The Last Day. Book II.

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PHOCYL.

----We hope that the departed will rise again from the dust: after which, like the gods, they will be immortal.

Now man awakes, and from his silent bed,

Where he has slept for ages, lifts his head;

Shakes off the slumber of ten thousand years,

And on the borders of new worlds appears.

Whate'er the bold, the rash, adventure cost,

In wide eternity I dare be lost.

The muse is wont in narrow bounds to sing,

To teach the swain, or celebrate the king.

I grasp the whole, no more to parts confin'd,

I lift my voice, and sing to humankind:

I sing to men and angels; angels join,

While such the theme, their sacred songs with mine.

Again the trumpet's intermitted sound

Rolls the wide circuit of creation round,

A universal concourse to prepare

Of all that ever breath'd the vital air:

In some wide field, which active whirlwinds sweep,

Drive cities, forests, mountains, to the deep,

To smooth and lengthen out th' unbounded space,

And spread an area for all human race.

Now monuments prove faithful to their trust,

And render back their long committed dust.

Now charnels rattle; scatter'd limbs, and all

The various bones, obsequious to the call,

Self-mov'd, advance; the neck perhaps to meet

The distant head; the distant legs the feet.

Dreadful to view, see thro' the dusky sky

Fragments of bodies in confusion fly,

To distant regions journeying, there to claim

Deserted members, and complete the frame.

When the world bow'd to Rome's almighty sword,

Rome bow'd to Pompey, and confess'd her lord.

Yet one day lost, this deity below

Became the scorn and pity of his foe.

His blood a traitor's sacrifice was made,

And smok'd indignant on a ruffian's blade.

No trumpet's sound, no gasping army's yell,

Bid, with due horror, his great soul farewell.

Obscure his fall! all welt'ring in his gore,

His trunk was cast to perish on the shore!

While Julius frown'd the bloody monster dead,

Who brought the world in his great rival's head.

This sever'd head and trunk shall join once more,

Tho' realms now rise between, and oceans roar.

The trumpet's sound each fragrant mote shall hear,

Or fix'd in earth, or if afloat in air,

Obey the signal wafted in the wind,

And not one sleeping atom lag behind.

So swarming bees, that on a summer's day

In airy rings, and wild meanders play,

Charm'd with the brazen sound, their wand'rings end,

And, gently circling, on a bough descend.

The body thus renew'd, the conscious soul,

Which has perhaps been flutt'ring near the pole,

Or midst the burning planets wond'ring stray'd,

Or hover'd o'er where her pale corpse was laid;

Or rather coasted on her final state,

And fear'd or wish'd for her appointed fate:

This soul, returning with a constant flame,

Now weds for ever her immortal frame.

Life, which ran down before, so high is wound,

The springs maintain an everlasting round.

Thus a frail model of the work design'd

First takes a copy of the builder's mind,

Before the structure firm with lasting oak,

And marble bowels of the solid rock,

Turns the strong arch, and bids the columns rise,

And bear the lofty palace to the skies;

The wrongs of time enabled to surpass,

With bars of adamant, and ribs of brass.

That ancient, sacred, and illustrious dome,(2)

Where soon or late fair Albion's heroes come,

From camps, and courts, tho' great, or wise, or just,

To feed the worm, and moulder into dust;

That solemn mansion of the royal dead,

Where passing slaves o'er sleeping monarchs tread,

Now populous o'erflows: a num'rous race

Of rising kings fill all th' extended space:

A life well spent, not the victorious sword,

Awards the crown, and styles the greater lord.

Nor monuments alone, and burial-earth,

Labours with man to this his second birth;

But where gay palaces in pomp arise,

And gilded theatres invade the skies,

Nations shall wake, whose unrespected bones

Support the pride of their luxurious sons.

The most magnificent and costly dome

Is but an upper chamber to the tomb.

No spot on earth but has supplied a grave,

And human skulls the spacious ocean pave.

All's full of man; and at this dreadful turn,

The swarm shall issue, and the hive shall burn.

Not all at once, nor in like manner, rise:

Some lift with pain their slow, unwilling eyes:

Shrink backward from the terror of the light,

And bless the grave, and call for lasting night.

