book xii

. 32; Ptolemy, _Geographia_, 27, 1; Camden, _Britannia_, 556-648.--ED.

[21] 1827.

Of silently departed ages crossed; 1822.

[22] Compare the four sonnets on Iona, in the "Poems composed or suggested during a Tour in the Summer of 1833."--ED.

[23] 1841.

... fame, 1822.

[24] See note [40], p. 13.--ED.

VI

PERSECUTION

Lament! for Diocletian's fiery sword Works busy as the lightning; but instinct With malice ne'er to deadliest weapon linked, Which God's ethereal store-houses afford: Against the Followers of the incarnate Lord 5 It rages;--some are smitten in the field-- Some pierced to the heart through the ineffectual shield[25] Of sacred home;--with pomp are others gored And dreadful respite. Thus was Alban tried,[26]

England's first Martyr, whom no threats could shake; Self-offered victim, for his friend he died, 11 And for the faith; nor shall his name forsake That Hill, whose flowery platform seems to rise By Nature decked for holiest sacrifice.[27]

FOOTNOTES:

[25] 1840.

Some pierced beneath the unavailing shield 1822.

... ineffectual 1827.

[26] "The first man who laid down his life in Britain for the Christian faith was Saint Alban.... During the tenth, and most rigorous of the persecutions, a Christian priest, flying from his persecutors, came to the City of Verulamium, and took shelter in Alban's house: he, not being of the faith himself, concealed him for pure compassion; but when he observed the devotion of his guest, how fervent it was, and how firm, his heart was touched.... When the persecutors came to search the house, Alban, putting on the hair-cassock of his teacher, delivered himself into their hands, as if he had been the fugitive, and was carried before the heathen governor.... Because he refused to betray his guest or offer sacrifices to the Roman gods, he was scourged, and then led to execution upon the spot where the abbey now stands, which in after times was erected to his memory, and still bears his name. That spot was then a beautiful meadow upon a little rising ground, 'seeming,' says the venerable Bede, 'a fit theatre for the martyr's triumph.'" (Southey's _Book of the Church_, vol. i.--pp. 13-14.)--ED.

[27] This hill at St. Albans must have been an object of great interest to the imagination of the venerable Bede, who thus describes it, with a delicate feeling, delightful to meet with in that rude age, traces of which are frequent in his works:--"Variis herbarum floribus depictus imo usquequaque vestitus, in quo nihil repente arduum, nihil præceps, nihil abruptum, quem lateribus longe lateque deductum in modum æquoris natura complanat, dignum videlicet eum pro insita sibi specie venustatis jam olim reddens, qui beati martyris cruore dicaretur."--W. W. 1822.

VII

RECOVERY

As, when a storm hath ceased, the birds regain Their cheerfulness, and busily retrim Their nests, or chant a gratulating hymn To the blue ether and bespangled plain; Even so, in many a re-constructed fane, 5 Have the survivors of this Storm renewed Their holy rites with vocal gratitude: And solemn ceremonials they ordain To celebrate their great deliverance; Most feelingly instructed 'mid their fear-- 10 That persecution, blind with rage extreme, May not the less, through Heaven's mild countenance, Even in her own despite, both feed and cheer; For all things are less dreadful than they seem.

VIII

TEMPTATIONS FROM ROMAN REFINEMENTS

Watch, and be firm! for, soul-subduing vice, Heart-killing luxury, on your steps await. Fair houses, baths, and banquets delicate, And temples flashing, bright as polar ice, Their radiance through the woods--may yet suffice 5 To sap your hardy virtue, and abate Your love of Him upon whose forehead sate The crown of thorns; whose life-blood flowed, the price Of your redemption. Shun the insidious arts That Rome provides, less dreading from her frown 10 Than from her wily praise, her peaceful gown, Language, and letters;--these, though fondly viewed As humanising graces, are but parts And instruments of deadliest servitude!

IX

DISSENSIONS

That heresies should strike (if truth be scanned Presumptuously) their roots both wide and deep, Is natural as dreams to feverish sleep. Lo! Discord at the altar dares to stand[28] Uplifting toward[29] high Heaven her fiery brand, 5 A cherished Priestess of the new-baptized! But chastisement shall follow peace despised. The Pictish cloud darkens the enervate land By Rome abandoned; vain are suppliant cries, And prayers that would undo her forced farewell; 10 For she returns not.--Awed by her own knell, She casts the Britons upon strange Allies, Soon to become more dreaded enemies Than heartless misery called them to repel.

FOOTNOTES:

[28] Arianism had spread into Britain, and British Bishops were summoned to councils held concerning it, at Sardica, A.D. 347, and at Ariminum, A.D. 360. See Fuller's _Church History_, p. 25; and Churton's _Early English Church_, p. 9.--ED.

[29] 1827.

Lifting towards ... 1822.

X

STRUGGLE OF THE BRITONS AGAINST THE BARBARIANS

Rise!--they _have_ risen: of brave Aneurin ask[30] How they have scourged old foes, perfidious friends: The Spirit of Caractacus descends Upon the Patriots, animates their task;[31] Amazement runs before the towering casque 5 Of Arthur, bearing through the stormy field The Virgin sculptured on his Christian shield:-- Stretched in the sunny light of victory bask The Host that followed Urien[32] as he strode O'er heaps of slain;--from Cambrian wood and moss 10 Druids descend, auxiliars of the Cross; Bards, nursed on blue Plinlimmon's still abode,[33] Rush on the fight, to harps preferring swords, And everlasting deeds to burning words!

FOOTNOTES:

[30] Aneurin was the bard who--in the poem named the _Gododin_--celebrated the struggle between the Cymri and the Teutons in the middle of the sixth century, which ended in the great battle of Catterick, or Cattreath, in Yorkshire. Aneurin was himself chieftain as well as bard.--ED.

[31] 1837.

The spirit of Caractacus defends The Patriots, animates their glorious task;-- 1822.

[32] Urien was chief of the Cymri, and led them in the great conflict of the sixth century against the Angles.--ED.

[33] Such as Aneurin, Taliesin, Llywarch Hen, and Merlin.--ED.

XI

SAXON CONQUEST

Nor wants the cause the panic-striking aid Of hallelujahs[34] tost from hill to hill-- For instant victory. But Heaven's high will Permits a second and a darker shade Of Pagan night. Afflicted and dismayed, 5 The Relics of the sword flee to the mountains: O wretched Land! whose tears have flowed like fountains; Whose arts and honours in the dust are laid By men yet scarcely conscious of a care For other monuments than those of Earth;[35] 10 Who, as the fields[36] and woods have given them birth, Will[37] build their savage fortunes only there; Content, if foss, and barrow, and the girth Of long-drawn rampart, witness what they were.[38]

FOOTNOTES:

[34] Alluding to the victory gained under Germanus. See Bede.--W. W. 1822.

The Saxons and Picts threatening the Britons, the latter asked the assistance of Germanus. The following is Bede's account:--"Germanus bearing in his hands the standard, instructed his men all in a loud voice to repeat his words, and the enemy advancing securely, as thinking to take them by surprise, the priests three times cried Hallelujah. A universal shout of the same word followed, and the hills resounding the echo on all sides, the enemy was struck with dread.... They fled in disorder, casting away their arms." (Bede, _Ecclesiastica Historia gentis Anglorum_,