In good!—the last were first and best.
The middle but a term between
The purest and the least serene;
Less than the greatest—greater far
Than those whose emblem is the star.
Waning they ran a downward race,
With fainter faith and lessening grace,
Till, reaching to the stage most lowly,
The least and latest were the Holy.
Oh, that they there had staid!—that sin