PART II
TO THE CLOSE OF THE TROUBLES IN THE REIGN OF CHARLES I.
I
"HOW SOON--ALAS! DID MAN, CREATED PURE"
Published 1845
How soon--alas! did Man, created pure-- By Angels guarded, deviate from the line Prescribed to duty:--woeful forfeiture[116] He made by wilful breach of law divine. With like perverseness did the Church abjure 5 Obedience to her Lord, and haste to twine,[117] 'Mid Heaven-born flowers that shall for aye endure, Weeds on whose front the world had fixed her sign. O Man,--if with thy trials thus it fares, If good can smooth the way to evil choice, 10 From all rash censure be the mind kept free; He only judges right who weighs, compares, And, in the sternest sentence which his voice Pronounces, ne'er abandons Charity.[118]
FOOTNOTES:
[116] 1845.
Even when the state of man seems most secure And tempted least to deviate from the line Of simple duty, woeful forfeiture C.
How difficult for man to keep the line Prescribed by duty! Happy once and pure C.
[117] 1845.
Though Angels watched lest man should from the line Of duty sever, blest though he was, and pure In thought and deed, a woeful forfeiture He made by wilful breach of law divine, The church of Christ how prompt was she to abjure Allegiance to her Lord how prone to twine C.
[118] 1845.
{The visible church how prone was she to abjure} {Allegiance to Christ's Kingdom and entwine} With glorious flowers that shall for aye endure Weeds on whose front the world had fixed her sign. False man--if with thy trials thus it fared-- If good can smooth the way to evil choice, From hasty answer be our minds kept free; He only judges right who weighs, compares, And, in the sternest sentence that his voice May utter, ne'er abandons charity. C.
II
"FROM FALSE ASSUMPTION ROSE, AND FONDLY HAIL'D"
Published 1845
From false assumption rose, and fondly hail'd By superstition, spread the Papal power; Yet do not deem the Autocracy prevail'd Thus only, even in error's darkest hour. She daunts, forth-thundering from her spiritual tower Brute rapine, or with gentle lure she tames. 6 Justice and Peace through Her uphold their claims; And Chastity finds many a sheltering bower. Realm there is none that if controul'd or sway'd By her commands partakes not, in degree, 10 Of good, o'er manners arts and arms, diffused: Yes, to thy domination, Roman See, Tho' miserably, oft monstrously, abused By blind ambition, be this tribute paid.[119]
FOOTNOTES:
[119] The following version of this sonnet is from a MS. copy of it in Wordsworth's own handwriting.--ED.
On false assumption, though the Papal Power Rests, and spreads wide, beduped, by ignorance hailed, A darker empire must have else prevailed, For deeds of mischief strengthening every hour. Behold how thundering from her spiritual tower She daunts brute rapine, cruelty she tames. Justice and charity through her assert their claims, And chastity finds many a sheltering bower. Realm is there none that, if controlled or swayed By her commands, partakes not in degree Of good, on manners arts and arms diffused: To mock thy exaltation, Roman See, And to the Autocracy, howe'er abused Through blind ambition, be this tribute paid.
III
CISTERTIAN MONASTERY[120]
"_Here Man more purely lives, less oft doth fall,_ _More promptly rises, walks with stricter heed,[121]_ _More safely rests, dies happier, is freed_ _Earlier from cleansing fires, and gains withal_ _A brighter crown._"[122]--On yon Cistertian wall 5 _That_ confident assurance may be read; And, to like shelter, from the world have fled Increasing multitudes. The potent call Doubtless shall cheat full oft the heart's desires:[123] Yet, while the rugged Age on pliant knee 10 Vows to rapt Fancy humble fealty, A gentler life spreads round the holy spires; Where'er they rise, the sylvan waste retires, And aëry harvests crown the fertile lea.
FOOTNOTES:
[120] The Cistertian order was named after the monastery of Citéaux or Cistercium, near Dijon, founded in 1098 by the Benedictine abbot, Robert of Molême.--ED.
[121] 1837.
... with nicer heed, 1822.
