Thou calledst chaos into existence,
Before time, from the abyss of eternity,
And eternity, existing prior to all ages,
Thou foundedst within thyself.
Constituting thyself of thyself,
By means of thyself shining from thyself,
Thou art the light from which light first flowed;
Creating all things by a single word,
Extending thyself throughout the new creation,
Thou wast, thou art, thou shalt be for ever!
Thou unitest within thyself the chain of beings,
Upholdest and animatest it,
Thou connectest the end with the beginning,
And through death bestowest life.
As sparks shoot forth and scatter themselves,
Thus suns are born of thee:
As, in a cold and clear winter's day,
Particles of frost scintillate,
Whirl about, reel, and glisten, [1]
Even so do the stars in the abysses beneath thee!
Millions of lighted torches
Fly throughout infinite space,
They execute thy laws,
And shed life-creating rays.
But these fiery luminaries,
Or shining masses of crystal,
Or crowds of boiling golden waves,
Or blazing ether,
Or all the dazzling worlds united--
Compared to thee are like night compared to day.
Like a drop of water cast into the ocean
Is this whole firmament compared to thee.
But what is the universe which I behold,
And who am I, in thy presence?
Were I to add to the millions of worlds
Existing in the ocean of air,
A hundred fold as many other worlds--and then
Dare to compare them to thee,
They would scarcely appear an atom,
And I compared to thee--nothing!
Nothing! yet thou shinest in me
Through thy great goodness:
In me thou imagest thyself,
As the sun is reflected in a small drop of water.
Nothing! yet I am sensible of my existence,
By an indescribable longing I ascend
Steadfastly to a higher region:
My soul hopes to be even as thou,
It inquires, meditates, reasons;
I am, and doubtless thou must be.
THOU ART! the order of nature proclaims it;
My heart declares it to be so,
My mind assures me of it.
Thou art! and I am not, therefore, nothing!
I am a particle of the whole universe,
Placed, as I think, in that important
Middle point of being,
Where thou finishedst mortal creatures,
Where thou began'st heavenly spirits,
And the chain of all beings unitedst by me.
I am the bond of worlds existing everywhere;
I am the extreme grade of matter;
I am the centre of living things,
The commencing trait of the Divinity;
My body will resolve itself into ashes,
My mind commands the thunder.
I am a king, a slave, a worm, a god!
But, being thus wonderful,
From whence have I proceeded? This is unknown.
But I could not have existed of myself!
I am thy work, Creator!
I am the creature of thy supreme wisdom,
Fountain of life, Giver of blessings,
Soul and monarch of my soul!
It was necessary to thy justice
That my immortal being
Should traverse the abyss of death,
That my spirit should be veiled in perishable matter,
And that through death I should return,
Father! to thy immortality!
Inexplicable, incomprehensible Being!
I know that the imaginings
Of my soul are unable
Even to sketch thy shadow!
But, if it be our duty to praise thee,
Then it is impossible for weak mortals
Otherwise to render thee homage
Than, simply, to lift their hearts to thee,
To give way to boundless joy,
And shed tears of gratitude!
[1] The full beauty of this metaphor can only be felt by those who have witnessed, in a high northern latitude during intensely cold and clear weather, the state of the atmosphere which the poet describes.