Beyondthelineofblue-
TheboundaryofthestarWhichturnethattheviewOfthybarrierandthybar-
OfthebarrierovergoneBythecometswhowerecastFromtheirpride,andfromtheirthroneTobedrudgestillthelast-
TobecarriersoffireTheredfireoftheirheart
WithspeedthatmaynottireAndwithpainthatshallnotpart-
*Thereisfound,intheRhone,abeautifullilyoftheValisneriankind。Itsstemwillstretchtothelengthofthreeorfourfeet-thuspreservingitsheadabovewaterintheswellingsoftheriver。?TheHyacinth。?ItisafictionoftheIndians,thatCupidwasfirstseenfloatinginoneofthesedowntheriverGanges-andthathestilllovesthecradleofhischildhood。?Andgoldenvialsfullofodorswhicharetheprayersofthesaints-
_Rev。St。John_。
Wholivest-_that_weknow-
InEternity-wefeel-
ButtheshadowofwhosebrowWhatspiritshallreveal?
Tho’thebeingswhomthyNesace,ThymessengerhathknownHavedream’dforthyInfinity*Amodeloftheirown-
Thywillisdone,Oh,God!
ThestarhathriddenhighThro’manyatempest,butsherodeBeneaththyburningeye;
Andhere,inthought,tothee-
InthoughtthatcanaloneAscendthyempireandsobeApartnerofthythrone-
*TheHumanitariansheldthatGodwastobeunderstoodashavingareallyhumanform-_VideClarke’sSermons_,vol。1,page26,fol。edit。
ThedriftofMilton’sargument,leadshimtoemploylanguagewhichwouldappear,atfirstsight,tovergeupontheirdoctrine;butitwillbeseenimmediately,thatheguardshimselfagainstthechargeofhavingadoptedoneofthemostignoranterrorsofthedarkagesofthechurch-
_Dr。Sumner’sNotesonMilton’sChristianDoctrine_。
Thisopinion,inspiteofmanytestimoniestothecontrary,couldneverhavebeenverygeneral。Andeus,aSyrianofMesopotamia,wascondemnedfortheopinion,asheretical。Helivedinthebeginningofthefourthcentury。HisdiscipleswerecalledAnthropmorphites-_VideDuPin_。
AmongMilton’spoemsaretheselines:-
Dicitesacrorumpr鎠idesnemorumDe?&c。
QuisilleprimuscujuseximagineNaturasolersfinxithumanumgenus?
Eternus,incorruptus,鎞u鎣uspolo,UnusqueetuniversusexemplarDei-Andafterwards,NoncuiprofundumC鎐itaslumendeditDirc鎢saugurvidithuncaltosinu,&c。
*BywingedFantasy,Myembassyisgiven,TillsecrecyshallknowledgebeIntheenvironsofHeaven。”
Sheceas’d-andburiedthenherburningcheekAbash’d,amidtheliliesthere,toseekAshelterfromthefervourofHiseye;
ForthestarstrembledattheDeity。
Shestirr’dnot-breath’dnot-foravoicewasthereHowsolemnlypervadingthecalmair!
AsoundofsilenceonthestartledearWhichdreamypoetsname“themusicofthesphere。”
Oursisaworldofwords:Quietwecall“Silence“-whichisthemerestwordofall。
AllNaturespeaks,andev’nidealthingsFlapshadowysoundsfromvisionarywings-
Butah!notsowhen,thus,inrealmsonhighTheeternalvoiceofGodispassingby,Andtheredwindsarewitheringinthesky!?Whattho’inworldswhichsightlesscyclesrun,Link’dtoalittlesystem,andonesun-
WhereallmyloveisfollyandthecrowdStillthinkmyterrorsbutthethundercloud,Thestorm,theearthquake,andtheocean-wrath-
Ah!willtheycrossmeinmyangrierpath?
Whattho’inworldswhichownasinglesunThesandsofTimegrowdimmerastheyrun,*SeltsamenTochterJovisSeinemSchosskindeDerPhantasie-_G鰁the_。?Sightless-toosmalltobeseen-_Legge_。
Yetthineismyresplendency,sogivenTobearmysecretsthro’theupperHeaven。
Leavetenantlessthycrystalhome,andfly,Withallthytrain,athwartthemoonysky-
*Apart-likefire-fliesinSiciliannight,Andwingtootherworldsanotherlight!
DivulgethesecretsofthyembassyTotheproudorbsthattwinkle-andsobeToev’ryheartabarrierandabanLestthestarstotterintheguiltofman!”
Uprosethemaidenintheyellownight,Thesingle-moonedeve!-onEarthweplightOurfaithtoonelove-andonemoonadore-
Thebirth-placeofyoungBeautyhadnomore。
AssprangthatyellowstarfromdownyhoursUprosethemaidenfromhershrineofflowers,Andbento’ersheenymountainanddimplain咹erway-butleftnotyetherTheras鎍nreign。
*Ihaveoftennoticedapeculiarmovementofthefire-flies;-theywillcollectinabodyandflyoff,fromacommoncentre,intoinnumerableradii。?Theras鎍,orTherasea,theislandmentionedbySeneca,which,inamoment,arosefromtheseatotheeyesofastonishedmariners。
PartII。
HIGHonamountainofenamell’dhead-
SuchasthedrowsyshepherdonhisbedOfgiantpasturagelyingathisease,Raisinghisheavyeyelid,startsandseesWithmanyamutter’d“hopetobeforgiven“
WhattimethemoonisquadratedinHeaven-
Ofrosyhead,thattoweringfarawayIntothesunlitether,caughttherayOfsunkensunsateve-atnoonofnight,Whilethemoondanc’dwiththefairstrangerlight-
Uprear’duponsuchheightaroseapileOfgorgeouscolumnsonth’unburthen’dair,FlashingfromParianmarblethattwinsmileFardownuponthewavethatsparkledthere,Andnursledtheyoungmountaininitslair。
*Ofmoltenstarstheirpavement,suchasfallThro’theebonair,besilveringthepallOftheirowndissolution,whiletheydie-
Adorningthenthedwellingsofthesky。
Adome,bylinkedlightfromHeavenletdown,Satgentlyonthesecolumnsasacrown-
Awindowofonecirculardiamond,there,Look’doutaboveintothepurpleair,*Somestarwhich,fromtheruin’droofOfshak’dOlympus,bymischance,didfall-_Milton。_
AndraysfromGodshotdownthatmeteorchainAndhallow’dallthebeautytwiceagain,Savewhen,betweenth’Empyreanandthatring,Someeagerspiritflapp’dhisduskywing。
ButonthepillarsSerapheyeshaveseenThedimnessofthisworld:thatgreyishgreenThatNaturelovesthebestforBeauty’sgraveLurk’dineachcornice,roundeacharchitrave-
Andeverysculptur’dcherubthereaboutThatfromhismarbledwellingpeer閐outSeem’dearthlyintheshadowofhisniche-
Achaianstatuesinaworldsorich?
