Festus · Scene 13

XIII

Scene⁠—Air.
Lucifer* and Festus*.
Festus Where, where am I?
Lucifer We are in space and time, just as we were Some half a second since; where wouldst thou be?
Festus I would be in Eternity and Heaven; The spirit and the blessed spirit, of Existence.
Lucifer And thou shalt be, and shalt pass All secondary nature; all the rules And the results of time: upon thy spirit These things shall act no more; their hands shall be Withered upon thee, as the ray of life Returns to that it came from: they shall cease In thee, like lightning in the deadening sea. But not now; we have worlds to go through, first. When spirit hath deposited its earth, And brightly, freely flows, self-purified In its own action, acted on by God, It holds the starry transcript of the skies Booklike within its bosom, evermore. But thine even now, exhausted, not exhaled, Bears the design of earthly discontent, Not sacred satisfaction. Unto him Whose soul is saved, all things are clear as stars, And, to the chosen, safety:⁠—to none else. Nor cold insurgent heart, nor menial mind Can compass this: it is the way of God: The starry path of Heaven which none can tread But spirits high as Heaven, which He hath raised; Who were of Him before all worlds, and are Beloved and saved for ever while they live. Thou of the world art yet, with motives, means, And ends as others.
Festus I will no more of it.
Lucifer Oh, dream it not! Thou knowest not the depth Of nature’s dark abyss, thyself, nor God. Light over strong and darkness over long Blind equally the eye. Thou mayst yet rise And fall as often as the sea.
Festus How comes it, Being a spirit, that I see not all As spirit should?
Lucifer Thou lackest life and death. The life of Heaven and the death of earth. Then wouldst thou see in harmony with God, Creation’s strife.
Festus Death alters not the spirit!
Lucifer Death must be undergone ere understood. One world is as another. Best we here!⁠—