'd... possess your happy rights, 
 The earnings of your charity and love : 
 For I was hungcr'd and ye gave me meat, 
 Thirsty I was and ye assuag'd my thirst, 
 I was a stranger and ye took me in, 
 Naked ye cloth'd me, sick ye visited, 
 I was in prison and ye came unto me." 
 
 " When, Lord !" the righteous humbly inter* 
 pos'd, 
 " When were these charities by us pcrform'd ? 
 How have we merited this praise of thee, 
 Whom in the flesh we knew not ? Tell us, Lord, 
 When saw we thee an hungered and gave food ? 
 AVhen thirsty and gave drink ? a stranger when 
 And took thee in, naked and clothed thee ; 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. s&8 
 
 When saw we thee in sickness or in prison 
 And came unto thee ? When didst thou endure 
 These hard necessities, or we relieve ?" 
 
 Whereto the Lord reply'd : " Truly ye say 
 Me in the flesh ye knew not, yet in sp'rit 160 
 Ye knew mc, for my law was in your hearts ; 
 And what to these my brethren ye have done. 
 Or to the least of these, ye did to me, 
 Patron of mercy and the friend of man, 
 To every one, but not to all alike, 
 Some talent is in trust, the loan of heav'n, 
 To husband as he may ; and he who spares 
 From his imparted fund wherewith to help 
 His neighbor's scantier dole, improves the loan 
 And makes his Lord his debtor. First and last, 
 Ere Abraham was, I am. Open your ears ! 
 Hear, mark, and understand : The world by sin 
 Original had fali'n ofl* from God ; 
 3Ian was become corrupt, idolatrous, 
 Abominable : Satan reign'd on earth. 
 Ye are of various ages ; all have slept, 
 And some from earliest times or e'er the flood 
 Swallow'd the nations, yet with one accord 
 All in your several periods have bewail'd 
 Degenerated man : Noah can tell 180 
 
 Mow all the earth with violence was fill'd, 
 Or e'er the fountains of the vasty deep 
 Were broken up : Moses can well declare 
 
254 CALVARY; OR, [bookviii. 
 
 How bard and to rebellion prone tbe hearts 
 Of tbose whom he led forth : Samuel beheld 
 A stiff-neek'd generation spurn the yoke 
 And kick against their God ; but vain his voice, 
 Vain all the prophets' voices, who foretold 
 My coming, without whom the world were lost. 
 Now is salvation come ; I've drank the cup 190 
 Of bitterness, and died the death for man : 
 My peace I*ve left on earth ; the living world, 
 They have the word of truth, and by that word 
 Through faith they shall be sav'd ; from them 
 
 I came 
 To visit these dark regions, and redeem 
 The saints who slept ; behold ! ye are alive : 
 Death hath no more dominion ; Satan, chain'd 
 For ages, shall abide his time to come : 
 Meanwhile in glory ye shall dwell with me ; 
 By resurrection purchased with my blood 200 
 Ye are tbe first-fruits of immortal life." 
 
 Now Abraham, father of the faithful band, 
 And first in station nearest to the mount, 
 His eyes uplifted to the face divine 
 Of the effulgent Virtue, and thus spake : 
 
 c; Yet once more, as aforetime in the days 
 Of Sodom, suffer me to plead for man, 
 And ask of thee his Saviour if these few, 
 Few not in numbers, yet for heav'n too few 
 And for Heav'n's mercy, seeing there are past 
 
THE DEATH OF CHEIST. Z55 
 
 So many many ages of the world, 
 Are all that shall be sav'd ? Alas, for man ! 
 If this be the whole remnant, all the stock 
 Cull'd from so many myriads for God's fold. 
 Where are the nations vanish'd ? Where are the 
 
 hosts, 
 That sea, earth, flood and fire have swallow'd up ? 
 Can hell contain them? Can devouring Death 
 Find stomach for them all ? Did God make man 
 For death and hell, or thou endure the cross 
 Only for us ? Are all the righteous shrunk ££0 
 To this small measure ? And, if these be all, 
 Are they not yet enough to save the rest, 
 If heav'nly mercy listen to our prayer ? 
 May not our righteousness so save a world 
 From wrath, as once the righteousness of five 
 Had sav'd a guilty city from its fate ?" 
 
