And rider?
JOHN.
Yes—a dire anatomy.
As he rides on, nations with terror shriek—
Death! and the gulf of hell shoots out its flame
After the footfall of that ghastly horse.50
The rider shouts, and haggard Famine crawls,
With wan and wasted visage, from her cave;
And Pestilence, speeding unseen in air,
Breathes, and ten thousand perish, and wild beasts
Howl in the city of the dead, and feed
Upon the black and countless carcases.[169]
Low thunders rolled, and sounds of woe were heard,
When the fifth seal was opened; and John saw
A burning altar, and beneath it, souls
Of those who had been slain—the witnesses,60
Confessing Christ in torments, and they cried,
How long, O Lord, holy, and just, and true,
Dost thou not judge—judge and avenge our cause!
And robes of white were given to each of them,
And a voice said, Oh! rest ye yet a while,
Rest ye till persecution's cup be drained;
The judgment leave to Him who sits in heaven.
The thunders louder rolled, as the sixth seal
Was opened. Ah! the sun is black above
As sackcloth, and the round moon red as blood;70
Earth rocks from east to west; the stars are fallen,
And falling, as the fig-tree casts its figs,
When shaken by the mighty hurricane.
Heaven is departing, like a scroll; the kings,
And the chief captains, and the mighty men,
Bondmen and free, have hid them in the caves,
And mountains, and dark places of the earth,
And to the mountains and the rocks they cry,
Fall on us! hide us—hide us from the face
Of the incensed Lamb, for his great day80
Of wrath is come, and who on earth may stand![170]
And after this, John saw four angels stand82
On the four corners of the earth; they held
The rushing winds, that not a wind should blow
Tumultuous on the earth, or on the sea,
Whilst they stood silent; then with radiant wings,
Bright as the sun ascending from the east,
Another glorious angel came, who bore
Thy seal, O living God; and a loud voice
To the four angels cried, Hurt not the earth90
Or seas, till on their foreheads we have sealed
The servants of our God. And they were sealed
Of all the tribes of Israel. After this,
A multitude which no man on the earth
Could number, of all nations and all tongues,
Clothed in white robes, and bearing in their hands
Palms, as triumphant, stood before the throne
Of glory, and before the Lamb of God,
And cried aloud, Salvation to our God,
Which sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb.[171]100
And all the angels stood about the throne,
The elders, and the mighty cherubims,
And on their faces fell, before the throne,
And worshipped God, and cried aloud, Amen:
Blessing and glory, wisdom, honour, power,
Be to our God, for ever and for ever!
Then seemed that one among the elders spake
To John, and said, What are these multitudes
Who bear triumphant palms, all clothed in white?
John answered, Sir, thou knowest. He replied,110
These are victorious saints, who have come out
From the great tribulation, and have washed
Their bloody garments, and have made them white—
White through His blood who died upon the cross;
Therefore they stand before the throne of God,115
And in his temple serve him day and night,
And He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell
Among them. They shall hunger now no more,
Nor thirst; the sun shall cheer them, but not burn;
The Lamb shall feed them, and shall lead them forth120
To pleasant pastures, and to fountains bright,
And from their eyelids wipe away all tears
For ever.
There was silence in the heavens,
When the seventh seal was opened, and John saw
Seven angels standing by the throne of God,
Having seven trumpets; and an angel came,
Who, hovering, with a golden censer, stood
Before an altar, and the smoke went up,
Of incense, from the altar. These are prayers130
Of all the saints on earth—prayers which ascend,
Like incense, from the censer in the hand
Of that bright angel, to the throne of God.
Ah! he has cast his censer to the earth;
And suddenly the earthquake and the storm
Awoke, and through the darkness, rolled and flashed
Deep thunders and the lightning; and, behold!
The seven angels lift their trumpets high,
Lift, and prepare to sound. And now the first
Sounds—and there follows instant hail, and fire140
Mingled with blood, which on the earth was cast;
So that the trees stood bare and desolate,
And the green grass was withered and burnt up.
The second angel sounded, and, behold!
A burning mountain cast into the sea.
The third part of all creatures in the sea
Died, a third part of all the ships that sailed
Upon the sea was smitten and destroyed.
And the third angel sounded; and there fell149
A star from heaven. It fell on the third part
Of rivers, and the fountains of the deep;
And swollen and livid carcases were left,
Weltering, beside the dark, blood-heaving sea.
And the fourth angel sounded; and the sun
For the third part was smitten, and the moon
For the third part was darkened; and John saw
And heard an angel flying in mid heaven,
And crying with a mighty voice, Woe, woe,
Woe to the earth, by reason of the voice
Of the three trumpets that are yet to sound!160
And the fifth trumpet sounded; and John saw
A star fall from the heavens to the earth;
And to the angel of the star was given
The key that shuts the nethermost abyss
Upon the groans of those that groan therein.
