Festus · Scene 7 (2/2) (3/3)

| Festus | Nay, nay, come back! They will not harm thee: they would chair thee round The market-place, knew they but whom thou art. Peace, there my friends! one minute; let us pray! Grant us, oh God! that in thy holy love The universal people of the world May grow more great and happy every day; Mightier, wiser, humbler, too, towards Thee. And that all ranks, all classes, callings, states Of life, so far as such seem right to Thee, May mingle into one, like sister trees, And so in one stem flourish:⁠—that all laws And powers of government be based and used In good and for the people’s sake;⁠—that each May feel himself of consequence to all, And act as though all saw him;⁠—that the whole, The mass of every nation may so do As is most worthy of the next to God; For a whole people’s souls, each one worth more Than a mere world of matter, make combined, A something godlike⁠—something like to Thee. We pray thee for the welfare of all men. Let monarchs who love truth and freedom feel The happiness of safety and respect From those they rule, and guardianship from Thee. Let them remember they are set on thrones As representatives, not substitutes Of nations, to implead with God and man. Let tyrants who hate truth, or fear the free, Know that to rule in slavery and error, For the mere ends of personal pomp and power, Is such a sin as doth deserve a hell To itself sole. Let both remember, Lord! They are but things like-natured with all nations; That mountains issue out of plains, and not Plains out of mountains, and so likewise kings Are of the people, not the people of kings. And let all feel, the rulers and the ruled, All classes and all countries, that the world Is Thy great halidom; that Thou art King, Lord! only owner and possessor. Grant That nations may now see, it is not kings, Nor priests they need fear so much as themselves; That if they keep but true to themselves, and free, Sober, enlightened, godly⁠—mortal men Become impassible as air, one great And indestructible substance as the sea. Let all on thrones and judgment-seats reflect How dreadful Thy revenge through nations is On those who wrong them; but do Thou grant, Lord! That when wrongs are to be redressed, such may Be done with mildness, speed, and firmness, not With violence or hate, whereby one wrong Translates another⁠—both to Thee abhorrent. The bells of time are ringing changes fast. Grant, Lord! that each fresh peal may usher in An era of advancement, that each change Prove an effectual, lasting, happy gain. And we beseech Thee, overrule, oh God! All civil contests to the good of all; All party and religious difference To honourable ends, whether secured Or lost; and let all strife, political Or social, spring from conscientious aims, And have a generous self-ennobling end, Man’s good and Thine own glory in view always! The best may then fail and the worst succeed Alike with honour. We beseech Thee, Lord! For bodily strength, but more especially For the soul’s health and safety. We entreat Thee In thy great mercy to decrease our wants, And add autumnal increase to the comforts Which tend to keep men innocent, and load Their hearts with thanks to Thee as trees in bearing:⁠— The blessings of friends, families, and homes, And kindnesses of kindred. And we pray That men may rule themselves in faith in God, In charity to each other, and in hope Of their own souls’ salvation:⁠—that the mass, The millions in all nations may be trained, From their youth upwards, in a nobler mode, To loftier and more liberal ends. We pray Above all things, Lord! that all men be free From bondage, whether of the mind or body;⁠— The bondage of religious bigotry, And bald antiquity, servility Of thought or speech to rank and power; be all Free as they ought to be in mind and soul As well as by state-birthright;⁠—and that Mind, Time’s giant pupil, may right soon attain Majority, and speak and act for himself! Incline Thou to our prayers, and grant, oh Lord! That all may have enough, and some safe mean Of worldly goods and honours, by degrees, Take place, if practicable, in the fitness And fullness of Thy time. And we beseech Thee, That Truth no more be gagged, nor conscience dungeoned, Nor science be impeached of godlessness, Nor faith be circumscribed, which as to Thee, And the soul’s self affairs is infinite; But that all men may have due liberty To speak an honest mind, in every land, Encouragement to study, leave to act As conscience orders. We entreat Thee, Lord! For Thy Son’s sake to take away reproach Of all kinds from