 To him the Lord of Mercy : ' ; I have said 
 Ye are the first fruits by my blood obtained, 
 The earnest of redemption : I have bruis'd, 
 Xot crush'd the Serpent's head ; he shall arise 
 Out of the pit once more to vex the earth- 
 Death, the last enemy, is not destroyed, 
 Yet is his sceptre shorten'd, and tbe key 
 That opens into life, now in those hands, 
 Where mercy best can place it for, man's good : 
 Thus of all pow'r though Death is not bereft, 
 Yet I have shook his throne, with inroad deep 
 
236 CALVARY; OR, [bogkviii. 
 
 Pierc'd his dark realm, and you redeeming 
 
 thence, 
 Made tenantless your graves, his strongest holds. 
 With you when from this depth I reascend, 240 
 And through heav'n's golden portal lead my 
 
 host 
 Of Saints high-waving these victorious palms, 
 Your white rohes glitt'ringin God's starry courts, 
 Great sure will he the triumph, loud tli' acclaim, 
 When all my Father's Angels shall sound forth 
 Their joyful hallelujahs round his throne. 
 Enough for victory hath been achiev'd ; 
 Destruction is reserved to that great day, 
 When the compelling angel shall go forth 
 To gather every atom of man's dust, 250 
 
 Which the se;?s eover, or the earth contains : 
 Then shall all souls be judg'd ; if Abraham then. 
 When of nil hearts the secrets shall be known. 
 Then if the friend of God hath aught to urge 
 In mitigation of man's guilt, be sure, 
 Ere justice strike, mercy will hear the plea. 
 Of this no more. The seasons and the times 
 Are with the Father : the dread hour draws on. 
 But I must first re-visit those on earth 
 Whom 1 have left in sorrow ; for their sakes 
 T must again submit me to the flesh, 
 Ami by the evidence of sense confirm 
 My promis'd resurrection ; this perform'd, 
 
 , 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 25? 
 
 And immortality reveal'd to man, 
 
 By faith made sure, my gospel shall go forth ? 
 
 My office then the Comforter will take ; 
 
 The weak he shall make strong, the foolish wise 3 
 
 And hy the mouths of sucklings and of Tmbes 
 
 He shall confound the wisdom of the world, 
 
 And o'er the gates of hell erect my Church." 
 
 When thus the Patriarch, glowing still with 
 zeal 
 For man's salvation, further question urg'd : 
 
 f' Lord, will not then the faithless world be- 
 lieve, 
 When thou return'stwith glory? From the dead 
 When they behold thee visible on earth 
 And thence to heav'n ascending, can they doubt? 
 Such revelation can their eyes resist — 
 Their ears such truthrecorded? Shall there then 
 Be left a Gentile idol upon earth 
 To rival Israel's God ? Shall there not be 280 
 One Shepherd and one fold for ail mankind... 
 One faith.. .one baptism. ..one Lord and Christ ? 
 But I perhaps too bold offend thine ear 
 With my rude converse ; Lord, if so, command 
 My tongue to silence ; yet not in thy wrath, 
 Not in thy wrath, O Lord, reprove my zeal." 
 Whereto the Saviour mildly thus reply'd : 
 w O Abraham, in whose soul compassion glows 
 And love, that burns with zeal for all thy sons ? 
 
 K % 
 
258 CALVARY; OR, [book vm. 
 
 Nor for thy sons alone, but the whole world, 290 
 Whose advocate thou art, think not the tongue, 
 That speaks for mercy, can offend my ear : 
 Yet what thy zeal anticipates in time 
 Is distant far ; ages must roil betwixt 
 Thy hope and its completion ; tbreat'ning clouds 
 Low'r on the glorious prospect ; seas of blood 
 Must first be pass'd ; long pilgrimage and sad 
 My martyrs have to make through valleys dark, 
 Where ign'ranee shades the sun, through fright- 
 ful haunts, 
 Where superstition pictures out the scene 300 
 In monstrous forms, and worships what it dreads. 
 Painful their march and round beset with snares ; 
 Here treach'ry lurks. ..there persecution flames; 
 Before them infidelity... .behind 
 Reproach and slander and the roar of tongues 
 Contentious, urging them to turn from God 
 And waste their nobler zeal in vain dispute. 
 Thus, step by step, in righteousness and faith 
 Arm'd at all points, my servants militant 
 Shall win their way, and what they earn enjoy. 
 Lowly and meek I came into the world, 
 And meek and lowly I shall now return ; 
 Not with that glory rising from the grave. 
 Which for my second coming is reserv'd, 
 But in that mortal body which they pierc'd, 
 Shewing my wounds ; not with the proud display 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 259 
 