Others, whose long-attempted virtue stood

Fix'd as a rock, and broke the rushing flood,

Whose firm resolve, nor beauty could melt down,

Nor raging tyrants from their posture frown;

Such, in this day of horrors, shall be seen

To face the thunders with a godlike mien;

The planets drop, their thoughts are fixt above;

The centre shakes, their hearts disdain to move;

An earth dissolving, and a heaven thrown wide,

A yawning gulf, and fiends on every side,

Serene they view, impatient of delay,

And bless the dawn of everlasting day.

Here, greatness prostrate falls; there, strength gives place;

Here, lazars smile; there, beauty hides her face.

Christians, and Jews, and Turks, and Pagans stand,

A blended throng, one undistinguish'd band.

Some who, perhaps, by mutual wounds expir'd,

With zeal for their distinct persuasions fir'd,

In mutual friendship their long slumber break,

And hand in hand their Saviour's love partake.

But none are flush'd with brighter joy, or, warm

With juster confidence, enjoy the storm,

Than those, whose pious bounties, unconfin'd,

Have made them public fathers of mankind.

In that illustrious rank, what shining light

With such distinguish'd glory fills my sight?

Bend down, my grateful muse, that homage show,

Which to such worthies thou art proud to owe.

Wickham! Fox! Chichley! hail, illustrious names,(3)

Who to far distant times dispense your beams;

Beneath your shades, and near your crystal springs,

I first presum'd to touch the trembling strings.

All hail, thrice honour'd! 'Twas your great renown

To bless a people, and oblige a crown.

And now you rise, eternally to shine,

Eternally to drink the rays divine.

Indulgent God! Oh how shall mortal raise

His soul to due returns of grateful praise,

For bounty so profuse to humankind,

Thy wondrous gift of an eternal mind?

Shall I, who, some few years ago, was less

Than worm, or mite, or shadow can express,

Was nothing; shall I live, when every fire

And every star shall languish and expire?

When earth's no more, shall I survive above,

And thro' the radiant files of angels move?

Or, as before the throne of God I stand,

See new worlds rolling from his spacious hand,

Where our adventures shall perhaps be taught,

As we now tell how Michael sung or fought?

All that has being in full concert join,

And celebrate the depths of love divine!

But oh! before this blissful state, before

Th' aspiring soul this wondrous height can soar,

The Judge, descending, thunders from afar,

And all mankind is summon'd to the bar.

This mighty scene I next presume to draw:

Attend, great Anna, with religious awe.

Expect not here the known successful arts

To win attention, and command our hearts:

Fiction, be far away; let no machine

Descending here, no fabled god, be seen;

Behold the God of gods indeed descend,

And worlds unnumber'd his approach attend!

Lo! the wide theatre, whose ample space

Must entertain the whole of human race,

At heaven's all-powerful edict is prepar'd,

And fenc'd around with an immortal guard.

Tribes, provinces, dominions, worlds, o'erflow

The mighty plain, and deluge all below:

And every age, and nation, pours along,

Nimrod and Bourbon mingle in the throng:

Adam salutes his youngest son; no sign,

Of all those ages, which their births disjoin.

How empty learning, and how vain is art,

But as it mends the life, and guides the heart!

What volumes have been swell'd, what time been spent,

To fix a hero's birth-day, or descent!

What joy must it now yield, what rapture raise,

To see the glorious race of ancient days!

To greet those worthies who perhaps have stood

Illustrious on record before the flood!

Alas! a nearer care your soul demands,

C'sar unnoted in your presence stands.

How vast the concourse! not in number more

The waves that break on the resounding shore,

The leaves that tremble in the shady grove,

The lamps that gild the spangled vaults above:

Those overwhelming armies, whose command

Said to one empire, fall; another, stand:

Whose rear lay wrapt in night, while breaking dawn

Rous'd the broad front, and call'd the battle on:

Great Xerxes' world in arms, proud Cann''s field,

Where Carthage taught victorious Rome to yield,

(Another blow had broke the fates' decree,

And earth had wanted her fourth monarchy,)

Immortal Blenheim, fam'd Ramillia's host,

They all are here, and here they all are lost:

Their millions swell to be discern'd in vain,

Lost as a billow in th' unbounded main.

