ODE
THE MORNING OF THE DAY APPOINTED FOR A GENERAL THANKSGIVING. JANUARY 18, 1816
ODE
I HAIL, orient Conqueror of gloomy Night! Thou that canst shed the bliss of gratitude On hearts howe’er insensible or rude; Whether thy punctual visitations smite The haughty towers where monarchs dwell; Or thou, impartial Sun, with presence bright Cheer’st the low threshold of the peasant’s cell! Not unrejoiced I see thee climb the sky In naked splendour, clear from mist or haze, Or cloud approaching to divert the rays, Which even in deepest winter testify Thy power and majesty, Dazzling the vision that presumes to gaze. –Well does thine aspect usher in this Day; As aptly suits therewith that modest pace Submitted to the chains That bind thee to the path which God ordains That thou shalt trace, Till, with the heavens and earth, thou pass away! Nor less, the stillness of these frosty plains, Their utter stillness, and the silent grace Of yon ethereal summits white with snow, (Whose tranquil pomp and spotless purity Report of storms gone by To us who tread below) Do with the service of this Day accord. –Divinest Object which the uplifted eye Of mortal man is suffered to behold; Thou, who upon those snow-clad Heights has poured Meek lustre, nor forget’st the humble Vale; Thou who dost warm Earth’s universal mould, And for thy bounty wert not unadored By pious men of old; Once more, heart-cheering Sun, I bid thee hail! Bright be thy course to-day, let not this promise fail! II ‘Mid the deep quiet of this morning hour, All nature seems to hear me while I speak, By feelings urged that do not vainly seek Apt language, ready as the tuneful notes That stream in blithe succession from the throats Of birds, in leafy bower, Warbling a farewell to a vernal shower. –There is a radiant though a short-lived flame, That burns for Poets in the dawning east; And oft my soul hath kindled at the same, When the captivity of sleep had ceased; But He who fixed immoveably the frame Of the round world, and built, by laws as strong, A solid refuge for distress– The towers of righteousness; He knows that from a holier altar came The quickening spark of this day’s sacrifice; Knows that the source is nobler whence doth rise The current of this matin song; That deeper far it lies Than aught dependent on the fickle skies. III Have we not conquered?–by the vengeful sword? Ah no, by dint of Magnanimity; That curbed the baser passions, and left free A loyal band to follow their liege Lord Clear-sighted Honour, and his staid Compeers, Along a track of most unnatural years; In execution of heroic deeds Whose memory, spotless as the crystal beads Of morning dew upon the untrodden meads, Shall live enrolled above the starry spheres. He, who in concert with an earthly string Of Britain’s acts would sing, He with enraptured voice will tell Of One whose spirit no reverse could quell; Of One that ‘mid the failing never failed– Who paints how Britain struggled and prevailed Shall represent her labouring with an eye Of circumspect humanity; Shall show her clothed with strength and skill, All martial duties to fulfil; Firm as a rock in stationary fight; In motion rapid as the lightning’s gleam; Fierce as a flood-gate bursting at midnight To rouse the wicked from their giddy dream– Woe, woe to all that face her in the field! Appalled she may not be, and cannot yield. IV And thus is ‘missed’ the sole true glory That can belong to human story! At which they only shall arrive Who through the abyss of weakness dive. The very humblest are too proud of heart; And one brief day is rightly set apart For Him who lifteth up and layeth low; For that Almighty God to whom we owe, Say not that we have vanquished–but that we survive. V How dreadful the dominion of the impure! Why should the Song be tardy to proclaim That less than power unbounded could not tame That soul of Evil–which, from hell let loose, Had filled the astonished world with such abuse As boundless patience only could endure? –Wide-wasted regions–cities wrapt in flame– Who sees, may lift a streaming eye To Heaven;–who never saw, may heave a sigh; But the foundation of our nature shakes, And with an infinite pain the spirit aches, When desolated countries, towns on fire, Are but the avowed attire Of warfare waged with desperate mind Against the life of virtue in mankind; Assaulting without ruth The citadels of truth; While the fair gardens of civility, By ignorance defaced, By violence laid waste, Perish without reprieve for flower or tree! VI A crouching purpose–a distracted will– Opposed to hopes that battened upon scorn, And to desires whose ever-waxing horn Not all the light of earthly power could fill; Opposed to dark, deep plots of patient skill, And to celerities of lawless force; Which, spurning God, had flung away remorse– What could they gain but shadows of redress? –So bad