 Of one who courts the voice of public fame, 
 But communing apart with those I left 
 To be my witnesses, that so through them 
 Men may be taught by reason to discern 320 
 Not what they must, but what they should be- 
 lieve ; 
 Not by the evidence of sense to feel, 
 But by the mind's conviction to perceive 
 Truth in its argument, not act ; and build 
 On reason, not necessity, their faith, 
 And on their faith and their good works their 
 
 hope. 
 God will not always struggle with mankind — 
 Heap proof on proof till incredulity 
 Though blind must see, tho' deaf of force must 
 
 hear ; 
 He will not bring his heav'n upon the earth, 330 
 Rather will lead man's heart fromearthly things 
 To reach at heav'niy joys ; the railing Jews 
 "Who fix'd me to the cross, bade me come down, 
 And with the sign of pow'r dispel their doubts : 
 So had I frustrated all faith at once, 
 And with all faith all virtue : I was dumb... 
 I open'd not my mouth to their reproach... 
 I stirr'd not from the cross.. .1 died the death, 
 Nor to my rescue brought one angel down, 
 Though legions waited to obey my call. 340 
 And now none other sign will I vouchsafe 
 
£G0 CALVA&Y; Oil, [bookviii. 
 
 But of tlie prophet Jonas j for as he 
 From out the belly of the whale emerged 
 On the third day, so I from out the tomb, 
 In the same body, will come forth on earth 
 With the third morning's dawn ; thus shall the 
 
 word 
 Of prophecy by my disciples heard, 
 Kot uiiderstoood* be perfected in me, 
 And I will breathe my sp'rit into their hearts 
 To comprehend all scriptures, and to preach 350 
 Me crucified ; nor shall there be a dearth 
 Of witnesses to publish and attest 
 My resurrection ; hundreds shall behold 
 My substance in the flesh, and he that doubts 
 Shall touch me and believe. More to expound 
 There needs not ; this in all your ears aloud 
 I now promulgate, that when I am gone 
 Ye may abide the interim in peace, 
 By terror or impatience undisturbed I 
 And now not many are the days to pas?, 360 
 Ere to the heav'n of heav'n's I shall ascend, 
 And there in blest communion with my saints* 
 Made perfect after death, for ever dwell 
 At the right hand of pow'r ; meanwhile the seed 
 "Which I have sown, though of all grains the least, 
 Yet water'd by the comforter shall grow 
 Of herbs the greatest, and become a tree, 
 \Vithin whose branches all the birds of air 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 26 i 
 
 Shall come and lodge; so shall my kingdom rise 
 From mean beginning into mighty growth, 370 
 A still small current, spreading as it goes ; 
 For in the arm of man I place no strength, 
 No? in the battle's thunder can be heard [ear, 
 His voice that preaclieth peace ; to storm the 
 Like those loud heathen orators, who shake 
 The forum with their eloquence, ill suits 
 The servants of a master little vers'd 
 In this world's wisdom, and not vain of speech : 
 In love, in calm persuasion, and in peace, 
 Mv gospel I have planted : Woe to them, 380 
 Who in the place of these sweet fruits provoke 
 The baneful growth of persecution, strife, 
 And discord in my Church, opening my wounds 
 Unhcal'd, and crucifying me afresh." [thanks 
 To him the Patriarch : " Lord, we give thee 
 For that thou hast imparted to thy saints 
 These tidings of great joy, though distant far, 
 And through such clouds of sorrow dimly seen ; 
 And sure we are thy gospel shall prevail, 
 Yet much do we lament for what thy saints 390 
 And martyrs have to suffer upon earth, 
 Foii'dby that first deceiver of mankind, [chain'd, 
 Who, though now bruis'd, and for awhile en- 
 Shall yet come forth to vex thy holy Church, 
 To conjure up false prophets, and pervert 
 Thy followers, who are taught to live in peace 
 
