Preserver of the pure and primal tongue[25],
Most faithful found 'mid living sons of men,
Their leader looked on God; then wrestling wrung
By spirit might, and paged with fiery pen, 1550
The full of what would be, of what had been;
Sealing the secret till an hour should chime
When faith as mighty unto mortal ken
Would bring the marvel of a book sublime[26],
Bridging with lightful lore the shadowy gulf of time.
But pilgrim prows now part the unknown wave;
Above, around, baptismal billows[27] roll.
Divinity, their guide, protection gave,
Else had engulfing seas entombed the whole.
Though tight each launch, where lines of lustre stole 1560
From molten stones, late struck from Shelem's height[28],
And lit by touch divine. Unto the goal
Of that grim voyage, banishing the night,
Those crystal miracles gave forth their friendly light.
Till loomed to wistful eyes this waiting land,
Spreading with wing-like continents[29] afar,
As if to welcome worlds. The Chaldean band
The Northland chose, lured by a favoring star,
For South, as North, of human soul was bare.
But liberty loves most a northern zone, 1570
Where nature's ramparts e'en 'gainst nature's war
Put forth protection. Liberty alone
Mahonri's realm[30] might rule—no king, no crown, no throne.
Still, mighty spirit, thou art manifest!
What creed or clan shall win Columbia's crown?
Though freedom weep, by anarchy opprest,
Hesperia's face reflect Europa's frown,
Sceptered religion ne'er shall tread men down.
Belief and unbelief here find one plane,
That freedom's greater cause[31] be not o'erthrown, 1580
But spring and spread till every tongue maintain
The kingdom of the King whose throne all worlds sustain.
Here dawns that universal liberty—
Theme of the prophet tongue, the poet pen—
When, winged with power and crowned with purity,
Earth shall be heaven, and gods shall dwell with men;
Fraternity divine, that e'er hath been,
And e'er shall be, the blissful lot of those
Who, conquering self, bind Satan, fetter sin,
And soar beyond the reach of mortal woes, 1590
Rising to sainted heights, as all past Zions rose[32].
Till then no king upon this crownless land,
Reserved to freedom and to righteousness.
'Gainst her none prosper, lifting hostile hand.
Blest haven, fortressed by God's mightiness[33]!
Kingcraft and priestcraft plant their sure distress.
The past hath spoken—heed the warning tone:
Of pride beware, and baser sordidness—
Self's groveling tyranny, with heart of stone,
Whereby, in ages gone, this land did grieve and groan. 1600
"Give us a king[34]!" their cry, when power had come,
When wealth was massed, and men were multiplied;
"A king! A king!"—vibrant the echoing dome
From northern lake to gulf and ocean tide;
For Satan in their hearts had planted pride.
Grieved was the nation's wise and watchful sire;
Grieved was the faithful kinsman at his side;
From eyes of both shot gleams of righteous ire,
As voiced ambitious will its ominous desire.
They sighed: "This leadeth to captivity— 1610
Perchance destruction, ending dark and dire.
Yet must we yield to human liberty
Its own, e'en though a brand from freedom's fire
Kindle for freedom's self the fatal pyre."
So saying, they anointed one their king
Who craved the crown, by patriot son and sire
Put by in pure denial, lest it bring
First care, then crime, and waken woes then slumbering.
For though a king see duty's pathway plain,
And walk therein, as he who now arose; 1620
What monarch from misrule can all refrain,
When privilege lifts power o'er friends and foes?
Bare is the reign untarnished to the close,
And rarer still the blameless dynasty.
Ofttimes as princes the unkingliest pose,
Because, forsooth, they come of some tall tree,
Whose root and trunk were sound, while branches blasted be.
True kingliness—what else proves man a king?
A slave, though throned and sceptered, bides a slave;
Nor pride, nor pelf, nor all that power may bring, 1630
Can make the serf a sovereign, or yet save
The dust of either from the common grave.
Royal the soul must be, or comes to end
All royalty. Spirit, then blood, God gave;
And each at last its separate way doth wend
Home to the parent source, to meet no more, nor blend.