Thy church, and all temptation Of pomp or power political, that none May err in the end for which they were appointed To any of its orders, low or high; And no ambition, of a worldly cast, Leaven the love of souls unto whose care They feel propelled by Thy most holy spirit. Be every church established, Lord! in truth. Let all who preach the word, live by the word, In moderate estate; and in Thy church⁠— One, universal, and invisible World-wards, yet manifest unto itself, May it seem good, dear Saviour, in Thy sight, That orders be distinguished, not by wealth, But piety and power of teaching souls. Equalise labour, Lord! and recompence. Let not a hundred humble pastors starve, In this or any land of Christendom, While one or two, impalaced, mitred, throned And banqueted, burlesque if not blaspheme The holy penury of the Son of God; The fastings, the footwanderings, and the preachings Of Christ and His first followers. Oh that the Son Might come again! There should be no more war, No more want, no more sickness; with a touch, He should cure all disease, and with a word, All sin; and with a look to Heaven, a prayer, Provide bread for a million at a time. But till that perfect advent grant us, Lord! That all good institutions, orders, claims, Charitably proposed, or in the aid Of Thy divine foundation, may much prosper, And more of them be raised and nobly filled;⁠— That Thy word may be taught throughout all lands, And save souls daily to the thrones of Heaven!⁠— And we entreat Thee, that all men whom Thou Hast gifted with great minds may love Thee well, And praise Thee for their powers, and use them most Humbly and holily, and, lever-like, Act but in lifting up the mass of mind About them; knowing well that they shall be Questioned by Thee of deeds the pen hath done, Or caused, or glozed; inspire them with delight And power to treat of noble themes and things, Worthily, and to leave the low and mean⁠— Things born of vice or day-lived fashion, in Their naked native folly:⁠—make them know Fine thoughts are wealth, for the right use of which Men are and ought to be accountable⁠— If not to Thee, to those they influence: Grant this we pray Thee, and that all who read, Or utter noble thoughts, may make them theirs, And thank God for them, to the betterment Of their succeeding life;⁠—that all who lead The general sense and taste, too apt, perchance, To be led, keep in mind the mighty good They may achieve, and are in conscience, bound, And duty, to attempt unceasingly To compass. Grant us, All-maintaining Sire! That all the great mechanic aids to toil Man’s skill hath formed, found, rendered⁠—whether used In multiplying works of mind, or aught To obviate the thousand wants of life, May much avail to human welfare now And in all ages, henceforth and for ever! Let their effect be, Lord! to lighten labour, And give more room to mind, and leave the poor Some time for self-improvement. Let them not Be forced to grind the bones out of their arms For bread, but have some space to think and feel Like moral and immortal creatures. God! Have mercy on them till such time shall come; Look Thou with pity on all lesser crimes, Thrust on men almost when devoured by want, Wretchedness, ignorance and outcast life! Have mercy on the rich, too, who pass by The means they have at hand to fill their minds With serviceable knowledge for themselves, And fellows, and support not the good cause Of the world’s better future! Oh, reward All such who do, with peace of heart and power For greater good. Have mercy, Lord! on each And all, for all men need it equally. May peace and industry and commerce weld Into one land all nations of the world, Rewedding those the Deluge once divorced. Oh! may all help each other in good things, Mentally, morally, and bodily! Vouchsafe, kind God! Thy blessing to this isle, Specially! May our country ever lead The world, for she is worthiest; and may all Profit by her example, and adopt Her course, wherever great, or free, or just. May all her subject colonies and powers Have of her freedom freely, as a child Receiveth of its parents. Let not rights Be wrested from us to our own reproach, But granted. We may make the whole world free, And be as free ourselves as ever, more! If policy or self-defence call forth Our forces to the field, let us in Thee Place, first, our trust, and in Thy name we shall O’ercome, for we will only wage the right. Let us not conquer nations for ourselves, But for Thee, Lord! who hast predestined us To fight the battles of the future now, And so have done with war