262 CALVARY; OR, [bookviii. 
 
 And charity with all men : But we know 
 God did not huild this goodly frame of things 
 For Satan to destroy, and he and Death [home, 
 Shall have an end : Heav'n is man's natural 
 And righteousness the impulse of his heart ; 
 Nor will God fail his promise, that in me 
 And in my seed the whole world shall be blest : 
 Ah ! when shall 1 behold that promised day ? 
 "When shall I see the warring world at peace ? 
 When shall my Israel, scatter'd o'er the earth 
 And straggling wide, hear their good Shepherd's 
 
 call, 
 And come into his fold ? Sure that blest voice, 
 That giorious vision would be heav'n itself." 
 
 " That vision thou glial t see," the Lord reply'd, 
 " And smii'd all-gracious on th' enraptur'd Saint, 
 From this prospective mount with purged eye, 
 That through the lengthening tract of time dis- 
 cerns 
 Futurity remote, thou shalt behold 
 Th' Apocalypse, which to no living eye, 
 Save of my servant John, I shall disclose : 
 But know ere this blest period shall arrive, 
 The elements must melt with fervent heat, 
 And earth and sea and heav'n must pass away, 
 Darkness and sin and death shall be no more, 
 And a new world shine forth. Ascend the mount, 
 And eastward turning tell me what thou seest ;" 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 263 
 
 k> I see," the Patriarch cry'd, " an heav'n and 
 
 earth... 
 Earth without sea, and heav'n without a cloud, 
 All bright and glist'ning from the Maker's 
 
 hands : 
 I see descending from the throne of God 
 Jerusalem the Holy City, new, 
 Deck'd like a bride for her celestial spouse : 
 Order, and grace, and symmetry conspire 
 In all her parts, and with the rich display 430 
 Of vivid gems make glorious her attire : 
 To the four points of heav'n in equal span 
 She stretches out her many-colour'd walls, 
 Celestial masonry, whose meanest stone, 
 More rare and precious than the brightest gem 
 Of earthly diadems, transparent flames, 
 From the foundations to the topmost cope 
 Of mural battlement one dazzling blaze 
 Of glorious jewelry, and then amidst 
 On every flank quadrangular three gates, 440 
 Each of an orient pearl, to our twelve tribes, 
 By number and by name appropriate, 
 Stand open, guarded by cherubic watch ; 
 Through whose unfolded portals I descry 
 A city all of purest gold, and clear 
 As the unclouded crystal on whose towers 
 God's all-suflicient glory sheds a flood 
 Of radiance brighter than the borrow 'd beam 
 
234 CALVA11Y;0R, [bookviu. 
 
 Of shadowy moon or sun oft wrapt in clouds, 
 Making alternate night and day on earth : 450 
 But night is here unknown ; day needeth not 
 To rest in darkness, nor the eye in sleep ; 
 Nor temple here for worship may he found, 
 The ever-present Deity demands 
 No house of pray'r ; in ev'ry heart is built 
 His altar — every voice records his praise, 
 And every saint his minister and priest. 
 Through the mid-street a chrystal river flows 
 Pellucid, welling from the throne of God, 
 Its living source, upon whose border springs 460 
 The tree of life, bearing ambrosial fruits 
 Monthly renew-d, and varied through the year, 
 Food for immortals, in whose balmy gum 
 And leaves medicinal, a virtue dwells 
 So general and potential, that no pain 
 Or ailment but here finds its ready cure : 
 No tear shall wet this consecrated soil, 
 Nor feud, nor clamor, nor unholy curse 
 Disturb these peaceful echoes *, here the saints 
 In sweet harmonious brotherhood shall dwell, 
 Serene and perfect in the sight of God. 
 And hark ! I hear seraphic voices c haunt 
 To their melodious harps the bridal hymn — 
 Now is our God espoused to his Church, 
 And from their heav'nly union are gone forth. 
 Blessing and peace and joy to all mankind j 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 265 
 