proceeded propagating worse; And discipline was passion’s dire excess. Widens the fatal web, its lines extend, And deadlier poisons in the chalice blend. When will your trials teach you to be wise? –O prostrate Lands, consult your agonies! VII No more–the guilt is banished, And, with the guilt, the shame is fled; And, with the guilt and shame, the Woe hath vanished, Shaking the dust and ashes from her head! –No more–these lingerings of distress Sully the limpid stream of thankfulness. What robe can Gratitude employ So seemly as the radiant vest of Joy? What steps so suitable as those that move In prompt obedience to spontaneous measures Of glory, and felicity, and love, Surrendering the whole heart to sacred pleasures? VIII O Britain! dearer far than life is dear, If one there be Of all thy progeny Who can forget thy prowess, never more Be that ungrateful Son allowed to hear Thy green leaves rustle or thy torrents roar. As springs the lion from his den, As from a forest-brake Upstarts a glistering snake, The bold Arch-despot re-appeared;–again Wide Europe heaves, impatient to be cast, With all her armed Powers, On that offensive soil, like waves upon a thousand shores. The trumpet blew a universal blast! But Thou art foremost in the field:–there stand: Receive the triumph destined to thy hand! All States have glorified themselves;–their claims Are weighed by Providence, in balance even; And now, in preference to the mightiest names, To Thee the exterminating sword is given. Dread mark of approbation, justly gained! Exalted office, worthily sustained! IX Preserve, O Lord! within our hearts The memory of thy favour, That else insensibly departs, And loses its sweet savour! Lodge it within us!–as the power of light Lives inexhaustibly in precious gems, Fixed on the front of Eastern diadems, So shine our thankfulness for ever bright! What offering, what transcendent monument Shall our sincerity to Thee present? –Not work of hands; but trophies that may reach To highest Heaven–the labour of the Soul; That builds, as thy unerring precepts teach, Upon the internal conquests made by each, Her hope of lasting glory for the whole. Yet will not heaven disown nor earth gainsay The outward service of this day; Whether the worshippers entreat Forgiveness from God’s mercy-seat; Or thanks and praises to His throne ascend That He has brought our warfare to an end, And that we need no second victory!– Ha! what a ghastly sight for man to see; And to the heavenly saints in peace who dwell, For a brief moment, terrible; But, to thy sovereign penetration, fair, Before whom all things are, that were, All judgments that have been, or e’er shall be; Links in the chain of thy tranquillity! Along the bosom of this favoured Nation, Breathe Thou, this day, a vital undulation! Let all who do this land inherit Be conscious of thy moving spirit! Oh, ’tis a goodly Ordinance,–the sight, Though sprung from bleeding war, is one of pure delight; Bless Thou the hour, or ere the hour arrive, When a whole people shall kneel down in prayer, And, at one moment, in one rapture, strive With lip and heart to tell their gratitude For thy protecting care, Their solemn joy–praising the Eternal Lord For tyranny subdued, And for the sway of equity renewed, For liberty confirmed, and peace restored! X But hark–the summons!–down the placid lake Floats the soft cadence of the church-tower bells; Bright shines the Sun, as if his beams would wake The tender insects sleeping in their cells; Bright shines the Sun–and not a breeze to shake The drops that tip the melting icicles. ‘O, enter now his temple gate!’ Inviting words–perchance already flung (As the crowd press devoutly down the aisle Of some old Minster’s venerable pile) From voices into zealous passion stung, While the tubed engine feels the inspiring blast, And has begun–its clouds of sound to cast Forth towards empyreal Heaven, As if the fretted roof were riven. ‘Us’, humbler ceremonies now await; But in the bosom, with devout respect The banner of our joy we will erect, And strength of love our souls shall elevate: For to a few collected in his name, Their heavenly Father will incline an ear Gracious to service hallowed by its aim;– Awake! the majesty of God revere! Go–and with foreheads meekly bowed Present your prayers–go–and rejoice aloud– The Holy One will hear! And what, ‘mid silence deep, with faith sincere, Ye, in your low and undisturbed estate, Shall simply feel and purely meditate– Of warnings–from the unprecedented might, Which, in our time, the impious have disclosed; And of more arduous duties thence imposed Upon the future advocates of right; Of mysteries revealed, And judgments unrepealed, Of earthly revolution, And final retribution,– To his omniscience will appear An offering not unworthy to find place, On this high DAY of THANKS, before the Throne of Grace!