,this e,book was produced by ,david ,widger ,,poems ,,of ,,nature ,,poems ,,subjective ,,and ,,reminiscent ,,religious ,,poems ,,by ,,john ,,greenleaf ,,whittier ,,contents3 ,,the ,,answer ,,the ,,eternal ,,goodness ,,the ,,common ,,question ,,our ,,master ,,the ,,meeting ,,the ,,clear ,,vision ,,divine ,,compassion ,,the ,,prayer-,,seeker ,,the ,,brewing ,,of ,,soma ,a ,,woman ,,the ,,prayer ,,of ,,agassiz ,,in ,,quest ,,the ,,friend',s ,,burial ,a ,,christmas ,,carmen ,,vesta ,,child-,,songs ,,the ,,healer ,,the ,,two ,,angels ,,overruled ,,hymn ,,of ,,the ,,dunkers ,,giving ,,and ,,taking ,,the ,,vision ,,of ,,echard ,,inscriptions ,,on ,a ,,sun-,,dial ,,on ,a ,,fountain ,,the ,,minister',s ,,daughter ,,by ,,their ,,works ,,the ,,word ,,the ,,book ,,requirement ,,help ,,utterance ,,oriental ,,maxims ,,the ,,inward ,,judge ,,laying ,,up ,,treasure ,,conduct ,,an ,,easter ,,flower ,,gift ,,the ,,mystic',s ,,christmas ,,at ,,last ,,what ,,the ,,traveller ,,said ,,at ,,sunset ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,ida ,,the ,,light ,,that ,,is ,,felt ,,the ,,two ,,loves ,,adjustment ,,hymns ,,of ,,the ,,brahmo ,,somaj ,,revelation ,,the ,,answer4 ,spare me1 dread angel of reproof1 ,and let the sunshine weave to-day ,its gold-threads in the warp and woof ,of life so poor and gray4 ,spare me awhile2 the flesh is weak4 ,these lingering feet1 that fain would stray ,among the flowers1 shall some day seek ,the strait and narrow way4 ,take off thy ever-watchful eye1 ,the awe of thy rebuking frown2 ,the dullest slave at times must sigh ,to fling his burdens down2 ,to drop his galley's straining oar1 ,and press1 in summer warmth and calm1 ,the lap of some enchanted shore ,of blossom and of balm4 ,grudge not my life its hour of bloom1 ,my heart its taste of long desire2 ,this day be mine3 be those to come ,as duty shall require4 ,the deep voice answered to my own1 ,smiting my selfish prayers away2 ,to-morrow is with ,god alone1 ,and man hath but to-day4 ,say not1 thy fond1 vain heart within1 ,the ,father's arm shall still be wide1 ,when from these pleasant ways of sin ,thou turn'st at eventide4 ',cast thyself down1' the tempter saith1 ',and angels shall thy feet upbear4' ,he bids thee make a lie of faith1 ,and blasphemy of prayer4 ,though ,god be good and free be heaven1 ,no force divine can love compel2 ,and1 though the song of sins forgiven ,may sound through lowest hell1 ,the sweet persuasion of ,his voice ,respects thy sanctity of will4 ,he giveth day3 thou hast thy choice ,to walk in darkness still2 ,as one who1 turning from the light1 ,watches his own gray shadow fall1 ,doubting1 upon his path of night1 ,if there be day at all6 ,no word of doom may shut thee out1 ,no wind of wrath may downward whirl1 ,no swords of fire keep watch about ,the open gates of pearl2 ,a tenderer light than moon or sun1 ,than song of earth a sweeter hymn1 ,may shine and sound forever on1 ,and thou be deaf and dim4 ,forever round the ,mercy-seat ,the guiding lights of ,love shall burn2 ,but what if1 habit-bound1 thy feet ,shall lack the will to turn8 ,what if thine eye refuse to see1 ,thine ear of ,heaven's free welcome fail1 ,and thou a willing captive be1 ,thyself thy own dark jail8 ,oh1 doom beyond the saddest guess1 ,as the long years of ,god unroll1 ,to make thy dreary selfishness ,the prison of a soul6 ,to doubt the love that fain would break ,the fetters from thy self-bound limb2 ,and dream that ,god can thee forsake ,as thou forsakest ,him6 #ahfc4 ,,the ,,eternal ,,goodness4 ,o friends6 with whom my feet have trod ,the quiet aisles of prayer1 ,glad witness to your zeal for ,god ,and love of man ,i bear4 ,i trace your lines of argument2 ,your logic linked and strong ,i weigh as one who dreads dissent1 ,and fears a doubt as wrong4 ,but still my human hands are weak ,to hold your iron creeds ,against the words ye bid me speak ,my heart within me pleads4 ,who fathoms the ,eternal ,thought8 ,who talks of scheme and plan8 ,the ,lord is ,god6 ,he needeth not ,the poor device of man4 ,i walk with bare1 hushed feet the ground ,ye tread with boldness shod2 ,i dare not fix with mete and bound ,the love and power of ,god4 ,ye praise ,his justice2 even such ,his pitying love ,i deem ,ye seek a king2 ,i fain would touch ,the robe that hath no seam4 ,ye see the curse which overbroods ,a world of pain and loss2 ,i hear our ,lord's beatitudes ,and prayer upon the cross4 ,more than your schoolmen teach1 within ,myself1 alas6 ,i know ,too dark ye cannot paint the sin1 ,too small the merit show4 ,i bow my forehead to the dust1 ,i veil mine eyes for shame1 ,and urge1 in trembling self-distrust1 ,a prayer without a claim4 ,i see the wrong that round me lies1 ,i feel the guilt within2 ,i hear1 with groan and travail-cries1 ,the world confess its sin4 ,yet1 in the maddening maze of things1 ,and tossed by storm and flood1 ,to one fixed trust my spirit clings2 ,i know that ,god is good6 ,not mine to look where cherubim ,and seraphs may not see1 ,but nothing can be good in ,him ,which evil is in me4 ,the wrong that pains my soul below ,i dare not throne above1 ,i know not of ,his hate1--,i know ,his goodness and ,his love4 ,i dimly guess from blessings known ,of greater out of sight1 ,and1 with the chastened ,psalmist1 own ,his judgments too are right4 ,i long for household voices gone1 ,for vanished smiles ,i long1 ,but ,god hath led my dear ones on1 ,and ,he can do no wrong4 ,i know not what the future hath ,of marvel or surprise1 ,assured alone that life and death ,his mercy underlies4 ,and if my heart and flesh are weak ,to bear an untried pain1 ,the bruised reed ,he will not break1 ,but strengthen and sustain4 ,no offering of my own ,i have1 ,nor works my faith to prove2 ,i can but give the gifts ,he gave1 ,and plead ,his love for love4 ,and so beside the ,silent ,sea ,i wait the muffled oar2 ,no harm from ,him can come to me ,on ocean or on shore4 ,i know not where ,his islands lift ,their fronded palms in air2 ,i only know ,i cannot drift ,beyond ,his love and care4 ,o brothers6 if my faith is vain1 ,if hopes like these betray1 ,pray for me that my feet may gain ,the sure and safer way4 ,and ,thou1 ,o ,lord6 by whom are seen ,thy creatures as they be1 ,forgive me if too close ,i lean ,my human heart on ,thee6 #ahfe4 ,,the ,,common ,,question4 ,behind us at our evening meal ,the gray bird ate his fill1 ,swung downward by a single claw1 ,and wiped his hooked bill4 ,he shook his wings and crimson tail1 ,and set his head aslant1 ,and1 in his sharp1 impatient way1 ,asked1 ,what does ,charlie want8 ,fie1 silly bird6 ,i answered1 tuck ,your head beneath your wing1 ,and go to sleep2--but o'er and o'er ,he asked the self-same thing4 ,then1 smiling1 to myself ,i said ,how like are men and birds6 ,we all are saying what he says1 ,in action or in words4 ,the boy with whip and top and drum1 ,the girl with hoop and doll1 ,and men with lands and houses1 ask ,the question of ,poor ,poll4 ,however full1 with something more ,we fain the bag would cram2 ,we sigh above our crowded nets ,for fish that never swam4 ,no bounty of indulgent ,heaven ,the vague desire can stay2 ,self-love is still a ,tartar mill ,for grinding prayers alway4 ,the dear ,god hears and pities all2 ,he knoweth all our wants2 ,and what we blindly ask of ,him ,his love withholds or grants4 ,and so ,i sometimes think our prayers ,might well be merged in one2 ,and nest and perch and hearth and church ,repeat1 ,thy will be done4 ,,our ,,master4 ,immortal ,love1 forever full1 ,forever flowing free1 ,forever shared1 forever whole1 ,a never-ebbing sea6 ,our outward lips confess the name ,all other names above2 ,love only knoweth whence it came ,and comprehendeth love4 ,blow1 winds of ,god1 awake and blow ,the mists of earth away6 ,shine out1 ,o ,light ,divine1 and show ,how wide and far we stray6 ,hush every lip1 close every book1 ,the strife of tongues forbear2 ,why forward reach1 or backward look1 ,for love that clasps like air8 ,we may not climb the heavenly steeps ,to bring the ,lord ,christ down ,in vain we search the lowest deeps1 ,for ,him no depths can drown4 ,nor holy bread1 nor blood of grape1 ,the lineaments restore ,of ,him we know in outward shape ,and in the flesh no more4 ,he cometh not a king to reign2 ,the world's long hope is dim2 ,the weary centuries watch in vain ,the clouds of heaven for ,him4 ,death comes1 life goes2 the asking eye ,and ear are answerless2 ,the grave is dumb1 the hollow sky ,is sad with silentness4 ,the letter fails1 and systems fall1 ,and every symbol wanes2 ,the ,spirit over-brooding all ,eternal ,love remains4 ,and not for signs in heaven above ,or earth below they look1 ,who know with ,john ,his smile of love1 ,with ,peter ,his rebuke4 ,in joy of inward peace1 or sense ,of sorrow over sin1 ,he is ,his own best evidence1 ,his witness is within4 ,no fable old1 nor mythic lore1 ,nor dream of bards and seers1 ,no dead fact stranded on the shore ,of the oblivious years2-- ,but warm1 sweet1 tender1 even yet ,a present help is ,he2 ,and faith has still its ,olivet1 ,and love its ,galilee4 ,the healing of ,his seamless dress ,is by our beds of pain2 ,we touch ,him in life's throng and press1 ,and we are whole again4 ,through ,him the first fond prayers are said ,our lips of childhood frame1 ,the last low whispers of our dead ,are burdened with ,his name4 ,our ,lord and ,master of us all6 ,whate'er our name or sign1 ,we own ,thy sway1 we hear ,thy call1 ,we test our lives by ,thine4 ,thou judgest us2 ,thy purity ,doth all our lusts condemn2 ,the love that draws us nearer ,thee ,is hot with wrath to them4 ,our thoughts lie open to ,thy sight2 ,and1 naked to ,thy glance1 ,our secret sins are in the light ,of ,thy pure countenance4 ,thy healing pains1 a keen distress ,thy tender light shines in2 ,thy sweetness is the bitterness1 ,thy grace the pang of sin4 ,yet1 weak and blinded though we be1 ,thou dost our service own2 ,we bring our varying gifts to ,thee1 ,and ,thou rejectest none4 ,to ,thee our full humanity1 ,its joys and pains1 belong2 ,the wrong of man to man on ,thee ,inflicts a deeper wrong4 ,who hates1 hates ,thee1 who loves becomes ,therein to ,thee allied2 ,all sweet accords of hearts and homes ,in ,thee are multiplied4 ,deep strike ,thy roots1 ,o heavenly ,vine1 ,within our earthly sod1 ,most human and yet most divine1 ,the flower of man and ,god6 ,o ,love6 ,o ,life6 ,our faith and sight ,thy presence maketh one ,as through transfigured clouds of white ,we trace the noon-day sun4 ,so1 to our mortal eyes subdued1 ,flesh-veiled1 but not concealed1 ,we know in ,thee the fatherhood ,and heart of ,god revealed4 ,we faintly hear1 we dimly see1 ,in differing phrase we pray2 ,but1 dim or clear1 we own in ,thee ,the ,light1 the ,truth1 the ,way6 ,the homage that we render ,thee ,is still our ,father's own2 ,no jealous claim or rivalry ,divides the ,cross and ,throne4 ,to do ,thy will is more than praise1 ,as words are less than deeds1 ,and simple trust can find ,thy ways ,we miss with chart of creeds4 ,no pride of self ,thy service hath1 ,no place for me and mine2 ,our human strength is weakness1 death ,our life1 apart from ,thine4 ,apart from ,thee all gain is loss1 ,all labor vainly done2 ,the solemn shadow of ,thy ,cross ,is better than the sun4 ,alone1 ,o ,love ineffable6 ,thy saving name is given2 ,to turn aside from ,thee is hell1 ,to walk with ,thee is heaven6 ,how vain1 secure in all ,thou art1 ,our noisy championship ,the sighing of the contrite heart ,is more than flattering lip4 ,not ,thine the bigot's partial plea1 ,nor ,thine the zealot's ban2 ,thou well canst spare a love of ,thee ,which ends in hate of man4 ,our ,friend1 our ,brother1 and our ,lord1 ,what may ,thy service be8-- ,nor name1 nor form1 nor ritual word1 ,but simply following ,thee4 ,we bring no ghastly holocaust1 ,we pile no graven stone2 ,he serves thee best who loveth most ,his brothers and ,thy own4 ,thy litanies1 sweet offices ,of love and gratitude2 ,thy sacramental liturgies1 ,the joy of doing good4 ,in vain shall waves of incense drift ,the vaulted nave around1 ,in vain the minster turret lift ,its brazen weights of sound4 ,the heart must ring ,thy ,christmas bells1 ,thy inward altars raise2 ,its faith and hope ,thy canticles1 ,and its obedience praise6 #ahff4 ,,the ,,meeting4 ,the two speakers in the meeting referred to in this poem were ,avis ,keene1 whose very presence was a benediction1 a woman lovely in spirit and person1 whose words seemed a message of love and tender concern to her hearers2 and ,sibyl ,jones1 whose inspired eloquence and rare spirituality impressed all who knew her4 ,in obedience to her apprehended duty she made visits of ,christian love to various parts of ,europe1 and to the ,west ,coast of ,africa and ,palestine4 ,the elder folks shook hands at last1 ,down seat by seat the signal passed4 ,to simple ways like ours unused1 ,half solemnized and half amused1 ,with long-drawn breath and shrug1 my guest ,his sense of glad relief expressed4 ,outside1 the hills lay warm in sun2 ,the cattle in the meadow-run ,stood half-leg deep2 a single bird ,the green repose above us stirred4 ,what part or lot have you1 he said1 ,in these dull rites of drowsy-head8 ,is silence worship8 ,seek it where ,it soothes with dreams the summer air1 ,not in this close and rude-benched hall1 ,but where soft lights and shadows fall1 ,and all the slow1 sleep-walking hours ,glide soundless over grass and flowers6 ,from time and place and form apart1 ,its holy ground the human heart1 ,nor ritual-bound nor templeward ,walks the free spirit of the ,lord6 ,our common ,master did not pen ,his followers up from other men2 ,his service liberty indeed1 ,he built no church1 ,he framed no creed2 ,but while the saintly ,pharisee ,made broader his phylactery1 ,as from the synagogue was seen ,the dusty-sandalled ,nazarene ,through ripening cornfields lead the way ,upon the awful ,sabbath day1 ,his sermons were the healthful talk ,that shorter made the mountain-walk1 ,his wayside texts were flowers and birds1 ,where mingled with ,his gracious words ,the rustle of the tamarisk-tree ,and ripple-wash of ,galilee4 ,thy words are well1 ,o friend1 ,i said2 ,unmeasured and unlimited1 ,with noiseless slide of stone to stone1 ,the mystic ,church of ,god has grown4 ,invisible and silent stands ,the temple never made with hands1 ,unheard the voices still and small ,of its unseen confessional4 ,he needs no special place of prayer ,whose hearing ear is everywhere2 ,he brings not back the childish days ,that ringed the earth with stones of praise1 ,roofed ,karnak's hall of gods1 and laid ,the plinths of ,phil e's colonnade4 ,still less ,he owns the selfish good ,and sickly growth of solitude1-- ,the worthless grace that1 out of sight1 ,flowers in the desert anchorite2 ,dissevered from the suffering whole1 ,love hath no power to save a soul4 ,not out of ,self1 the origin ,and native air and soil of sin1 ,the living waters spring and flow1 ,the trees with leaves of healing grow4 ,dream not1 ,o friend1 because ,i seek ,this quiet shelter twice a week1 ,i better deem its pine-laid floor ,than breezy hill or sea-sung shore2 ,but nature is not solitude ,she crowds us with her thronging wood2 ,her many hands reach out to us1 ,her many tongues are garrulous2 ,perpetual riddles of surprise ,she offers to our ears and eyes2 ,she will not leave our senses still1 ,but drags them captive at her will ,and1 making earth too great for heaven1 ,she hides the ,giver in the given4 ,and so1 ,i find it well to come ,for deeper rest to this still room1 ,for here the habit of the soul ,feels less the outer world's control2 ,the strength of mutual purpose pleads ,more earnestly our common needs2 ,and from the silence multiplied ,by these still forms on either side1 ,the world that time and sense have known ,falls off and leaves us ,god alone4 ,yet rarely through the charmed repose ,unmixed the stream of motive flows1 ,a flavor of its many springs1 ,the tints of earth and sky it brings2 ,in the still waters needs must be ,some shade of human sympathy2 ,and here1 in its accustomed place1 ,i look on memory's dearest face2 ,the blind by-sitter guesseth not ,what shadow haunts that vacant spot2 ,no eyes save mine alone can see ,the love wherewith it welcomes me6 ,and still1 with those alone my kin1 ,in doubt and weakness1 want and sin1 ,i bow my head1 my heart ,i bare ,as when that face was living there1 ,and strive 7too oft1 alas6 in vain7 ,the peace of simple trust to gain1 ,fold fancy's restless wings1 and lay ,the idols of my heart away4 ,welcome the silence all unbroken1 ,nor less the words of fitness spoken1-- ,such golden words as hers for whom ,our autumn flowers have just made room2 ,whose hopeful utterance through and through ,the freshness of the morning blew2 ,who loved not less the earth that light ,fell on it from the heavens in sight1 ,but saw in all fair forms more fair ,the ,eternal beauty mirrored there4 ,whose eighty years but added grace ,and saintlier meaning to her face1-- ,the look of one who bore away ,glad tidings from the hills of day1 ,while all our hearts went forth to meet ,the coming of her beautiful feet6 ,or haply hers1 whose pilgrim tread ,is in the paths where ,jesus led2 ,who dreams her childhood's ,sabbath dream ,by ,jordan's willow-shaded stream1 ,and1 of the hymns of hope and faith1 ,sung by the monks of ,nazareth1 ,hears pious echoes1 in the call ,to prayer1 from ,moslem minarets fall1 ,repeating where ,his works were wrought ,the lesson that her ,master taught1 ,of whom an elder ,sibyl gave1 ,the prophecies of ,cuma 's cave4 ,i ask no organ's soulless breath ,to drone the themes of life and death1 ,no altar candle-lit by day1 ,no ornate wordsman's rhetoric-play1 ,no cool philosophy to teach ,its bland audacities of speech ,to double-tasked idolaters ,themselves their gods and worshippers1 ,no pulpit hammered by the fist ,of loud-asserting dogmatist1 ,who borrows for the ,hand of love ,the smoking thunderbolts of ,jove4 ,i know how well the fathers taught1 ,what work the later schoolmen wrought2 ,i reverence old-time faith and men1 ,but ,god is near us now as then2 ,his force of love is still unspent1 ,his hate of sin as imminent2 ,and still the measure of our needs ,outgrows the cramping bounds of creeds2 ,the manna gathered yesterday ,already savors of decay2 ,doubts to the world's child-heart unknown ,question us now from star and stone2 ,too little or too much we know1 ,and sight is swift and faith is slow2 ,the power is lost to self-deceive ,with shallow forms of make-believe4 ,w e walk at high noon1 and the bells ,call to a thousand oracles1 ,but the sound deafens1 and the light ,is stronger than our dazzled sight2 ,the letters of the sacred ,book ,glimmer and swim beneath our look2 ,still struggles in the ,age's breast ,with deepening agony of quest ,the old entreaty3 ',art thou ,he1 ,or look we for the ,christ to be8' ,god should be most where man is least ,so1 where is neither church nor priest1 ,and never rag of form or creed ,to clothe the nakedness of need1-- ,where farmer-folk in silence meet1-- ,i turn my bell-unsummoned feet2' ,i lay the critic's glass aside1 ,i tread upon my lettered pride1 ,and1 lowest-seated1 testify ,to the oneness of humanity2 ,confess the universal want1 ,and share whatever ,heaven may grant4 ,he findeth not who seeks his own1 ,the soul is lost that's saved alone4 ,not on one favored forehead fell ,of old the fire-tongued miracle1 ,but flamed o'er all the thronging host ,the baptism of the ,holy ,ghost2 ,heart answers heart3 in one desire ,the blending lines of prayer aspire2 ',where1 in my name1 meet two or three1' ,our ,lord hath said1 ',i there will be6' ,so sometimes comes to soul and sense ,the feeling which is evidence ,that very near about us lies ,the realm of spiritual mysteries4 ,the sphere of the supernal powers ,impinges on this world of ours4 ,the low and dark horizon lifts1 ,to light the scenic terror shifts2 ,the breath of a diviner air ,blows down the answer of a prayer ,that all our sorrow1 pain1 and doubt ,a great compassion clasps about1 ,and law and goodness1 love and force1 ,are wedded fast beyond divorce4 ,then duty leaves to love its task1 ,the beggar ,self forgets to ask2 ,with smile of trust and folded hands1 ,the passive soul in waiting stands ,to feel1 as flowers the sun and dew1 ,the ,one true ,life its own renew4 ,so1 to the calmly gathered thought ,the innermost of truth is taught1 ,the mystery dimly understood1 ,that love of ,god is love of good1 ,and1 chiefly1 its divinest trace ,in ,him of ,nazareth's holy face2 ,that to be saved is only this1-- ,salvation from our selfishness1 ,from more than elemental fire1 ,the soul's unsanetified desire1 ,from sin itself1 and not the pain ,that warns us of its chafing chain2 ,that worship's deeper meaning lies ,in mercy1 and not sacrifice1 ,not proud humilities of sense ,and posturing of penitence1 ,but love's unforced obedience2 ,that ,book and ,church and ,day are given ,for man1 not ,god1--for earth1 not heaven1-- ,the blessed means to holiest ends1 ,not masters1 but benignant friends2 ,that the dear ,christ dwells not afar1 ,the king of some remoter star1 ,listening1 at times1 with flattered ear ,to homage wrung from selfish fear1 ,but here1 amidst the poor and blind1 ,the bound and suffering of our kind1 ,in works we do1 in prayers we pray1 ,life of our life1 ,he lives to-day4 #ahfh4 ,,the ,,clear ,,vision4 ,i did but dream4 ,i never knew ,what charms our sternest season wore4 ,was never yet the sky so blue1 ,was never earth so white before4 ,till now ,i never saw the glow ,of sunset on yon hills of snow1 ,and never learned the bough's designs ,of beauty in its leafless lines4 ,did ever such a morning break ,as that my eastern windows see8 ,did ever such a moonlight take ,weird photographs of shrub and tree8 ,rang ever bells so wild and fleet ,the music of the winter street8 ,was ever yet a sound by half ,so merry as you school-boy's laugh8 ,o ,earth6 with gladness overfraught1 ,no added charm thy face hath found2 ,within my heart the change is wrought1 ,my footsteps make enchanted ground4 ,from couch of pain and curtained room ,forth to thy light and air ,i come1 ,to find in all that meets my eyes ,the freshness of a glad surprise4 ,fair seem these winter days1 and soon ,shall blow the warm west-winds of spring1 ,to set the unbound rills in tune ,and hither urge the bluebird's wing4 ,the vales shall laugh in flowers1 the woods ,grow misty green with leafing buds1 ,and violets and wind-flowers sway ,against the throbbing heart of ,may4 ,break forth1 my lips1 in praise1 and own ,the wiser love severely kind2 ,since1 richer for its chastening grown1 ,i see1 whereas ,i once was blind4 ,the world1 ,o ,father6 hath not wronged ,with loss the life by ,thee prolonged2 ,but still1 with every added year1 ,more beautiful ,thy works appear6 ,as ,thou hast made thy world without1 ,make ,thou more fair my world within2 ,shine through its lingering clouds of doubt2 ,rebuke its haunting shapes of sin2 ,fill1 brief or long1 my granted span ,of life with love to thee and man2 ,strike when thou wilt the hour of rest1 ,but let my last days be my best6 #b;d mo41 #ahfh4 ,,divine ,,compassion4 ,long since1 a dream of heaven ,i had1 ,and still the vision haunts me oft2 ,i see the saints in white robes clad1 ,the martyrs with their palms aloft2 ,but