The Complete Poems of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 1,299 pages of information about The Complete Poems of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
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The Complete Poems of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 1,299 pages of information about The Complete Poems of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

These Ages now are of the Past;
And the Third Age begins at last. 
The coming of the Holy Ghost,
The reign of Grace, the reign of Love
Brightens the mountain-tops above,
And the dark outline of the coast. 
Already the whole land is white
With Convent walls, as if by night
A snow had fallen on hill and height! 
Already from the streets and marts
Of town and traffic, and low cares,
Men climb the consecrated stairs
With weary feet, and bleeding hearts;
And leave the world and its delights,
Its passions, struggles, and despairs,
For contemplation and for prayers
In cloister-cells of coenobites.

Eternal benedictions rest
Upon thy name, Saint Benedict! 
Founder of convents in the West,
Who built on Mount Cassino’s crest
In the Land of Labor, thine eagle’s nest! 
May I be found not derelict
In aught of faith or godly fear,
If I have written, in many a page,
The Gospel of the coming age,
The Eternal Gospel men shall hear. 
Oh may I live resembling thee,
And die at last as thou hast died;
So that hereafter men may see,
Within the choir, a form of air,
Standing with arms outstretched in prayer,
As one that hath been crucified! 
My work is finished; I am strong
In faith and hope and charity;
For I have written the things I see,
The things that have been and shall be,
Conscious of right, nor fearing wrong;
Because I am in love with Love,
And the sole thing I hate is Hate;
For Hate is death; and Love is life,
A peace, a splendor from above;
And Hate, a never-ending strife,
A smoke, a blackness from the abyss
Where unclean serpents coil and hiss! 
Love is the Holy Ghost within
Hate the unpardonable sin! 
Who preaches otherwise than this
Betrays his Master with a kiss!

PART TWO

THE GOLDEN LEGEND

PROLOGUE

THE SPIRE OF STRASBURG CATHEDRAL

Night and storm.  LUCIFER, with the Powers of the Air, trying to tear down the Cross.

LUCIFER. 
Hasten! hasten! 
O ye spirits! 
From its station drag the ponderous
Cross of iron, that to mock us
Is uplifted high in air!

VOICES. 
Oh, we cannot! 
For around it
All the Saints and Guardian Angels
Throng in legions to protect it;
They defeat us everywhere!

THE BELLS. 
     Laudo Deum verum! 
     Plebem voco! 
     Congrego clerum!

LUCIFER. 
Lower! lower! 
Hover downward! 
Seize the loud, vociferous bells, and
Clashing, clanging to the pavement,
Hurl them from their windy tower.

VOICES. 
All thy thunders
Here are harmless! 
For these bells have been anointed,
And baptized with holy water! 
They defy our utmost power.

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Project Gutenberg
The Complete Poems of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.