 Now shall his saints eternal Sabbath keep 
 From death, and pain, and wailing, and com* 
 
 plaint. 
 All is made new.. .the oldispass'd away... 
 Time draws aside the faded scene of things, 
 And Nature in immortal freshness blooms. 
 Now to the waters of the fount of life, 
 Perpetual waters, every soul may come, 
 And he that is athirst may freely drink : 
 But fire and brimstone in the burning lake 
 Shall be their portion, who revolt from God ; 
 There with the Beast in torments they shall 
 
 dwell, 
 ScaPd in their foreheads with his mark,and drink 
 The cup of indignation to the dregs 
 Wrung out in anger, whilst their ceaseless cry 
 Shall with the smoke of the infernal pit 
 Day after day for evermore ascend." 
 
 No more ; for now the heav'nly vision clos'd ; 
 Awaken'd from his trance, the Patriarch turn'd 
 With grateful reverence to address the Lord 
 And Giver of these new-discover'djoys, 
 When lo ! ascending from the mount, he saw 
 Christ in a cloud of glory on the wings 
 Of mighty cherubim upborne in air, 
 High-soaring, to this orb terraqueous bound, 500 
 Seen over-head diminish'd to a point 
 Dim and opaque amid the blue serene ; 
 
£68 CALVARY; OR, [book vm. 
 
 His raiment whiter than the new-horn light, 
 Struck out of chaos by the Maker's hand 
 In earnest of creation, sparkling blaz'd 
 In its swift motion, and with fiery track 
 Mark'd his ascent to earth ; the host of saints 
 With joyful loud hosannas fill'd the air: 
 " Glory to God on high," was all their strain, 
 " On the earth peace, good will to all mankind !" 
 
 Meanwhile the arch-angel Gabriel, who yet 
 kept 
 His tutelary station on the mount, [Voice 
 
 So bidd'n of Christ, with arm out-stretch'd, and 
 Commanding silence, thus the saints bespake : 
 
 " Now is your resurrection sure. ..your joy, 
 Your glory, and your triumph over death 
 And hell made perfect; for behold where Christ 
 Y T our first-fruit now is ris'n, and waves on high 
 The ensign of redemption : Now he soars 
 Up to yon pendent world, that darkling speck ? 
 Which in the boundless empyrean floats 
 Poised on its whirling axle ; there he liv'd 
 And took your mortal body.. ..there he died, 
 And for your sakes endur'd the painful cross. 
 Giving his blood a ransom for your sins ; 
 Thither he goes to re-assume his flesh ; 
 There, when his angel ministers have op'd 
 The seal'd sepulchre, he shall come forth 
 And shew biujself resurgent from the grave 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 267 
 
 To those whom he hath sanctified and call'd 
 To be his witnesses in all the world, 
 Add of his resurrection after death 
 Their faithful evidence to seal with blood 
 Of martyrs and apostles, warning men 
 With their last breath to be baptiz'd and live ; 
 So shall the seed be water'd and increase, 
 Till all the Gentile nations shall come in 
 And dwell beneath its branches evermore. 
 Now are the gates of everlasting life 
 Set open to mankind, and when the Lord, 540 
 Captain of their salvation, shall have liv'd 
 His promis'd term on earth, and thence toheav'ii 
 Ascending seat himself at God's right hand, 
 Then shall the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, 
 Rush like a mighty wind upon the hearts 
 Of his inspir'd apostles ; tongues of fire 
 And languages untaught they shall receive 
 To speak with boldness the revealed word, 
 Enduring all things for the gospel's sake ; 
 Troubled on every side, }*et not distressed... 550 
 Perplex'd, but not surrender'd to despair... 
 Afflicted, not forsaken, they shall be... 
 Cast down but not destroy'd, knowing that God$ 
 Who rais'd the Lord Jesus from the dead^ 
 Them also into life through him will raise, 
 And that the light affliction of this world, 
 Which is but for a moment, soon shall be 
 
268 CALVARY; OR, [book Yin. 
 
 O'erpaid by afar more exceeding weight 
 Of joys eternal in the life to come." 
 
