•         Thou brave old Titan, that in chains didst lie,

                Bound to the rock on the Caucasian hill,

            Who by sublime endurance didst defy

                Imperial Jove and all his shapes of ill;

            As I invoke thy spirit here to-day, --

                From the old Pagan world thou speak'st to me,
    ...

  •         Oh! in that better land to which I go,

                Say, shall I know thee as I know thee here;

                And will thy presence dim that glorious sphere,

            As it hath darkened all the earth below?

            Oh! will that voice enchain my listening ear,

                Whose "frozen music" stops my pulses...

  •         Oh thou who once on earth, beneath the weight

                Of our mortality didst live and move,

                The incarnation of profoundest love;

            Who on the Cross that love didst consummate;

                Whose deep and ample fullness could embrace

                The poorest, meanest of our fallen race:...

  •         Ah no! my love knows no vain jealousy:

                The rose that blooms and lives but in the sun,

                Asks not what other flowers he shines upon,

            If he but shine on her. Enough for me,

                Thus in thy light to dwell, and thus to share

                The sunshine of thy smile with all...

  • THY country, Wilberforce, with just disdain,

    Hears thee, by cruel men and impious, call'd

    Fanatic, for thy zeal to loose th' enthrall'd

    From exile, public sale, and slav'ry's chain.

    Friend of the poor, the wrong'd, the fetter-gall'd,

    Fear not lest labour such as thine be vain!

    Thou hast achiev'd a part;...

  •         Night closes round me, and wild threatening forms

                Clasp me with icy arms and chain me down,

                And bind upon my brow a cypress crown,

            Dewy with tears, and heaven frowns dark with storms;

            But the one glorious memory of thee

                Rises upon my path to guide and bless...

  •         Securely cabined in the ship below,

                Through darkness and through storm I cross the sea,

                A pathless wilderness of waves to me:

            But yet I do not fear, because I know

                That he who guides the good ship o'er that waste

                Sees in the stars her shining pathway...

  •         Go forth in life, oh friend! not seeking love;

                A mendicant, that with imploring eye

                And outstretched hand asks of the passers by

            The alms his strong necessities may move.

            For such poor love to pity near allied,

                Thy generous spirit may not stoop and wait,...

  •         Oh bard! what though upon thy mortal eyes

                There fell no glimmering ray of earthly light,

                And the deep shadow of eternal night

            Shut from thy gaze our lovely earth and skies,

            Yet was it to thy spirit's vision given

                To gaze upon the splendors of that shore...

  •         If the young mother clasp, for the first time,

                The mortal child that earthly love has given,

                With a deep joy preluding that of heaven;

            Who shall describe thy ecstacy sublime,

                Oh Virgin mother! when upon thy ear

            The message of the announcing angel fell,...