And that dark other hath usurped the evil which Omnipotence laid down. himself: For his will was purposed from eternity, strong in the love of order; So then, start ye from the fountain and follow the river of existence, 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? What is the sum of thy duty, but obedience to righteous rule, wrong. Yet mark me, proud gainsayer! I say not, obey unto sin; But, where the Principal is silent, take heed that 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. Toward whom a good man's loyalty floweth from the hearts of his religion, 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 tne 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 the rulers of a nation be holy, the Lord hath blessed that nation; 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 en shrined: Be resolute, but not rebellious; lest thou be of the company of Korah: And Azarias shouted from the furnace,-I will not bow down, O KING. They were loud and bold against the sin, but bent before the ensign of authority. Honesty, scorning compromise, walketh most suitably with Reverence; Man, thou hast a social spirit, and art deeply indebted to thy kind : 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 wilder ness: Better to be vilest of the vile, in the hated company of men, Whence then cometh the doctrine that all should be equal and free ?— 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; 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 he blameless; For his guilt is not only against thee, it is not thy moneys or thy mer chandise, 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 through 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; She that lieth in thy bosom, the tender wife of thy affections, Yea, break stones upon the highway, acknowledging the Lord in thy lot, Happy shalt thou be, and honourable, more than many children 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 at the eye of man, so he assert his dignity; |