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Page 1 of 11898 · PDF PAGE 20
…g men of Israel. | JEPHTHAH. Yea, for a man’s sword should not turn again To his own bosom, and the sword of fear Smites not in vain the heart of cowardice. But who hath called me hither to what end ? ELEAZAR. For these, and for the sake of Israel. JEPHTHAH. And who are these? And who are Israel? CHORUS. Turn not thy face from us in wrath, for we Are thine own father’s children, and his loins With double fervour gat a double flower ; And we indeed were born of drudging wives, Pale spouses whom his heart despised, but thou Wast of a fairer face …
1898 · PDF PAGE 40
360 JEPHTHAH. And through waters that foamed and that wondered There flashes the heart of a rose ; For its petals are beauty and passion, For its stem the foundation of earth, For bloom the incarnadine fashion Of blessings that roar into birth ; And the gates that roll back on their hinges The soul of the sage may discern, Till the water with crimson that tinges Beyond them miraculous burn ; And the presence of God to the senses Is the passion of God in the mind, As the string of a harp that intenses The note that its fire may not find. For her…
1898 · PDF PAGE 13
… like rain upon the land. CHORUS. Let us not call the hail to give us peace. ELEAZAR. Nor on the sun, lest he too eat us up. CHORUS. The heart of a man as the sea Beats hither and thither to find Ease for the limbs long free, — Light for the stormy mind,
1898 · PDF PAGE 33
…know you, in the desert where I dwelt I had strange store of books obscure ; books written Not openly for fools, but inwardly Toward the heart of wise men. And myself Studied no little while upon these things, And, seeking ever solitude, I went Nightly upon a rock that stood alone Threatening the sandy wilderness, and prayed. Where many visions came before mine eyes So strange—these eyes have started from my head, And every hair, grown fearful, like a steed Reared in its frenzy ; see, these lips of mine Have blanched, these nails have bitten th…
1898 · PDF PAGE 52
… ineffable, In all the words of power that fly About the world, this song they spell : He keepeth Israel. AHINOAM. Ye praise God of full heart: I would to God Your minds were somewhat fuller, and could keep Discretion seated on her ivory throne. What folly is it they will now be at, Gray beards, and goatish manners? Hearken them! CHORUS. In the brave old days ere men began To bind young hearts with an iron tether, Ere love was brief as life, a span, Ere love was light as life, a feather, Earth was free as the glad wild weather, God was father a…
1898 · PDF PAGE 53
JEPHTHAH. 49 In sackcloth clad, with ashes on their heads, His crue] brethren, that he spare their lives. CHORUS. In the heart of a conqueror mercy sits A brighter jewel than vengeance wroken, And grace is the web that his people knits, And love is the balm for the hearts nigh broken. Peace is arisen, a dove for token, Righteousness, bright as the swallow fiits. JARED [aszde}. So, in his victory is our disgrace. CHORUS. Fair as the dawn is the maiden wise, Pale as the poppies by still white water, Sunlight burns in her pure deep eyes, Love ligh…
1898 · PDF PAGE 59
…eseems the mercy shown To his repentance by this maiden queen. The Lord is merciful to them that show Mercy, and all such as are pure of heart ; Thy crown, Adulah, wears a double flower Of these fair blossoms wreathed in one device Of perfect love in perfect maidenhood. JARED [recovering himself \. Nay, but my voice must fill the song of joy With gratitude, and meet thanksgiving. Me More than these others it beseems, who love Less dearly for their innocence than I, Pardoned of my unpardonable sin. ADULAH. The flowers turn westerward ;. the sun …
1898 · PDF PAGE 41
…d yet Given me not to forget The foaming cloud that shaped itself a rose, Whose steady passion glows Within the secretest fortress of my heart, Because, my God, Thou Art, And I am chosen of Thee for this folk, To break the foreign yoke, Therefore, Existence of Existence, hear! Bend low Thine holy ear, And make Thyself, unseen, most terrible To these fierce fiends of hell That torture holiest ears with false complaint: Bend down, and bid me faint Into the arms of night, to see Thine hosts March past the holy coasts, A wall of golden weapons for …
1898 · PDF PAGE 14
10 JEPHTHAH. A way for the soul to flee, A charm for the lips to bind; And the struggle is keen as the strife to be, And the heart is tossed by the thankless wind. ELEAZAR, Nay, for a man’s sure purpose is of God. CHORUS. The large pale limbs of the earth are tanned With the sun and the sea and the yellow sand And the face of earth is dark with love Of the lords of hell and the spirits above That move in the foggy air of night, And the spirit of God, most like a dove, Hovers, and lingers, and wings his flight, Spurned and rejected and lost to s…
1898 · PDF PAGE 27
JEPHTHAH. 23 His wrong he may not forget, But he pitieth men that call From the heart that is broken with fear and the noise of funeral. JEPHTHAH. Are all these ready for their hearth and altars To perish suddenly upon the field, Pavilioned with the little tents at noon, And ere the nightfall tented with the dead, And every hollow made a sepulchre, And every hill a vantage ground whereon Hard-breathing fighting men get scanty sleep Till the dawn lift his eyebrows, and the day Renew the battle? Will ye follow me Through slippery ways of blood to…
1898 · PDF PAGE 32
…8 JEPHTHAH. For the ways of the anger of lords Are bloody with widowing swords, And the roar of contention of chords Rolls back from the heart of the war. | But Victory lights on the banner Of Israel like to a bird; It flaps in the air, and Hosanna! Flings up to the sky for a word! Long streams of light horsemen are flashing Through fields where the tempest was lashing, Through the pools of the battle-blood splashing, Long swords to the rout of the herd. For fighters slip down on the dying, And flying folk stumble on dead, And the sound of the …
1898 · PDF PAGE 57
…s dear to us, and now By double kinship rendered doubly dear. For O! my father comes to gladden me With those enduring kisses that endow Heart, hope, and life with gladness. Comes he soon ? ELEAZAR. Maiden most perfect, daughter of our lord, And ye, most fairest branches of our tree, Maidens of Israel, we await you here That ye, no other, may go forth to meet The chief victorious. And after you Those villains that once cast him out shall forth In sackcloth to his feet, if haply so He spare their vagabond and worthless lives. . ADULAH. Not so, m…
1898 · PDF PAGE 49
…est thou, O wisest of our race, Ahinoam, the aged priest of God, , Who weighest out the stars with balances, And knowest best of men the heart of man? AHINOAM. Ye are as children, and nowise your tongues Speak sense. I never hear your voice but know Some geese are gabbling. Sing to him perchance! The voice of old men is a pleasant thing. CHORUS. What say ye, brethren, shall we sing to him Some sweet low ditty, or the louder pean?
1898 · PDF PAGE 10
… From the blind auguries of madness. PROPHET. Ha! The rose has washed its petals, and the blood Pours through its burning centre from my heart. The fire consumes the light; and rosy flame Leaps through the veins of blue, and tinges them With such a purple as incarnadines The western sky when storms are amorous And lie upon the breast of toiling ocean, Such billows to beget as earth devours | In ravening whirlpool guiphs. My veins are full,