before Thou comest. Till then, Lord God of armies, let our foes Have their swords broken and their cannon burst, And their strong cities levelled; and while we War faithfully and righteously, improve, Civilize, christianize the lands we win From savage or from nature, Thou, oh God! Wilt aid and hallow conquest, as of old, Thine own immediate nation’s. But we pray That all mankind may make one brotherhood, And love and serve each other; that all wars And feuds die out of nations, whether those Whom the sun’s hot light darkens, or ourselves Whom he treats fairly, or the northern tribes Whom ceaseless snows and starry winters blench, Savage or civilized⁠—let every race, Bed, black or white, olive, or tawny-skinned, Settle in peace and swell the gathering hosts Of the great Prince of Peace! Oh! may the hour Soon come when all false gods, false creeds, false prophets⁠— Allowed in Thy good purpose for a time⁠— Demolished, the great world shall be at last, The mercy-seat of God, the heritage Of Christ, and the possession of the Spirit, The comforter, the wisdom! shall all be One land, one home, one friend, one faith, one law, Its ruler God, its practice righteousness, Its life peace! For the one true faith we pray There is but one in Heaven and there shall be But one on earth, the same which is in Heaven. Prophecy is more true than history. Grant us our prayers, we pray, Lord! in the name And for the sake of Thy Son Jesus Christ, Our Saviour and Redeemer, who with Thee, And with the Holy Spirit, reigneth God Over all worlds, one blessed Trinity!⁠⸺⁠ | | The Crowd | Amen! | | Lucifer | Well, friends, we’ll sing a hymn; then part. I give it out, and you sing⁠—all of you. Oh! Earth is cheating Earth From age to age for ever; She laughs at faith and worth, And dreams she shall die never; Never, never, never! And dreams she shall die never. And Hell is cursing Hell From age to age for ever; Its groans ring out the knell Of souls that may die never; Never, never, never! Of souls that may die never. But Heaven is blessing Heaven From age to age for ever; And its thanks to Qod are given For bliss that can die never; Never, never, never! For bliss that can die never. My blessing be upon ye all; now go! | | Festus | I wonder what these people make of thee. | | Lucifer | Ay, manner’s a great matter. | | Festus | They deserve All the rebuke thou gavest them and more. What mountains of delusion men have reared! How every age hath bustled on to build Its shadowy mole⁠—its monumental dream! How faith and faney, in the mind of man, Have spuriously mingled, and how much Shall pass away for aye, as pass before Yon son, the Lord of steadfastness and change, The visionary landscapes of the skies;⁠— The golden capes far stretching into Heaven, The snow-piled cloud-crags, the bright winged isles Which dot the deep, impassive, ocean air Like a disbanded rainbow, of all hues, Fit for translated fairy’s Paradise;⁠— Or as before the eye of musing child, The faces Fancy forms in clouds and fire Of glowing angel or of darkening fiend. Arts, superstition, arms, philosophy, Have each in turn possessed, betrayed, and mocked us, Yes, vain philosophy, thine hour is come! Thy lips were lined with the immortal lie, And dyed with all the look of truth. Men saw, Believed, embraced, detested, cast thee off. Those lights, the morn of Truth’s immortal day, As thou didst falsely swear them, have they not Vanished, the mere auroras of the mind? And thou didst vow to gather clear again The fallen waters of humanity; To smooth the flaw from out an eye; to piece A pounded pearl. Thank God! I am a man; Not a philosopher! Rivers may rot, Never revive the root of oak firebolted. Come, let us to the hills! where none but God Can overlook us; for I hate to breathe The breaths and think the thoughts of other men, In close and clouded cities, where the sky Frowns like an angry Father mournfully. I love the hills and I love loneliness. And oh! I love the woods, those natural fanes Whose very air is holy; and we breathe Of God; for He doth come in special place, And, while we worship, He is there for us! | | Lucifer | It is time that something should be done for the poor. The sole equality on earth is death; Now, rich and poor are both dissatisfied. I am for judgment: that will settle both. Nothing is to be done without destruction. Death is the universal salt of states; Blood is tbe base of all things⁠—law and war, I could tame this lion age to follow me. I should like to macadamize the world; The road to Hell wants mending. | | Festus | Come away! |