[122] "Bonum est nos hic esse, quia homo vivit purius, cadit rarius, surgit velocius, incedit cautius, quiescit securius, moritur felicius, purgatur citius, praemiatur copiosius."--Bernard. "This sentence," says Dr. Whitaker, "is usually inscribed on some conspicuous part of the Cistertian houses."--W. W. 1822.
[123] 1827.
... desire; 1822.
IV[124]
"DEPLORABLE HIS LOT WHO TILLS THE GROUND"
Published 1835
Deplorable his lot who tills the ground, His whole life long tills it, with heartless toil Of villain-service, passing with the soil To each new Master, like a steer or hound, Or like a rooted tree, or stone earth-bound; 5 But mark how gladly, through their own domains, The Monks relax or break these iron chains; While Mercy, uttering, through their voice, a sound Echoed in Heaven, cries out, "Ye Chiefs, abate These legalized oppressions! Man--whose name 10 And nature God disdained not; Man--whose soul Christ died for--cannot forfeit his high claim To live and move exempt from all controul Which fellow-feeling doth not mitigate!"
FOOTNOTES:
[124] The following note, referring to Sonnets IV., XII., and XIII., appears in the volume of 1835--entitled _Yarrow Revisited, and other Poems_--immediately after the poem _St. Bees_--
"The three following Sonnets are an intended addition to the 'Ecclesiastical Sketches,' the first to stand second; and the two that succeed, seventh and eighth, in the second part of the Series. (See the Author's Poems.) They are placed here as having some connection with the foregoing Poem."--ED.
V
MONKS AND SCHOOLMEN
Record we too, with just and faithful pen, That many hooded Cenobites[125] there are, Who in their private cells have yet a care Of public quiet; unambitious Men, Counsellors for the world, of piercing ken; 5 Whose fervent exhortations from afar Move Princes to their duty, peace or war;[126] And oft-times in the most forbidding den Of solitude, with love of science strong, How patiently the yoke of thought they bear! 10 How subtly glide its finest threads along! Spirits that crowd the intellectual sphere[127] With mazy boundaries, as the astronomer With orb and cycle girds the starry throng.
FOOTNOTES:
[125] Cenobites (#koinobioi#), monks who live in common, as distinguished from hermits or anchorites, who live alone.--ED.
[126] "Counts, kings, bishops," says F.D. Maurice, "in the fulness of their wealth and barbaric splendour, may be bowing before a monk, who writes them letters from a cell in which he is living upon vegetables and water." (_Moral and Metaphysical Philosophy_ (Edition 1873), vol. i., Mediæval Philosophy, chap. iv. p. 534.)--ED.
[127] _e.g._ Anselm (1033-1109); Albertus Magnus (1193-1280); Thomas Aquinas (1226-1274); Duns Scotus (1265-1308).--ED.
VI
OTHER BENEFITS
And, not in vain embodied to the sight, Religion finds even in the stern retreat Of feudal sway her own appropriate seat;[128] From the collegiate pomps on Windsor's height Down to the humbler[129] altar, which the Knight 5 And his Retainers of the embattled hall Seek in domestic oratory small, For prayer in stillness, or the chanted rite; Then chiefly dear, when foes are planted round, Who teach the intrepid guardians of the place-- 10 Hourly exposed to death, with famine worn, And suffering under many a perilous wound--[130] How sad would be their durance, if forlorn Of offices dispensing heavenly grace!
FOOTNOTES:
[128] St. George's Chapel, Windsor, begun by Henry III. and finished by Edward III., rebuilt by Henry VII., and enlarged by Cardinal Wolsey.--ED.
[129] 1837.
... humble ... 1822.
[130] 1827.
... doubtful wound, 1822.
VII
CONTINUED
And what melodious sounds at times prevail! And, ever and anon, how bright a gleam Pours on the surface of the turbid Stream! What heartfelt fragrance mingles with the gale That swells the bosom of our passing sail! 5 For where, but on _this_ River's margin, blow Those flowers of chivalry, to bind the brow Of hardihood with wreaths that shall not fail?-- Fair Court of Edward! wonder of the world![131] I see a matchless blazonry unfurled 10 Of wisdom, magnanimity, and love; And meekness tempering honourable pride; The lamb is couching by the lion's side, And near the flame-eyed eagle sits the dove.
