Of Subjection. From Proverbial Philosophy

Law hath dominion over all things, over universal mind and matter;

For there are reciprocities of right, which no creature can gainsay.

Unto each was there added by its Maker, in the perfect chain of being,

Dependencies and sustentations, accidents, and qualities, and powers:

And each must fly forward in the curve, unto which it was forced from the beginning:

Each must attract and repel, or the monarchy of Order is no more.

Laws are essential emanations from the self-poised character of God,

And they radiate from that sun to the circling edges of creation.

Verily, the mighty Lawgiver hath subjected Himself unto laws,

And God is the primal grand example of free unstrained obedience;

His perfection is limited by right, and cannot trespass into wrong,

Because He hath established Himself as the fountain of only good.

And in thus much is bounded, that the evil hath He left unto another.

And that dark other hath usurped the evil which Omnipotence laid down.

Unto God there exist impossibilities; for the True One cannot lie.

Nor the Wise One wander from the track which He hath determined for Himself:

For his will was purposed from eternity, strong in the love of order;

And that will altereth not, as the law of the Medes and Persians.

God is the origin of order, and the first exemplar of his precept;

For there is subordination of his Essence, self-guided unto holiness;

And there is subordination of his Persons, in due procession of dignity;

For the Son, as a son, is subject; and to him doth the Spirit minister:

But these things be mysteries to man, he cannot reach nor fathom them,

And ever must he speak in paradox, when labouring to expound his God;

For, behold, God is alone, mighty in unshackled freedom;

And with those wondrous Persons abideth eternal equality.

So then, start ye from the fountain, and follow the river of existence;

For its current is bounded throughout by the banks of just subordination:

Thrones, and dominions, and powers, Archangels, Cherubim, and Seraphim,

Angels, and flaming ministers, and breathing chariots and harps.

For there are degrees in heaven, and varied capabilities of bliss.

And steps in the ladder of Intelligence, and ranks in approaches to Perfection:

Doubtless, reverence is given, as their due, to the masters in wisdom;

Doubtless, there are who serve; or a throne would have small glory.

Regard now the universe of matter, the substance of visible creation,

Which of old with well-observing truth, the Greek hath surnamed Order:

Where is there an atom out of place? or a particle that yieldeth not obedience?

Where is there a fragment that is free? or one thing the equal of another? '

The chain is unbroken down to man, and beyond him the links are perfect:

But he standeth solitary sin, a marvel of permitted chaos.

And shall this seeming error in the scale of due subordination

Be a spot of desert unreclaimed, in the midst of the vineyard of the Lord?

Shall his presumptuous pride snap the safe tether of connexion,

And his blind selfish folly refuse the burden of maintenance?

O man, thou art a creature; boast not thyself above the law:

Think not of thyself as free: thou art bound in the trammels of dependence.

What is the sum of thy duty, but obedience to righteous rule,

To the great commanding oracle, uttered by delegated organs?

Thou canst not render homage to abstract Omnipresent Power,

Save tlnougli the concrete symbol of visible ordained authority.

Those who obey not man, are oftenest found rebels against God;

And seldom is the delegate so bold, as to order what he knoweth to be wrong.

Yet mark me, proud gainsayer ! I say not, obey unto sin;

But, where the Principal is silent, take heed thou despise not the Deputy:

And He that loveth order, will bless thee for thy faith,

If thou recognize his sanction in the powers that fashion human laws.

Thou, the vicegerent of the Lord, his high anointed image.

Towards whom a good man's loyalty floweth from the heart of his religion.

Thou, whose deep responsibihties are fathomed by a nation's prayers.

Whom wise men fear for while they love, and envy thee nothing but thy virtues.

From thy dizzy pinnacle of greatness, remember thou also art a subject,

And the throne of thine earthly glory is itself but the footstool of thy God.

The homage thy kingdoms yield thee, regard thou as yielded unto Him;

And while girt with all the majesty of state, consider thee the Lord's chief servant;

So shalt thou prosper, and be strong, grafted on the strength of another;

So shall thy virgin heart, be happy, in being humble.

And thou shalt flourish as an oak, the monarch of thine island forests.

Whose deep-dug roots are twisted around the stout ribs of the globe.

That mocketh at the fury of the storm, and rejoiceth in summer sunshine.

Glad in the smiles of heaven, and great in the stability of earth.

A ruler hath not power for himself, neither is his pomp for his pride;

But beneath the ermine of his office should he wear the rough hair-cloth of humility.

Nevertheless, every way obey him, so thou break not a higher commandment:

For Nero was an evil king, yet Paul prescribeth subjection.