 He ceas'd, and all were silent wrapt in awe 
 Of the iate glorious vision, yet in heart 
 Troubled for what the angel had reveal'd 
 Of sorrows still to come, and pains and deaths 
 To be encounter'd by the saints on earth ; 
 When now that Shepherd, who on Sinai's mount 
 Cbmmun'd with God and heard creation's plan 
 Expounded by its Architect, thus spake : 
 
 " Oh thou, whom through the fiery cloud I 
 
 saw 
 On Horeb's hill, when tending Jethro's flock, 
 What time I heard my name twice call'd of God 
 In thunder from amidst the flaming bush, 
 Bidding me strait go forth to loose his sheep 
 From Egypt's captive fold, 1 do perceive 
 That I have penn'd the word of God aright, 
 And now in Christ behold the woman's seed 
 Bruising that Serpeut's head, who wrought the 
 
 fall 
 Of our first parents. Forty days and nights 
 On Sinai's top, midst thund'rings, clouds and fire 
 F;.-iing T stood, and whilst the hallowed ground 
 Trembled beneath my bare unsandal'd feet, 580 
 I heard an awful voice that bade me write 
 The glorious record of his six days' work. 
 Agbast, confounded, dazzled with the blaze 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 269 
 
 Of glory, still my faithful pen obey'd 
 The sacred dictates of an unseen God : 
 I wrote, and to an unbelieving world 
 Publish'd the wond'rous Code ; age after age 
 Libell'd the transcript : With the rod of pow'r 
 I smote the seas asunder ; Israel pass'd 
 Through wat'ry battlements ; forty long years 
 In the waste howling wilderness I fed 
 Their murmuring tribes with food miraculous ; 
 They fed, but murmur'd still : I brought them 
 
 laws 
 With God's own finger graven ; I came down 
 Bearing Jehovah's statutes in my hand 
 On both sides written ; impious noisy shouts, 
 Lewd triumphs, and vile revels smote mine ear ; 
 The people danc'd around a molten calf... 
 Monstrous idolatry ! Raging with shame 
 I dash'd the stony tablets on the ground, 600 
 And shiver'd them to fragments : God was 
 
 mock'd ; 
 A stiff-neck'd and a stubborn race they were, 
 Who from the rock of their salvation turn'd, 
 And sacrific'd to devils ; and behold ! 
 Their sons have crucified the Lord of Life ; 
 Therefore his resurrection, which shall be 
 Light and redemption to the Gentile world, 
 To them is darkness and the shadow of death ; 
 For they have slain the very Paschal Lamb ; 
 
270 CALVARY; OH, [bookviii. 
 
 That bloody symbol of their antient law, 610 
 Which I made sacred, they have now made void, 
 And cancelled my legation : 1 perceive 
 A new commandment is gone forth ; I see 
 The temple's vail is rent ; for the old law, 
 A carnal shadow of things spiritual, 
 Suflic'd not for perfection and the pow'r 
 Of an eternal life : Christ is become 
 That King of Salem, that immortal Priest 
 Of God most high, whose ministry supreme, 
 Before all time from heav'n itself deriv'd, 620 
 And not from right Levitical, removes 
 All title from that consecrated tribe, 
 "Where I had lix'd it. God, who sending me, 
 Sent but his servant, now hath giv'n his son 
 More worthy of his glory ; without sin [passed 
 And spotless He, the great High Priest, hath 
 Into the heav'ns, victorious over Death ; 
 But I, whose trespasses at Meribah, 
 Frail, sinful man, provok'd the Lord to wrath, 
 Saw but the skirts of Dan from Pisgah's top, 630 
 Unworthy deeiii'd to enter that fair land, 
 And died upon mount Ncbo. But when Christ, 
 Who hath awaken'd us from sleep, shall rise 
 And in his mortal flesh a second time 
 Visit his saints on earth, who then shall say 
 There is no resurrection of the dead ? 
 Faintly I shadow'd forth a future life $ 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 271 
 