FOOTNOTES:
[131] Edward the Third (1336-1360). See _The Wonderful Deeds of Edward_ _the Third_, by Robert of Avesbury; and Longman's _History of Edward the Third_.--ED.
VIII
CRUSADERS
Furl we the sails, and pass with tardy oars Through these bright regions, casting many a glance Upon the dream-like issues--the romance[132] Of many-coloured life that[133] Fortune pours Round the Crusaders, till on distant shores 5 Their labours end; or they return to lie, The vow performed, in cross-legged effigy, Devoutly stretched upon their chancel floors. Am I deceived? Or is their requiem chanted By voices never mute when Heaven unties 10 Her inmost, softest, tenderest harmonies; Requiem which Earth takes up with voice undaunted, When she would tell how Brave, and Good, and Wise,[134] For their high guerdon not in vain have panted!
FOOTNOTES:
[132] 1845.
Nor can Imagination quit the shores Of these bright scenes without a farewell glance Given to those dream-like Issues--that Romance 1822.
Given to the dream-like Issues--that Romance 1837.
[133] 1837.
... which ... 1822.
[134] 1837.
... Good, and Brave, and Wise, 1822
IX
"AS FAITH THUS SANCTIFIED THE WARRIOR'S CREST"
Composed 1842.--Published 1845
As faith thus sanctified the warrior's crest While from the Papal Unity there came, What feebler means had fail'd to give, one aim Diffused thro' all the regions of the West; So does her Unity its power attest 5 By works of Art, that shed, on the outward frame Of worship, glory and grace, which who shall blame That ever looked to heaven for final rest? Hail countless Temples! that so well befit Your ministry; that, as ye rise and take 10 Form spirit and character from holy writ, Give to devotion, wheresoe'er awake, Pinions of high and higher sweep, and make The unconverted soul with awe submit.[135]
FOOTNOTES:
[135] In a letter to Professor Henry Reed, Philadelphia, September 4, 1842, Wordsworth writes: "To the second part of the Series" (the "Ecclesiastical Sonnets") "I have also added two, in order to do more justice to the Papal Church for the services which she did actually render to Christianity and humanity in the Middle Ages."--ED.
X
"WHERE LONG AND DEEPLY HATH BEEN FIXED THE ROOT"
Composed 1842.--Published 1845
Where long and deeply hath been fixed the root In the blest soil of gospel truth, the Tree, (Blighted or scathed tho' many branches be, Put forth to wither, many a hopeful shoot) Can never cease to bear celestial fruit. 5 Witness the Church that oft-times, with effect Dear to the saints, strives earnestly to eject[136] Her bane, her vital energies recruit. Lamenting, do not hopelessly repine When such good work is doomed to be undone,[137] 10 The conquests lost that were so hardly won:-- All promises vouchsafed by Heaven will shine[138] In light confirmed while years their course shall run, Confirmed alike in[139] progress and decline.
FOOTNOTES:
[136] 1845.
Blighted and scathed tho' many branches be, Can never cease to bear and ripen fruit Worthy of Heaven. This law is absolute. Behold the Church that often with effect Dear to the Saints doth labouring to eject C.
[137] 1845.
{The Church not seldom surely with effect} {Dear to the Saints doth labour to eject} Her bane, her vital energy recruit. So Providence ordains and why repine If this good work is doomed to be undone, C.
[138] 1845.
Trust that the promises vouchsafed will shine C.
[139] 1845.
... thro' ... C.
XI
TRANSUBSTANTIATION
Enough! for see, with dim association The tapers burn; the odorous incense feeds A greedy flame; the pompous mass proceeds; The Priest bestows the appointed consecration; And, while the HOST is raised, its elevation 5 An awe and supernatural horror breeds; And all the people bow their heads, like reeds To a soft breeze, in lowly adoration. This Valdo brooks[140] not.[141] On the banks of Rhone He taught, till persecution chased him thence, 10 To adore the Invisible, and Him alone. Nor are[142] his Followers loth to seek defence, 'Mid woods and wilds, on Nature's craggy throne, From rites that trample upon soul and sense.