If tbe rulers of a nation be holy, the Lord hath blessed that nation;

If they be lewd and impious, chastisement hath come upon that people:

For the bitterest scourge of a land is ungodliness in them that govern it,

And the guilt of the sons of Josiah drove Israel weeping into Babylon.

Yet be thou resolute against them, if they change the mandates of thy God,

If they touch the ark of his covenant, wherein all his mercies are enshrined:

Be resolute, but not rebellious; lest thou be of the company of Korah:

Set thy face against them as a flint: but be not numbered with Abiram.

Daniel nobly disobeyed; but not from a spirit of sedition;

And Azarias shouted from the furnace,' I will not bow down, O KING.

If truth must be sacrificed to unity, then faithfulness were folly;

If man must be obeyed before God, the martyrs have bled in vain:

Yet none of that blessed army reviled the rulers of the land,

They were loud and bold against the sin, but bent before the ensign of authority.

Honesty, scorning compromise, walketh most suitably with Reverence;

Otherwise righteous daring may show but as obstinate rebellion:

Therefore, suffer not thy censure to lack the savour of courtesy.

And remember, the mortal sinneth, but the staff of his power is from God.

Man, thou hast a social spirit, and art deeply indebted to thy kind:

Therefore claim not all thy rights; but yield, for thine own advantage

Society is a cliam of obligations, and its links must support each other;

The branch can not but wither, that is cut from the parent vine.

Wouldst thou be a dweller in the woods, and cast away the cords that bind thee,

Seeking, in thy bitterness or pride, to be exiled from thy fellows?

Behold, the beasts shall hunt thee, weak, naked, houseless outcast.

Disease and Death shall track thee out, as bloodhounds in the wilderness:

Better to be vilest of the vile, in the hated company of men.

Than to live a solitary wretch, dreading and wanting all things;

Better to be chained to thy labour, in the dusky thoroughfares of life,

Than to reign monarch of Sloth, in lonesome savage freedom.

Whence then cometh the doctrine, that all should be equal and free? '

It is the lie that crowded hell, when Seraphs flung away subjection.

No man is his neighbour's equal, for no two minds are similar.

And accidents, alike with qualities, have every shade but sameness:

The lightest atom of difference shall destroy the nice balance of equality,

And all things, from without and from within, make one man to differ from another.

We are equal and free! was the watchword that spirited the legions of Satan;

We are equal and free! is the double lie that entrappeth to him conscripts from earth:

The messengers of that dark despot will pander to thy license and thy pride,

And draw thee from the crowd where thou art safe, to seize thee in the solitary desert.

Woe unto him whose heart the syren song of Liberty hath charmed:

Woe unto him whose mind is bewitched by her treacherous beauty;

In mad zeal flingeth he away the fetters of duty and restraint.

And yieldeth up the holocaust of self to that fair Idol of the Damned.

No man hath freedom in aught, save in that from which the wicked would be hindered,

He is free toward God and good; but to all else a bondman.

Thou art in a middle sphere, to render and receive honour;

If thy king commandeth, obey; and stand not in the way with rebels:

But if need be, lay thy hand upon thy sword, and fear not to smite a traitor.

For the universe acquitteth thee with honour, fighting in defence of thy king.

If a thief break thy dwelling, and thou take him, it were sin in thee to let him go;

Yea, though he pleadeth to thy mercy, thou canst not spare him and be blameless:

For his guilt is not only against thee, it is not thy monies or thy merchandize,

But he hath done damage to the Law, which duty constraineth thee to sanction.

Feast not thine appetite of vengeance, remembering thou also art a man,

But weep for the sad compulsion, in which the chain of Providence hath bound thee:

Mercy is not thine to give; wilt thou steal another's privilege?

Or send abroad, among thy neighbours, a felon whom impunity hath hardened?

Remember the Roman father, strong in his stern integrity,

And let not thy slothful self-indulgence make thee a conniver at the crime.

Also, if the knife of the murderer be raised against thee or thine.

And thuough good providence and courage, thou slay him that would have slain thee.

Thou losest not a tittle of thy rectitude, having executed sudden justice;

Still mayst thou walk among the blessed, though thy hands be red with blood.

For thyself, thou art neither worse nor better; but thy fellows should count thee their creditor:

Thou hast manfully protected the right, and the right is stronger for thy deed.

Also, in the rescuing of innocence, fear not to smite the ravisher;

What though he die at thy hand? for a good name is better than the life;

And if Phineas had everlasting praise in the matter of Salu's son,

With how much greater honour standeth such a rescuer acquitted?