 I spake not to men's senses, as Christ speaks $ 
 God gave me no commission to reveal 
 The secrets of the grave ; corruption's worm 
 Spar'd not my flesh, nor came my spirit back 
 From Death's dark citadel, to give mankind 
 Conviction occular of his defeat ; 
 I left him in his power till Christ should come 
 To break that sceptre, which had aw'd the world. 
 3Iuch then it moves my wonder, much I grieve 
 That darkness shall not yet be drawn aside 
 From Israel, and that those, who would not hear 
 Me and the prophets, shall not yet believe 
 Christ their Messias rising from the dead." 
 To whom th' Arch-angel answer'd, heav'nly 
 mild : [should doubt, 
 
 ;i Well may'st thou muse that reas'ning man 
 And cause we have to grieve, when he neglects 
 So great salvation ; but when Christ hath 
 
 shewn 
 What is the good and true and perfect way, 
 Reason must do the rest : When all are free 
 Some must be faithless, wilful and perverse. 
 God could have made his creatures void of sin, 
 For he can put a master in their hearts, 
 And govern them by instinct ; but to man 6(i0 
 He gave a nobler faculty, a will... 
 A spark of immortality.. .a soul, 
 Reason to counsel that immortal soul, 
 
272 CALVARY; OR, [bookviii. 
 
 And conscience to restrain licentious will. 
 Grace shall assist the humble and devout ; 
 A proud man hath no friend in heav'n or earth, 
 Renounc'd of angels, and by men abhorr'd : 
 Truth must be sought.. .it will not be impos'd : 
 What were that revelation, which should leave 
 ~No exercise to faith ? All men must work 670 
 With fear and trembling their salvation out. 
 God does not give free will to take away 
 What he hath giv'n ; if man will sin, he must : 
 Nor do we call them good, who cannot err, 
 Else brutes would claim a virtue. None is good 
 Save God alone ; impute we not to God 
 The evil which man does, nor him arraign 
 For not preventing ills which he foreknows : 
 Angels have sinn'd, and some are fall'n from 
 
 bliss ; 
 All had their days of error, their degrees 680 
 Of good and ill, else why have we degrees, 
 Ranks and precedencies of bliss in heav'n ? 
 Call your own lives to mind ; ye have been men 5 
 Your failings many, yet your virtues more ; 
 Why are ye now rewarded by your God ? 
 Why but because those virtues were your own ? 
 Ye made them what they were — ye rcar'd their 
 
 growth. 
 Reason reform*d the wild luxuriant soil, [fruit. 
 Rluck'd up the weeds, and nurs'd the glorious 
 
THE DEATH OF CHRIST. ^73 
 
 Is there amongst you one that hath to boast 
 Human perfection ? There is none that will. 
 A free, yet faultless creature, would be more 
 Than man, than angel : nor can God create 
 An equal to himself... a rival God. 
 In Eden's happy groves when man was plac'd, 
 One interdicted, baneful plant there was, 
 Tempting and rich in fruit ; all else was good, 
 Fair to the eye and wholesome to the taste ; 
 Yet of that fruit man pluck'd, and eat, and died ; 
 Tempted he was, but not compell'd to take ; 700 
 Warn'd to abstain, no angel stopp'd his hand, 
 No thund'ring voice deterr'd him from the deed, 
 For man was free ; so could he not have been, 
 Had God's foreknowledge over-rul'd his will. 
 Thus Sin had origin, and Death began 
 His occupation with the human race, 
 More terrible for that he came with pangs, 
 Horrors, and doubts on sin-oppressed man, 
 When conscience wrung him in the partinghour. 
 But still the inextinguishable soul 710 
 
 Mock'd at Death's dart.. ..the body was his own 
 From the beginning ; of the earth 'twas made... 
 The earth it till'd, and from the earth it fed ; 
 A tenement of dust was never forin'd 
 For immortality : and now, behold, 
 Adam, the earthly man, in whom all die, 
 Is buried to the world ; redemption brings 
 
 M2 
 
274 CALVARY; OR, [bookviu. 
 
 The day-spring of Salvation from on high, 
 
 Christ in his glory comes, the Lord from heav'n, 
 
 And who in him have faith, in him have life." 
 