This echoing voice now rends the yielding air,

For judgment, judgment, sons of men, prepare!

Earth shakes anew; I hear her groans profound;

And hell through all her trembling realms resound.

Whoe'er thou art, thou greatest power of earth,

Blest with most equal planets at thy birth;

Whose valour drew the most successful sword,

Most realms united in one common lord;

Who, on the day of triumph, saidst, Be thine

The skies, Jehovah, all this world is mine:

Dare not to lift thine eye--Alas! my muse,

How art thou lost! what numbers canst thou choose?

A sudden blush inflames the waving sky,

And now the crimson curtains open fly;

Lo! far within, and far above all height,

Where heaven's great Sov'reign reigns in worlds of light,

Whence nature he informs, and with one ray

Shot from his eye, does all her works survey,

Creates, supports, confounds! Where time, and place,

Matter, and form, and fortune, life, and grace,

Wait humbly at the footstool of their God,

And move obedient at his awful nod;

Whence he beholds us vagrant emmets crawl

At random on this air-suspended ball

(Speck of creation): if he pour one breath,

The bubble breaks, and 'tis eternal death.

Thence issuing I behold (but mortal sight

Sustains not such a rushing sea of light!)

I see, on an empyreal flying throne

Sublimely rais'd, heaven's everlasting Son;

Crown'd with that majesty which form'd the world,

And the grand rebel flaming downward hurl'd.

Virtue, dominion, praise, omnipotence,

Support the train of their triumphant prince.

A zone, beyond the thought of angels bright,

Around him, like the zodiac, winds its light.

Night shades the solemn arches of his brows,

And in his cheek the purple morning glows.

Where'er serene, he turns propitious eyes,

Or we expect, or find, a paradise:

But if resentment reddens their mild beams,

The Eden kindles, and the world's in flames.

On one hand, knowledge shines in purest light;

On one, the sword of justice fiercely bright.

Now bend the knee in sport, present the reed;

Now tell the scourg'd impostor he shall bleed!

Thus glorious thro' the courts of heav'n, the source

Of life and death eternal bends his course;

Loud thunders round him roll, and lightnings play;

Th' angelic host is rang'd in bright array:

Some touch the string, some strike the sounding shell,

And mingling voices in rich concert swell;

Voices seraphic; blest with such a strain,

Could Satan hear, he were a god again.

Triumphant King of Glory! Soul of bliss!

What a stupendous turn of fate is this!

O! whither art thou rais'd above the scorn

And indigence of him in Bethlem born;

A needless, helpless, unaccounted guest,

And but a second to the fodder'd beast!

How chang'd from him, who, meekly prostrate laid,

Vouchsaf'd to wash the feet himself had made!

From him who was betray'd, forsook, denied,

Wept, languish'd, pray'd, bled, thirsted, groan'd, and died;

Hung pierc'd and bare, insulted by the foe,

All heaven in tears above, earth unconcern'd below!

And was't enough to bid the sun retire?

Why did not nature at thy groan expire?

I see, I hear, I feel, the pangs divine;

The world is vanish'd,--I am wholly thine.

Mistaken Caiaphas! Ah! which blasphem'd;

Thou, or thy pris'ner? which shall be condemn'd?

Well might'st thou rend thy garments, well exclaim;

Deep are the horrors of eternal flame!

But God is good! 'Tis wondrous all! Ev'n he

Thou gav'st to death, shame, torture, died for thee.

Now the descending triumph stops its flight

From earth full twice a planetary height.

There all the clouds condens'd, two columns raise

Distinct with orient veins, and golden blaze.

One fix'd on earth, and one in sea, and round

Its ample foot the swelling billows sound.

These an immeasurable arch support,

The grand tribunal of this awful court.

Sheets of bright azure, from the purest sky,

Stream from the crystal arch, and round the columns fly.

Death, wrapt in chains, low at the basis lies,

And on the point of his own arrow dies.

Here high enthron'd th' eternal Judge is plac'd,

With all the grandeur of his godhead grac'd;

Stars on his robes in beauteous order meet,

And the sun burns beneath his awful feet.