*FriezesfromTadmorandPersepolis-
FromBalbec,andthestilly,clearabyss哋fbeautifulGomorrah!O,thewaveIsnowuponthee-buttoolatetosave!
Soundlovestorevelinasummernight:
Witnessthemurmurofthegreytwilight*Voltaire,inspeakingofPersepolis,says,“Jeconnoisbienl’admirationqu’inspirentcesruines-maisunpalaiserig?aupiedd’unechainedesrocherssterils-peutil阾reunchefd’渧uredesarts!”
[_VoilalesargumentsdeM。Voltaire_。]?”Oh!thewave“-UlaDegusiistheTurkishappellation;but,onitsownshores,itiscalledBaharLoth,orAlmotanah。Therewereundoubtedlymorethantwocitiesengluphedinthe“deadsea。”InthevalleyofSiddimwerefive-Adrah,Zeboin,Zoar,SodomandGomorrah。StephenofByzantiummentionseight,andStrabothirteeen,engulphed-butthelastisoutofallreason。
Itissaid,Tacitus,Strabo,Josephus,DanielofSt。Saba,Nau,Maundrell,Troilo,D’Arvieuxthatafteranexcessivedrought,thevestigesofcolumns,walls,&c。areseenabovethesurface。At_any_
season,suchremainsmaybediscoveredbylookingdownintothetransparentlake,andatsuchdistancesaswouldarguetheexistenceofmanysettlementsinthespacenowusurpedbythe’Asphaltites。’
*Thatstoleupontheear,inEyraco,Ofmanyawildstar-gazerlongago-
ThatstealetheverontheearofhimWho,musing,gazethonthedistancedim。
Andseesthedarknesscomingasacloud-
嘔snotitsform-itsvoice-mostpalpableandloud?
Butwhatisthis?-itcometh-anditbringsAmusicwithit-’tistherushofwings-
Apause-andthenasweeping,fallingstrainAndNesaceisinherhallsagain。
FromthewildenergyofwantonhasteHercheekswereflushing,andherlipsapart;
AndzonethatclungaroundhergentlewaistHadburstbeneaththeheavingofherheart。
WithinthecentreofthathalltobreatheShepaus’dandpanted,Zanthe!allbeneath,Thefairylightthatkiss’dhergoldenhairAndlong’dtorest,yetcouldbutsparklethere!?YoungflowerswerewhisperinginmelodyTohappyflowersthatnight-andtreetotree;
FountainsweregushingmusicastheyfellInmanyastar-litgrove,ormoon-litdell;
Yetsilencecameuponmaterialthings-
Fairflowers,brightwaterfallsandangelwings-
AndsoundalonethatfromthespiritsprangBoreburthentothecharmthemaidensang:
*Eyraco-Chaldea。?IhaveoftenthoughtIcoulddistinctlyhearthesoundofthedarknessasitstoleoverthehorizon。?Fairiesuseflowersfortheircharactery-_MerryWivesofWindsor_。[WilliamShakespeare]
“’Neathblue-bellorstreamer-
OrtuftedwildsprayThatkeeps,fromthedreamer,*Themoonbeamaway-
Brightbeings!thatponder,Withhalfclosingeyes,OnthestarswhichyourwonderHathdrawnfromtheskies,[intheoriginal,thislineisslightlyoutofalignment]
Tilltheyglancethro’theshade,andComedowntoyourbrowLikeeyesofthemaidenWhocallsonyounow-
Arise!fromyourdreamingInvioletbowers,TodutybeseemingThesestar-littenhours-
AndshakefromyourtressesEncumber’dwithdewThebreathofthosekissesThatcumberthemtoo-
O!how,withoutyou,Love!
Couldangelsbeblest?
ThosekissesoftrueloveThatlull’dyetorest!
Up!-shakefromyourwingEachhinderingthing:
Thedewofthenight-
Itwouldweighdownyourflight;
Andtruelovecaresses-
O!leavethemapart!
*InScriptureisthispassage-“Thesunshallnotharmtheebyday,northemoonbynight。”Itisperhapsnotgenerallyknownthatthemoon,inEgypt,hastheeffectofproducingblindnesstothosewhosleepwiththefaceexposedtoitsrays,towhichcircumstancethepassageevidentlyalludes。
Theyarelightonthetresses,Butleadontheheart。
Ligeia!Ligeia!
Mybeautifulone!
WhoseharshestideaWilltomelodyrun,O!isitthywillOnthebreezestotoss?
Or,capriciouslystill,*LiketheloneAlbatross,IncumbentonnightAssheontheair。