 He ceas"d,when nowth' assembly of the saints, 
 
 AVho, whilst he spake, stood in their orhs un- 
 
 mov'd 
 Circling the mount, 'gan to feel theSp'ritof God 
 
 Descending on their hearts, and, like a sea 
 
 IV, secret currents from its hottom stirr'd, 
 
 "NVav'd to and fro their undulating flies 
 
 AVide and more wide, as with a mighty wind 
 
 The heav'nly inspiration on them rush'd : 
 
 This Gabriel, heard, and from the mount came 
 
 down, 
 Which quak'd beneath his feet, whilst over-head 
 Loud thund'rings announced the coining God : 
 And now a fire, that cover'd all the mount, 
 Bespoke him present ; all the air respir'd 
 Ambrosial odours, amaranth and rose, 
 For Nature felt her God, and every flower 
 And every fragrant shrub, whose honied breath 
 Perfumes the courts of heav'n, had hurst to life 
 Blooming, and, in a thousand colours dy'd, 
 Threw their gay mantle o'er the naked heath. 
 Now glow'd the living landscape ; hill and dale 
 Itosc on the flat, or sunk as Nature shap'd 
 Her loveliest forms and sv, ell'd her wavy line, 
 Leaving unrein'd variety to run 
 Her wild career amid the sportive scene : 
 
THE DEATH OF CHE 1ST. 275 
 
 Nor were there wanting trees of ever}' growth, 
 Umbrageous some, making a verdant tent 
 Under their spreading branches, some of shaft 
 Majestic, tow'i ing o'er the subject groves : 
 Blossoms and fruits and aromatic gums [leaves; 
 Scented the breeze that fann'd their rustling 
 And them betwixt a chrystal river flow'd 
 O'er golden sands, meand'ring in its course 
 Through amaranthine banks, with lulling sound 
 Of dulcet murmurs, breathing soft repose. 
 
 Thus at the sight of God spontaneous rose 
 A Paradise within the realm of Death, 
 Where that blest congregation might abide 
 Their Lord's return, now visitant on earth : 
 And now th' Eternal having breath'd his joy 
 Into their hearts, and giv'n them to discern 760 
 All knowledge, that befitted souls so blest. 
 Withdrew his presence from the flaming mount; 
 Whereat the min*st'ring Angel who beheld 
 Salvation's work complete, thus parting spake : 
 
 ; * God, in whose presence pleasure ever dwells, 
 Hath for your dear Redeemer's sake bestow *d 
 These joys, and now his presence is withdrawn ; 
 Yet hath he left his spirit in your hearts, 
 To teach you all that is and is to be : 
 ISehcld, the cloud that veil'd your mortal eyes 
 Is drawn aside, and what as in a glass 
 Darkling ye saw, now face to face is seen : 
 Ye now discern the ways of God how just, 
 
870 CALVARY; $c. [bookviii. 
 
 How true, how wise, how perfect in design, 
 And well ye know that man, presumptous man. 
 In a vain shadow walketh ; ye perceive 
 His boasted mind sufficient for the things, 
 That to his own salvation appertain ; 
 Yet when it scans the mysteries of heaven, 
 How false, how weak, how daringly absurd ! 780 
 Firm faith, warm charity, and humble hope, 
 These are the Christian graces ..these the guides 
 That lead to life eternal ; thoughts perverse, 
 Pert quibbling follies, published in the pride 
 Of false philosophy, are dev'lish arts, 
 That damn the instrument, who thus attempts 
 To hide the light of revelation's beam 
 From weaker eyes, and turn the world from God : 
 These verily shall have their just reward : 
 And now no more ; this Paradise ye see 790 
 Is but your passage to a brighter scene — 
 A resting-place till Christ shall re-ascend 
 To the right hand of God, and call you hence 
 To share his glory in the heav'n of heavens." 
 
 He said, and swifter than the meteor's glance, 
 Sprung on the wing to seek his native sphere : 
 The Saints look'd up. then sung with joint acclaim, 
 " Glory to God, and praises to his Christ, 
 Judge and Redeemer of the quick and dead I" 
 
 END OF THE POEM. 
 

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