Now an archangel eminently bright,

From off his silver staff of wondrous height,

Unfurls the Christian flag, which waving flies,

And shuts and opens more than half the skies:

The cross so strong a red, it sheds a stain,

Where'er it floats, on earth, and air, and main;

Flushes the hill, and sets on fire the wood,

And turns the deep-dy'd ocean, into blood.

Oh formidable glory! dreadful bright!

Refulgent torture to the guilty sight.

Ah turn, unwary muse, nor dare reveal

What horrid thoughts with the polluted dwell.

Say not, (to make the sun shrink in his beam,)

Dare not affirm, they wish it all a dream;

With, or their souls may with their limbs decay,

Or God be spoil'd of his eternal sway.

But rather, if thou know'st the means, unfold

How they with transport might the scene behold.

Ah how! but by repentance, by a mind

Quick, and severe its own offence to find?

By tears, and groans, and never-ceasing care,

And all the pious violence of prayer?

Thus then, with fervency till now unknown,

I cast my heart before th' eternal throne,

In this great temple, which the skies surround,

For homage to its lord, a narrow bound.

"O thou! whose balance does the mountains weigh,

Whose will the wild tumultuous seas obey,

Whose breath can turn these watery worlds to flame,

That flame to tempest, and that tempest tame;

Earth's meanest son, all trembling, prostrate falls,

And on the boundless of thy goodness calls.

"Oh! give the winds all past offence to sweep,

To scatter wide, or bury in the deep:

Thy power, my weakness, may I ever see,

And wholly dedicate my soul to thee:

Reign o'er my will; my passions ebb and flow

At thy command, nor human motive know!

If anger boil, let anger be my praise,

And sin the graceful indignation raise.

My love be warm to succour the distress'd,

And lift the burden from the soul oppress'd.

Oh may my understanding ever read

This glorious volume, which thy wisdom made!

Who decks the maiden spring with flow'ry pride?

Who calls forth summer, like a sparkling bride?

Who joys the mother autumn's bed to crown?

And bids old winter lay her honours down?

Not the great Ottoman, or greater Czar,

Not Europe's arbitress of peace and war.

May sea and land, and earth and heaven be join'd

To bring th' eternal author to my mind!

When oceans roar, or awful thunders roll,

May thoughts of thy dread vengeance shake my soul!

When earth's in bloom, or planets proudly shine,

Adore, my heart, the majesty divine!

"Thro' every scene of life, or peace, or war,

Plenty, or want, thy glory be my care!

Shine we in arms? or sing beneath our vine?

Thine is the vintage, and the conquest thine:

Thy pleasure points the shaft, and bends the bow;

The cluster blasts, or bids it brightly glow:

'Tis thou that lead'st our powerful armies forth,

And giv'st great Anne thy sceptre o'er the north.

"Grant I may ever, at the morning ray,

Open with prayer the consecrated day;

Tune thy great praise, and bid my soul arise,

And with the mounting sun ascend the skies:

As that advances, let my zeal improve,

And glow with ardour of consummate love;

Nor cease at eve, but with the setting sun

My endless worship shall be still begun.

"And, oh! permit the gloom of solemn night

To sacred thought may forcibly invite.

When this world's shut, and awful planets rise,

Call on our minds, and raise them to the skies;

Compose our souls with a less dazzling sight,

And show all nature in a milder light;

How every boisterous thought in calm subsides!

How the smooth'd spirit into goodness glides!

O how divine! to tread the milky way,

To the bright palace of the lord of day;

His court admire, or for his favour sue,

Or leagues of friendship with his saints renew;

Pleas'd to look down, and see the world asleep,

While I long vigils to its founder keep!

"Canst thou not shake the centre? Oh! control,

Subdue by force, the rebel in my soul:

Thou, who canst still the raging of the flood,

Restrain the various tumults of my blood;

Teach me, with equal firmness, to sustain

Alluring pleasure, and assaulting pain.

O may I pant for thee in each desire!

And with strong faith foment the holy fire!

Stretch out my soul in hope, and grasp the prize,

Which in eternity's deep bosom lies!

At the great day of recompense behold,

Devoid of fear, the fatal book unfold!

Then wafted upward to the blissful seat,

From age to age, my grateful song repeat;

My light, my life, my God, my Saviour see,

And rival angels in the praise of thee."