Then mightily rose Satan, and about the Earth he hied,
And breathed on Kings in idleness and Princes drunk with pride;
But for all the wrong he breathed
There was never sword unsheathed,
And the fires he lighted flickered out and died.
Then terribly rose Satan, and he darkened Earth afar,
Till he came on cunning Dives where the money-changers are;
And he saw men pledge their gear
For the gold that buys the spear,
And the helmet and the habergeon of war.
Yea to Dives came the Persian and the Syrian and the Mede—
And their hearts were nothing altered, nor their cunning nor their greed—
And they pledged their flocks and farms
For the king-compelling arms,
And Dives lent according to their need.
Then Satan said to Dives:—’Return again with me,
‘Who hast broken His Commandment in the day He set thee free,
‘Who grindest for thy greed,
‘Man’s belly-pinch and need;
‘And the blood of Man to filthy usury!’
Then softly answered Dives where the money-changers sit:—
‘My refuge is Our Master, O My Master in the Pit;
‘But behold all Earth is laid
‘In the peace which I have made,
‘And behold I wait on thee to trouble it!’
Then angrily turned Satan, and about the Seas he fled,
To shake the new-sown peoples with insult, doubt, and dread;
But for all the sleight he used
There was never squadron loosed,
And the brands he flung flew dying and fell dead.
Yet to Dives came Atlantis and the Captains of the West—
And their hates were nothing weakened nor their anger nor unrest—
And they pawned their utmost trade
For the dry, decreeing blade;
And Dives lent and took of them their best.
Then Satan said to Dives:—’Declare thou by The Name,
‘The secret of thy subtlety that turneth mine to shame.
‘It is known through all the Hells
‘How my peoples mocked my spells,
‘And my faithless Kings denied me ere I came.’
Then answered cunning Dives: ‘Do not gold and hate abide
‘At the heart of every Magic, yea, and senseless fear beside?
‘With gold and fear and hate
‘I have harnessed state to state,
‘And with hate and fear and gold their hates are tied.
‘For hate men seek a weapon, for fear they seek a shield—
‘Keener blades and broader targes than their frantic neighbours wield—
‘For gold I arm their hands,
‘And for gold I buy their lands,
‘And for gold I sell their enemies the yield.