FOOTNOTES:
[140] 1837.
... brook'd ... 1822.
[141] Peter Waldo (or Valdo), a rich merchant of Lyons (1160 or 1170), becoming religious, dedicated himself to poverty and almsgiving. Disciples gathered round him; and they were called the poor men of Lyons--a modest, frugal, and industrious order. They were reformers before the Reformation. Peter Waldo exposed the corruption of the clergy, had the four gospels translated for the people, and maintained the rights of the laity to read them to the masses. He was condemned by the Lateran Council in 1179.--ED.
[142] 1837.
... were ... 1822.
XII
THE VAUDOIS
Published 1835
But whence came they who for the Saviour Lord Have long borne witness as the Scriptures teach?-- Ages ere Valdo raised his voice to preach In Gallic ears the unadulterate Word, Their fugitive Progenitors explored 5 Subalpine vales, in quest of safe retreats Where that pure Church survives, though summer heats Open a passage to the Romish sword, Far as it dares to follow. Herbs self-sown, And fruitage gathered from the chesnut wood, 10 Nourish the sufferers then; and mists, that brood O'er chasms with new-fallen obstacles bestrown, Protect them; and the eternal snow that daunts Aliens, is God's good winter for their haunts.
XIII
"PRAISED BE THE RIVERS, FROM THEIR MOUNTAIN SPRINGS"
Published 1835
Praised be the Rivers, from their mountain springs Shouting to Freedom, "Plant thy banners here!"[143] To harassed Piety, "Dismiss thy fear, "And in our caverns smooth thy ruffled wings!" Nor be unthanked their final lingerings-- 5 Silent, but not to high-souled Passion's ear-- 'Mid reedy fens wide-spread and marshes drear, Their own creation. Such glad welcomings As Po was heard to give where Venice rose Hailed from aloft those Heirs of truth divine[144] 10 Who near his fountains sought obscure repose, Yet came[145] prepared as glorious lights to shine, Should that be needed for their sacred Charge; Blest Prisoners They, whose spirits were[146] at large!
FOOTNOTES:
[143] See the story of the rebuilding of Rome after its plunder by the Gauls.--ED.
[144] 1837.
... their tardiest lingerings 'Mid reedy fens wide-spread and marshes drear, Their own creation, till their long career End in the sea engulphed. Such welcomings As came from mighty Po when Venice rose, Greeted those simple Heirs of truth divine 1835.
[145] 1837.
Yet were ... 1835.
[146] 1840.
... are ... 1835.
XIV
WALDENSES[147]
Those had given[148] earliest notice, as the lark Springs from the ground the morn to gratulate; Or[149] rather rose the day to antedate, By striking out a solitary spark, 4 When all the world with midnight gloom was dark.-- Then followed the Waldensian bands, whom Hate[150] In vain endeavours[151] to exterminate, Whom[152] Obloquy pursues with hideous bark:[153] But they desist not;--and the sacred fire,[154] Rekindled thus, from dens and savage woods 10 Moves, handed on with never-ceasing care, Through courts, through camps, o'er limitary floods; Nor lacks this sea-girt Isle a timely share Of the new Flame, not suffered to expire.
FOOTNOTES:
[147] The followers of Peter Waldo afterwards became a separate community, and multiplied in the valleys of Dauphiné and Piedmont. They suffered persecutions in 1332, 1400, and 1478, but these only drove them into fresh districts in Europe. Francis I. of France ordered them to be extirpated from Piedmont in 1541, and many were massacred. In 1560 the Duke of Savoy renewed the persecution at the instance of the Papal See. Charles Emmanuel II., in 1655, continued it.--ED.
[148] 1845.
These who gave ... 1822.
These had given ... 1840.
[149] 1840.
Who ... 1822.
[150] 1845.
These Harbingers of good, whom bitter hate 1822.
At length come those Waldensian bands, whom Hate 1840.
[151] 1840.
... endeavoured ... 1822
[152] 1840.