The pit is opened, and the volumed smoke,
Shooting red flames, as from a furnace, rolls,
And out of it there issued crawling things,[172]
Like scorpions; but they had no power to hurt
The green grass of the earth, but those alone170
Who on their foreheads had no seal of heaven:
These shall seek death, but find him not, for death
Shall fly from them, when they most pray to die.
Like horses trained for battle, a dire troop
Comes sounding; on their heads are crowns, like gold;
Faces are theirs, like men; and they have hair
As women, and teeth white and terrible
As lions; and their iron breastplates shake,
With hurtling noise; the sounding of their wings
Is as the chariots and the steeds of war,180
Rushing to the thick war. Who is their king?181
Apollyon, angel of the deep abyss.
One woe is past, yet two more woes remain;
For the sixth angel sounded, and John heard
A voice like thunders: The four angels loose,
In the great river of Euphrates bound.
And the four giant angels are unbound,
And they go forth to slaughter. And John saw
The horses in the vision, and he saw
Those who sat on them, with breastplates of fire,190
Of jacinth, and of sulphur; and the heads
Of the gaunt horses were as lions' heads,
And from their mouths issued red fire and smoke.
But men repented not, nor turned away
From their dark idols, or their sorceries,
From worshipping their gods of gold, or stone,
Or brass, or silver! Hush! the sound of wings!
Another mighty angel comes from heaven,
And lights on earth, clothed in a radiant cloud.
There is a rainbow on his head; his face200
Is as the orient sun; his feet appear
Pillars of fire; in his right hand a book.
He sets his right foot on the seas, his left
Upon the earth, and cries, with a loud voice,
Till the world shrinks: and when he thus has cried,
Seven thunders answer, uttering to heaven
Their voices.
Then the angel said to John,
Art thou about to write? Seal up the things
Which the seven thunders uttered: write them not.210
The angel which John saw stand on the seas,
And on the earth, raised his right hand to heaven,
And swore by Him which liveth, who shall live
For ever and for ever—swore by Him
Who made the heaven, the earth, and all therein,215
That time shall be no more: the mystery
Of God shall be concluded in the days
Of this last angel's voice. That awful voice
John heard entranced; and the voice said to him,
Take from the angel's hand,—the hand of him220
Who standeth on the seas and on the earth,—
That book thou markest open in his hand.
That book, the rapt Apostle cried, that book!
The angel mildly answered, Let thy heart
Feed on it; sweet and bitter it shall be,
And thou shalt prophesy of things to come,
Of dark things yet to be upon the earth.
The seventh angel lifted high his trump,
And sounded; when from heaven a voice was heard—
The kingdoms of this world they are become230
The kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ:
For ever and for ever, he shall reign,
For ever and for ever.
Now the ark
Of God appeared; and round about the ark
There was a rainbow stealing through the rain,
The ark of the new covenant: and, lo!
A shining company stood with the Lamb
Upon Mount Zion, and a song was heard
Of harpers, harping a new song—the song240
Of life and immortality. And John
Then heard a voice—a voice from heaven, which said,
Write, write, From henceforth blessed are the dead
Which in the Lord shall die, for they shall rest
From all their labours! Blessed are the dead!
The shadows are departed; horse and trump
Are seen and heard no more; the trumpet's clang
Dies far away: the Apostle turned and prayed,
With eyes upraised; and now, for pealing trumps,249
Heard in the wind the lessening sound of harps,
Still lessening, and still lessening, till the cave
Was silent; and the stirring winds without
Alone were heard, like sweet, sad melodies,
Remembered in old times; whilst he who stood
Beside him watched; and after, as the day
Slowly declined, they two conversing sat,
Conversing of God's judgment—of the voice
Which said to man the sinner, Dust thou art,
And unto dust thou shalt return—of death,
And immortality through Christ restored;260
So they deceived the time, till John, oppressed
With sights and sounds so terrible, lay down,
And sank to sleep, not to awake till dawn.
PART FOURTH.
Morning—Roman Commander—Vision—Babylon—New Jerusalem—Evening—Night Scene—Stars—Temptation—Dream.
John woke from slumber, when the early trump
Rang from the Roman camp below, at break
Of the gray dawn; and when the sun arose,
After his orisons to Heaven, he sat
On the rude stone before his cave, and marked
His staff and form shadowed against the rock,
Watching the fitful gleams that, here and there,
Chequered the pale Ægean, far away;
While he, who never left his side, appeared
Now more majestic, as the beams of day10
Shone on his waving tresses, when he raised11
His look to heaven, and stood sublime in light.
But see, with vitis[173] of command, and plume
And crest, in momentary sunshine bright,
The præfect of the Roman guard approach,
Hail, father, hail! he cried.
And hail to thee,
The old man answered, mildly. Art thou come
With tidings from the Mistress of the World?
ROMAN COMMANDER.
The world's great sun is set—Cæsar is dead!20
JOHN.
Cæsar! Ah! in my dream did I not see
His shadow stern and sad; the purple robe
Dropping with blood!