Uphold the laws of thy country, and fear not to fight in their defence;

But first be convinced in thy mind; for herein the doubter sinneth.

Above all things, look thou well around, if indeed stern duty forceth thee

To draw the sword of justice, and stain it with the slaughter of thy fellows.

She, that lieth in thy bosom, the tender wife of thy affections,

Must obey thee, and be subject, that evil drop not on thy dwelling.

The child that is used to constraint, feareth not more than he loveth;

But give thy son his way, he will hate thee and scorn thee together.

The master of a well-ordered home knoweth to be kind to his servants;

Yet he exacteth reverence, and each one feareth at his post.

There is nothing on earth so lowly, but duty giveth it importance;

No station so degrading, but it is ennobled by obedience:

Yea, break stones upon the highway, acknowledging the Lord in thy lot,

Happy shalt thou be, and honourable, more than many childen of the mighty.

Thou that despisest the outward forms, beware thou lose not the inward spirit;

For they are as words unto ideas, as symbols to things unseen.

Keep then the form that is good; retain, and do reverence to example;

And in all things observe subordination, for that is the whole duty of man.

A horse knoweth his rider, be he confident or timid.

And the fierce spirit of Bucephalus stoopeth unto none but Alexander;

The tigress, roused in the jungle by the prying spaniels of the fowler.

Will quail of the eye of man, so he assert his dignity;

Nay, the very ships, those giant swans breastiug the mighty waters,

Roll in the trough, or break the wave, to the pilot's fear or courage:

How much more shall man, discerning the Fountain of authority.

Bow to superior commands, and make his own obeyed.

And yet, in travelling the world, hast thou not often known

A gallant host led on to ruin by a feeble Xerxes?

Hast thou not often seen the wanton luxury of indolence

Sullying with its sleepy mist the tarnished crown of headship?

Alas! for a thousand fathers, whose indulgent sloth

Hath emptied the vial of confusion over a thousand homes:

Alas! for the palaces and hovels, that might have been nurseries for heaven.

By hot intestine broils blighted into schools for hell:

None knoweth his place, yet all refuse to serve.

None weareth the crown, yet all usurp the sceptre;

And perchance some fiercer spirit, of natural nobility of mind.

That needed but the kindness of constraint to have grown up great and good,

Now ' the rich harvest of his heart choked by unweeded tares, '

All bold to dare and do, unchecked by wholesome fear,

A scoffer about bigotry and priestcraft, a rebel against government and God,

And standard-bearer of the turbulent, leading on the sons of Belial,

Such an one is king of that shall state, head tyrant of the thirty.

Brandishing the torch of discord in his village-home:

And the timid Eli of the house, yon humble parish-priest.

Liveth in shame and sorrow, fearing his own handywork:

The mother, heartstricken years agone, hath dropped into an early grave;

The silent sisters long to leave a home they cannot love;

The brothers, casting off restraint, follow their wayward wills;

And the chance-guest, early departing, blesseth his kind stars.

That on his humbler home hath brooded no domestic curse!

Yet is that curse the fruit; wouldest thou the root of the evil?

A kindness' most unkind, that hath always spared the rod;

A weak and numbing indecision in the mind that should be master;

A foolish love, pregnant of hate, that never frowned on sin;

A moral cowardice of heart, that never dared command.

A kingdom is a nest of families, and a family a small kingdom;

And the government of whole or part differeth in nothing but extent.

The house, where the master ruleth, is strong in united subjection,

And the only commandment with promise, being honoured, is a blessing to that house:

But and if he yieldeth up the reins, it is weak in discordant anarchy.

And the bonds of love and union melt away, as ropes of sand.

The realm, that is ruled with vigour, lacketh neither peace nor glory.

It dreadeth not foes from without, nor the sons of riot from within:

But the meanness of temporizing fear robbeth a kingdom of its honour,

And the weakness of indulgent sloth ravageth its bowels with discord.

The best of human governments is the patriarchal rule;

The authorized supremacy of one, the prescriptive subjection of many:

Therefore, the children of the east have thriven from age to age,

Obeying, even as a god, the royal father of Cathay:

Therefore, to this our day, the Rechabite wanteth not a man,

But they stand before the Lord, forsaking not the mandate of their sire:

Therefore shall Magog among nations arise from his northern lair,

And rend, in the fury of his power, the insurgent world beneath him:

For the thunderbolt of concentrated strength can be hurled by the will of one.

While the dissipated forces of many are harmless as summer lightning.

Transcribed from Proverbial Philosophy by Mick Puttock, August 2011 (Spelling, punctuation and grammer left mostly unchanged from the 25th edition)