Fell ... 1822
[153] The list of foul names bestowed upon those poor creatures is long and curious:--and, as is, alas! too natural, most of the opprobrious appellations are drawn from circumstances into which they were forced by their persecutors, who even consolidated their miseries into one reproachful term, calling them Patarenians, or Paturins, from _pati_, to suffer.
Dwellers with wolves, she names them, for the pine And green oak are their covert; as the gloom Of night oft foils their enemy's design, She calls them Riders on the flying broom; Sorcerers, whose frame and aspect have become One and the same through practices malign.--W. W. 1822.
[154] 1827.
Meanwhile the unextinguishable fire, 1822
XV
ARCHBISHOP CHICHELY TO HENRY V.
"What beast in wilderness or cultured field "The lively beauty of the leopard shows? "What flower in meadow-ground or garden grows "That to the towering lily doth not yield? "Let both meet only on thy royal shield! 5 "Go forth, great King! claim what thy birth bestows; "Conquer the Gallic lily which thy foes "Dare to usurp;--thou hast a sword to wield, "And Heaven will crown the right."--The mitred Sire Thus spake--and lo! a Fleet, for Gaul addrest, 10 Ploughs her bold course across the wondering seas;[155] For, sooth to say, ambition, in the breast Of youthful heroes, is no sullen fire, But one that leaps to meet the fanning breeze.
FOOTNOTES:
[155] Henry Chichele, Archbishop of Canterbury in 1414, persuaded Henry V. to carry on war with France, and helped to raise money for the purpose. Henry crossed to Harfleur, Chichele accompanying him, with an army of 30,000, and won the battle of Agincourt.--ED.
XVI
WARS OF YORK AND LANCASTER
Thus is the storm abated by the craft Of a shrewd Counsellor, eager to protect The Church, whose power hath recently been checked, Whose monstrous riches threatened. So the shaft Of victory mounts high, and blood is quaffed 5 In fields that rival Cressy and Poictiers--[156] Pride to be washed away by bitter tears! For deep as Hell itself, the avenging draught[157] Of civil slaughter. Yet, while temporal power Is by these shocks exhausted, spiritual truth 10 Maintains the else endangered gift of life; Proceeds from infancy to lusty youth; And, under cover of this[158] woeful strife, Gathers unblighted strength from hour to hour.
FOOTNOTES:
[156] _e.g._ the battles of St. Albans, Wakefield, Mortimer's Cross, Towton, Barnet, Tewkesbury, Bosworth.--ED.
[157] 1827.
But mark the dire effect in coming years! Deep, deep as hell itself, the future draught 1822.
[158] 1827.
... that ... 1822.
XVII
WICLIFFE
Once more the Church is seized with sudden fear, And at her call is Wicliffe disinhumed: Yea, his dry bones to ashes are consumed And flung into the brook that travels near; 4 Forthwith, that ancient Voice which Streams can hear Thus speaks (that Voice which walks upon the wind, Though seldom heard by busy human kind)-- "As thou these ashes, little Brook! wilt bear "Into the Avon, Avon to the tide "Of Severn, Severn to the narrow seas, 10 "Into main Ocean they, this deed accurst "An emblem yields to friends and enemies "How the bold Teacher's Doctrine, sanctified "By truth, shall spread, throughout the world dispersed."[159]
FOOTNOTES:
[159] The Council of Constance condemned Wicliffe as a heretic, and issued an order that his remains should be exhumed, and burnt. "Accordingly, by order of the Bishop of Lincoln, as Diocesan of Lutterworth, his grave, which was in the chancel of the church, was opened, forty years after his death; the bones were taken out and burnt to ashes, and the ashes thrown into a neighbouring brook called the Swift." (Southey's _Book of the Church_, vol. i. p. 384.) "Thus this brook," says Fuller, "hath conveyed his ashes into Avon, Avon into Severn, Severn into the narrow seas, they into the main ocean; and thus the ashes of Wicliffe are the emblem of his doctrine, which now is dispersed all the world over." (_The Church History of Britain from the Birth of Christ until the year MDCXLVIII. endeavoured_, book iv . p. 424.) In the note to the 11th Sonnet of