hearing still1 in middle song1 ,the ceaseless dissonance of wrong2 ,and shrinking1 with hid faces1 from the strain ,of sad1 beseeching eyes1 full of remorse and pain4 ,the glad song falters to a wail1 ,the harping sinks to low lament2 ,before the still unlifted veil ,i see the crowned foreheads bent1 ,making more sweet the heavenly air1 ,with breathings of unselfish prayer2 ,and a ,voice saith3 ,o ,pity which is pain1 ,o ,love that weeps1 fill up my sufferings which remain6 ,shall souls redeemed by me refuse ,to share my sorrow in their turn8 ,or1 sin-forgiven1 my gift abuse ,of peace with selfish unconcern8 ,has saintly ease no pitying care8 ,has faith no work1 and love no prayer8 ,while sin remains1 and souls in darkness dwell1 ,can heaven itself be heaven1 and look unmoved on hell8 ,then through the ,gates of ,pain1 ,i dream1 ,a wind of heaven blows coolly in2 ,fainter the awful discords seem1 ,the smoke of torment grows more thin1 ,tears quench the burning soil1 and thence ,spring sweet1 pale flowers of penitence ,and through the dreary realm of man's despair1 ,star-crowned an angel walks1 and to6 ,god's hope is there6 ,is it a dream8 ,is heaven so high ,that pity cannot breathe its air8 ,its happy eyes forever dry1 ,its holy lips without a prayer6 ,my ,god6 my ,god6 if thither led ,by ,thy free grace unmerited1 ,no crown nor palm be mine1 but let me keep ,a heart that still can feel1 and eyes that still can weep4 #ahfh4 ,,the ,,prayer-,,seeker4 ,along the aisle where prayer was made1 ,a woman1 all in black arrayed1 ,close-veiled1 between the kneeling host1 ,with gliding motion of a ghost1 ,passed to the desk1 and laid thereon ,a scroll which bore these words alone1 ,pray for me6 ,back from the place of worshipping ,she glided like a guilty thing ,the rustle of her draperies1 stirred ,by hurrying feet1 alone was heard2 ,while1 full of awe1 the preacher read1 ,as out into the dark she sped3 ,pray for me6 ,back to the night from whence she came1 ,to unimagined grief or shame6 ,across the threshold of that door ,none knew the burden that she bore2 ,alone she left the written scroll1 ,the legend of a troubled soul1-- ,pray for me6 ,glide on1 poor ghost of woe or sin6 ,thou leav'st a common need within2 ,each bears1 like thee1 some nameless weight1 ,some misery inarticulate1 ,some secret sin1 some shrouded dread1 ,some household sorrow all unsaid4 ,pray for us6 ,pass on6 ,the type of all thou art1 ,sad witness to the common heart6 ,with face in veil and seal on lip1 ,in mute and strange companionship1 ,like thee we wander to and fro1 ,dumbly imploring as we go ,pray for us6 ,ah1 who shall pray1 since he who pleads ,our want perchance hath greater needs8 ,yet they who make their loss the gain ,of others shall not ask in vain1 ,and ,heaven bends low to hear the prayer ,of love from lips of self-despair ,pray for us6 ,in vain remorse and fear and hate ,beat with bruised bands against a fate ,whose walls of iron only move ,and open to the touch of love4 ,he only feels his burdens fall ,who1 taught by suffering1 pities all4 ,pray for us6 ,he prayeth best who leaves unguessed ,the mystery of another's breast4 ,why cheeks grow pale1 why eyes o'erflow1 ,or heads are white1 thou need'st not know4 ,enough to note by many a sign ,that every heart hath needs like thine4 ,pray for us6 #ahgj ,,the ,,brewing ,,of ,,soma4 ,these libations mixed with milk have been prepared for ,indra3 offer ,soma to the drinker of ,soma4 --,vashista1 translated by ,,max ,,muller4 ,the fagots blazed1 the caldron's smoke ,up through the green wood curled2 ,bring honey from the hollow oak1 ,bring milky sap1 the brewers spoke1 ,in the childhood of the world4 ,and brewed they well or brewed they ill1 ,the priests thrust in their rods1 ,first tasted1 and then drank their fill1 ,and shouted1 with one voice and will1 ,behold the drink of gods6 ,they drank1 and to6 in heart and brain ,a new1 glad life began2 ,the gray of hair grew young again1 ,the sick man laughed away his pain1 ,the cripple leaped and ran4 ,drink1 mortals1 what the gods have sent1 ,forget your long annoy4 ,so sang the priests4 ,from tent to tent ,the ,soma's sacred madness went1 ,a storm of drunken joy4 ,then knew each rapt inebriate ,a winged and glorious birth1 ,soared upward1 with strange joy elate1 ,beat1 with dazed head1 ,varuna's gate1 ,and1 sobered1 sank to earth4 ,the land with ,soma's praises rang2 ,on ,gihon's banks of shade ,its hymns the dusky maidens sang2 ,in joy of life or mortal pang ,all men to ,soma prayed4 ,the morning twilight of the race ,sends down these matin psalms2 ,and still with wondering eyes we trace ,the simple prayers to ,soma's grace1 ,that ,vedic verse embalms4 ,as in that child-world's early year1 ,each after age has striven ,by music1 incense1 vigils drear1 ,and trance1 to bring the skies more near1 ,or lift men up to heaven6 ,some fever of the blood and brain1 ,some self-exalting spell1 ,the scourger's keen delight of pain1 ,the ,dervish dance1 the ,orphic strain1 ,the wild-haired ,bacchant's yell1-- ,the desert's hair-grown hermit sunk ,the saner brute below2 ,the naked ,santon1 hashish-drunk1 ,the cloister madness of the monk1 ,the fakir's torture-show6 ,and yet the past comes round again1 ,and new doth old fulfil2 ,in sensual transports wild as vain ,we brew in many a ,christian fane ,the heathen ,soma still6 ,dear ,lord and ,father of mankind1 ,forgive our foolish ways6 ,reclothe us in our rightful mind1 ,in purer lives ,thy service find1 ,in deeper reverence1 praise4 ,in simple trust like theirs who heard ,beside the ,syrian sea ,the gracious calling of the ,lord1 ,let us1 like them1 without a word1 ,rise up and follow ,thee4 ,o ,sabbath rest by ,galilee6 ,o calm of hills above1 ,where ,jesus knelt to share with ,thee ,the silence of eternity ,interpreted by love6 ,with that deep hush subduing all ,our words and works that drown ,the tender whisper of ,thy call1 ,as noiseless let ,thy blessing fall ,as fell ,thy manna down4 ,drop ,thy still dews of quietness1 ,till all our strivings cease2 ,take from our souls the strain and stress1 ,and let our ordered lives confess ,the beauty of ,thy peace4 ,breathe through the heats of our desire ,thy coolness and ,thy balm2 ,let sense be dumb1 let flesh retire2 ,speak through the earthquake1 wind1 and fire1 ,o still1 small voice of calm6 #ahgb4 ,a ,,woman4 ,oh1 dwarfed and wronged1 and stained with ill1 ,behold6 thou art a woman still6 ,and1 by that sacred name and dear1 ,i bid thy better self appear4 ,still1 through thy foul disguise1 ,i see ,the rudimental purity1 ,that1 spite of change and loss1 makes good ,thy birthright-claim of womanhood2 ,an inward loathing1 deep1 intense2 ,a shame that is half innocence4 ,cast off the grave-clothes of thy sin6 ,rise from the dust thou liest in1 ,as ,mary rose at ,jesus' word1 ,redeemed and white before the ,lord6 ,reclairn thy lost soul6 ,in ,his name1 ,rise up1 and break thy bonds of shame4 ,art weak8 ,he 's strong4 ,art fearful8 ,hear ,the world's ,o'ercomer3 ,be of cheer6 ,what lip shall judge when ,he approves8 ,who dare to scorn the child ,he loves8 ,,the ,,prayer ,,of ,,agassiz4 ,the island of ,penikese in ,buzzard's ,bay was given by ,mr4 ,john ,anderson to ,agassiz for the uses of a summer school of natural history4 ,a large barn was cleared and improvised as a lecture-room4 ,here1 on the first morning of the school1 all the company was gathered4 ,agassiz had arranged no programme of exercises1 says ,mrs4 ,agassiz1 in ,louis ,agassiz2 his ,life and ,correspondence1 trusting to the interest of the occasion to suggest what might best be said or done4 ,but1 as he looked upon his pupils gathered there to study nature with him1 by an impulse as natural as it was unpremeditated1 he called upon then to join in silently asking ,god's blessing on their work together4 ,the pause was broken by the first words of an address no less fervent than its unspoken prelude4 ,this was in the summer of #ahgc1 and ,agassiz died the ,december following4 ,on the isle of ,penikese1 ,ringed about by sapphire seas1 ,fanned by breezes salt and cool1 ,stood the ,master with his school4 ,over sails that not in vain ,wooed the west-wind's steady strain1 ,line of coast that low and far ,stretched its undulating bar1 ,wings aslant along the rim ,of the waves they stooped to skim1 ,rock and isle and glistening bay1 ,fell the beautiful white day4 ,said the ,master to the youth ,we have come in search of truth1 ,trying with uncertain key ,door by door of mystery2 ,we are reaching1 through ,his laws1 ,to the garment-hem of ,cause1 ,him1 the endless1 unbegun1 ,the ,unnamable1 the ,one ,light of all our light the ,source1 ,life of life1 and ,force of force4 ,as with fingers of the blind1 ,we are groping here to find ,what the hieroglyphics mean ,of the ,unseen in the seen1 ,what the ,thought which underlies ,nature's masking and disguise1 ,what it is that hides beneath ,blight and bloom and birth and death4 ,by past efforts unavailing1 ,doubt and error1 loss and failing1 ,of our weakness made aware1 ,on the threshold of our task ,let us light and guidance ask1 ,let us pause in silent prayer6 ,then the ,master in his place ,bowed his head a little space1 ,and the leaves by soft airs stirred1 ,lapse of wave and cry of bird1 ,left the solemn hush unbroken ,of that wordless prayer unspoken1 ,while its wish1 on earth unsaid1 ,rose to heaven interpreted4 ,as1 in life's best hours1 we hear ,by the spirit's finer ear ,his low voice within us1 thus ,the ,all-,father heareth us2 ,and ,his holy ear we pain ,with our noisy words and vain4 ,not for ,him our violence ,storming at the gates of sense1 ,his the primal language1 ,his ,the eternal silences6 ,even the careless heart was moved1 ,and the doubting gave assent1 ,with a gesture reverent1 ,to the ,master well-beloved4 ,as thin mists are glorified ,by the light they cannot hide1 ,all who gazed upon him saw1 ,through its veil of tender awe1 ,how his face was still uplit ,by the old sweet look of it4 ,hopeful1 trustful1 full of cheer1 ,and the love that casts out fear4 ,who the secret may declare ,of that brief1 unuttered prayer8 ,did the shade before him come ,of th' inevitable doom1 ,of the end of earth so near1 ,and ,eternity's new year8 ,in the lap of sheltering seas ,rests the isle of ,penikese2 ,but the lord of the domain ,comes not to his own again ,where the eyes that follow fail1 ,on a vaster sea his sail ,drifts beyond our beck and hail4 ,other lips within its bound ,shall the laws of life expound2 ,other eyes from rock and shell ,read the world's old riddles well ,but when breezes light and bland ,blow from ,summer's blossomed land1 ,when the air is glad with wings1 ,and the blithe song-sparrow sings1 ,many an eye with his still face ,shall the living ones displace1 ,many an ear the word shall seek ,he alone could fitly speak4 ,and one name forevermore ,shall be uttered o'er and o'er ,by the waves that kiss the shore1 ,by the curlew's whistle sent ,down the cool1 sea-scented air2 ,in all voices known to her1 ,nature owns her worshipper1 ,half in triumph1 half lament4 ,thither ,love shall tearful turn1 ,friendship pause uncovered there1 ,and the wisest reverence learn ,from the ,master's silent prayer4 #ahgc4 ,,in ,,quest ,have ,i not voyaged1 friend beloved1 with thee ,on the great waters of the unsounded sea1 ,momently listening with suspended oar ,for the low rote of waves upon a shore ,changeless as heaven1 where never fog-cloud drifts ,over its windless wood1 nor mirage lifts ,the steadfast hills2 where never birds of doubt ,sing to mislead1 and every dream dies out1 ,and the dark riddles which perplex us here ,in the sharp solvent of its light are clear8 ,thou knowest how vain our quest2 how1 soon or late1 ,the baffling tides and circles of debate ,swept back our bark unto its starting-place1 ,where1 looking forth upon the blank1 gray space1 ,and round about us seeing1 with sad eyes1 ,the same old difficult hills and cloud-cold skies1 ,we said3 ,this outward search availeth not ,to find ,him4 ,he is farther than we thought1 ,or1 haply1 nearer4 ,to this very spot ,whereon we wait1 this commonplace of home1 ,as to the well of ,jacob1 ,he may come ,and tell us all things4 ,as ,i listened there1 ,through the expectant silences of prayer1 ,somewhat ,i seemed to hear1 which hath to me ,been hope1 strength1 comfort1 and ,i give it thee4 ,the riddle of the world is understood ,only by him who feels that ,god is good1 ,as only he can feel who makes his love ,the ladder of his faith1 and climbs above ,on th' rounds of his best instincts2 draws no line ,between mere human goodness and divine1 ,but1 judging ,god by what in him is best1 ,with a child's trust leans on a ,father's breast1 ,and hears unmoved the old creeds babble still ,of kingly power and dread caprice of will1 ,chary of blessing1 prodigal of curse1 ,the pitiless doomsman of the universe4 ,can ,hatred ask for love8 ,can ,selfishness ,invite to self-denial8 ,is ,he less ,than man in kindly dealing8 ,can ,he break ,his own great law of fatherhood1 forsake ,and curse ,his children8 ,not for earth and heaven ,can separate tables of the law be given4 ,no rule can bind which ,he himself denies2 ,the truths of time are not eternal lies4 ,so heard ,i2 and the chaos round me spread ,to light and order grew2 and1 ,lord1 ,i said1 ,our sins are our tormentors1 worst of all ,felt in distrustful shame that dares not call ,upon ,thee as our ,father4 ,we have set ,a strange god up1 but ,thou remainest yet4 ,all that ,i feel of pity ,thou hast known ,before ,i was2 my best is all ,thy own4 ,from ,thy great heart of goodness mine but drew ,wishes and prayers2 but ,thou1 ,o ,lord1 wilt do1 ,in ,thy own time1 by ways ,i cannot see1 ,all that ,i feel when ,i am nearest ,thee6 #ahgc4 ,,the ,,friend',s ,,burial4 ,my thoughts are all in yonder town1 ,where1 wept by many tears1 ,to-day my mother's friend lays down ,the burden of her years4 ,true as in life1 no poor disguise ,of death with her is seen1 ,and on her simple casket lies ,no wreath of bloom and green4 ,oh1 not for her the florist's art1 ,the mocking weeds of woe2 ,dear memories in each mourner's heart ,like heaven's white lilies blow4 ,and all about the softening air ,of new-born sweetness tells1 ,and the ungathered ,may-flowers wear ,the tints of ocean shells4 ,the old1 assuring miracle ,is fresh as heretofore2 ,and earth takes up its parable ,of life from death once more4 ,here organ-swell and church-bell toll ,methinks but discord were2 ,the prayerful silence of the soul ,is best befitting her4 ,no sound should break the quietude ,alike of earth and sky ,o wandering wind in ,seabrook wood1 ,breathe but a half-heard sigh6 ,sing softly1 spring-bird1 for her sake2 ,and thou not distant sea1 ,lapse lightly as if ,jesus spake1 ,and thou wert ,galilee6 ,for all her quiet life flowed on ,as meadow streamlets flow1 ,where fresher green reveals alone ,the noiseless ways they go4 ,from her loved place of prayer ,i see ,the plain-robed mourners pass1 ,with slow feet treading reverently ,the graveyard's springing grass4 ,make room1 ,o mourning ones1 for me1 ,where1 like the friends of ,paul1 ,that you no more her face shall see ,you sorrow most of all4 ,her path shall brighten more and more ,unto the perfect day2 ,she cannot fail of peace who bore ,such peace with her away4 ,o sweet1 calm face that seemed to wear ,the look of sins forgiven6 ,o voice of prayer that seemed to bear ,our own needs up to heaven6 ,how reverent in our midst she stood1 ,or knelt in grateful praise6 ,what grace of ,christian womanhood ,was in her household ways6 ,for still her holy living meant ,no duty left undone2 ,the heavenly and the human blent ,their kindred loves in one4 ,and if her life small leisure found ,for feasting ear and eye1 ,and ,pleasure1 on her daily round1 ,she passed unpausing by1 ,yet with her went a secret sense ,of all things sweet and fair1 ,and ,beauty's gracious providence ,refreshed her unaware4 ,she kept her line of rectitude ,with love's unconscious ease2 ,her kindly instincts understood ,all gentle courtesies4 ,an inborn charm of graciousness ,made sweet her smile and tone1 ,and glorified her farm-wife dress ,with beauty not its own4 ,the dear ,lord's best interpreters ,are humble human souls2 ,the ,gospel of a life like hers ,is more than books or scrolls4 ,from scheme and creed the light goes out1 ,the saintly fact survives2 ,the blessed ,master none can doubt ,revealed in holy lives4 #ahgc4 ,a ,,christmas ,,carmen4 ,i4 ,sound over all waters1 reach out from all lands1 ,the chorus of voices1 the clasping of hands2 ,sing hymns that were sung by the stars of the morn1 ,sing songs of the angels when ,jesus was born6 ,with glad jubilations ,bring hope to the nations ,the dark night is ending and dawn has begun ,rise1 hope of the ages1 arise like the sun1 ,all speech flow to music1 all hearts beat as one6 ,,ii4 ,sing the bridal of nations6 with chorals of love ,sing out the war-vulture and sing in the dove1 ,till the hearts of the peoples keep time in accord1 ,and the voice of the world is the voice of the ,lord6 ,clasp hands of the nations ,in strong gratulations3 ,the dark night is ending and dawn has begun2 ,rise1 hope of the ages1 arise like the sun1 ,all speech flow to music1 all hearts beat as one6 ,,iii4 ,blow1 bugles of battle1 the marches of peace2 ,east1 west1 north1 and south let the long quarrel cease ,sing the song of great joy that the angels began1 ,sing of glory to ,god and of good-will to man6 ,hark6 joining in chorus ,the heavens bend o'er us' ,the dark night is ending and dawn has begun2 ,rise1 hope of the ages1 arise like the sun1 ,all speech flow to music1 all hearts beat as one6 #ahgc4 ,,vesta4 ,o ,christ of ,god6 whose life and death ,our own have reconciled1 ,most quietly1 most tenderly ,take home ,thy star-named child6 ,thy grace is in her patient eyes1 ,thy words are on her tongue2 ,the very silence round her seems ,as if the angels sung4 ,her smile is as a listening child's ,who hears its mother call2 ,the lilies of ,thy perfect peace ,about her pillow fall4 ,she leans from out our clinging arms ,to rest herself in ,thine2 ,alone to ,thee1 dear ,lord1 can we ,our well-beloved resign6 ,oh1 less for her than for ourselves ,we bow our heads and pray2 ,her setting star1 like ,bethlehem's1 ,to ,thee shall point the way6 #ahgd4 ,,child-,,songs4 ,still linger in our noon of time ,and on our ,saxon tongue ,the echoes of the home-born hymns ,the ,aryan mothers sung4 ,and childhood had its litanies ,in every age and clime2 ,the earliest cradles of the race ,were rocked to poet's rhyme4 ,nor sky1 nor wave1 nor tree1 nor flower1 ,nor green earth's virgin sod1 ,so moved the singer's heart of old ,as these small ones of ,god4 ,the mystery of unfolding life ,was more than dawning morn1 ,than opening flower or crescent moon ,the human soul new-born4 ,and still to childhood's sweet appeal ,the heart of genius turns1 ,and more than all the sages teach ,from lisping voices learns1-- ,the voices loved of him who sang1 ,where ,tweed and ,teviot glide1 ,that sound to-day on all the winds ,that blow from ,rydal-side1-- ,heard in the ,teuton's household songs1 ,and folk-lore of the ,finn1 ,where'er to holy ,christmas hearths ,the ,christ-child enters in6 ,before life's sweetest mystery still ,the heart in reverence kneels2 ,the wonder of the primal birth ,the latest mother feels4 ,we need love's tender lessons taught ,as only weakness can2 ,god hath ,his small interpreters2 ,the child must teach the man4 ,we wander wide through evil years1 ,our eyes of faith grow dim2 ,but he is freshest from ,his hands ,and nearest unto ,him6 ,and haply1 pleading long with ,him ,for sin-sick hearts and cold1 ,the angels of our childhood still ,the ,father's face behold4 ,of such the kingdom6--,teach ,thou us1 ,o-,master most divine1 ,to feel the deep significance ,of these wise words of ,thine6 ,the haughty eye shall seek in vain ,what innocence beholds2 ,no cunning finds the key of heaven1 ,no strength its gate unfolds4 ,alone to guilelessness and love ,that gate shall open fall2 ,the mind of pride is nothingness1 ,the childlike heart is all6 #ahge4 ,,the ,,healer4 ,,to ,a ,,young ,,physician1 ,,with ,,dore',s ,,picture ,,of ,,christ ,,healing ,,the ,,sick4 ,so stood of old the holy ,christ ,amidst the suffering throng2 ,with whom ,his lightest touch sufficed ,to make the weakest strong4 ,that healing gift ,he lends to them ,who use it in ,his name2 ,the power that filled ,his garment's hem ,is evermore the same4 ,for lo6 in human hearts unseen ,the ,healer dwelleth still1 ,and they who make ,his temples clean ,the best subserve ,his will4 ,the holiest task by ,heaven decreed1 ,an errand all divine1 ,the burden of our common need ,to render less is thine4 ,the paths of pain are thine4 ,go forth ,with patience1 trust1 and hope2 ,the sufferings of a sin-sick earth ,shall give thee ample scope4 ,beside the unveiled mysteries ,of life and death go stand1 ,with guarded lips and reverent eyes ,and pure of heart and hand4 ,so shalt thou be with power endued ,from ,him who went about ,the ,syrian hillsides doing good1 ,and casting demons out4 ,that ,good ,physician liveth yet ,thy friend and guide to be2 ,the ,healer by ,gennesaret ,shall walk the rounds with thee4 ,,the ,,two ,,angels4 ,god called the nearest angels who dwell with ,him above3 ,the tenderest one was ,pity1 the dearest one was ,love4 ,arise1 ,he said1 my angels6 a wail of woe and sin ,steals through the gates of heaven1 and saddens all within4 ,my harps take up the mournful strain that from a lost world swells1 ,the smoke of torment clouds the light and blights the asphodels4 ,fly downward to that under world1 and on its souls of pain ,let ,love drop smiles like sunshine1 and ,pity tears like rain6 ,two faces bowed before the ,throne1 veiled in their golden hair2 ,four white wings lessened swiftly down the dark abyss of air4 ,the way was strange1 the flight was long2 at last the angels came ,where swung the lost and nether world1 red-wrapped in rayless flame4 ,there ,pity1 shuddering1 wept2 but ,love1 with faith too strong for fear1 ,took heart from ,god's almightiness and smiled a smile of cheer4 ,and lo6 that tear of ,pity quenched the flame whereon it fell1 ,and1 with the sunshine of that smile1 hope entered into hell6 ,two unveiled faces full of joy looked upward to the ,throne1 ,four white wings folded at the feet of ,him who sat thereon6 ,and deeper than the sound of seas1 more soft than falling flake1 ,amidst the hush of wing and song the ,voice ,eternal spake3 ,welcome1 my angels6 ye have brought a holier joy to heaven2 ,henceforth its sweetest song shall be the song of sin forgiven6 #ahge4 ,,overruled4 ,the threads our hands in blindness spin ,no self-determined plan weaves in2 ,the shuttle of the unseen powers ,works out a pattern not as ours4 ,ah6 small the choice of him who sings ,what sound shall leave the smitten strings2 ,fate holds and guides the hand of art2 ,the singer's is the servant's part4 ,the wind-harp chooses not the tone ,that through its trembling threads is blown2 ,the patient organ cannot guess ,what hand its passive keys shall press4 ,through wish1 resolve1 and act1 our will ,is moved by undreamed forces still2 ,and no man measures in advance ,his strength with untried circumstance4 ,as streams take hue from shade and sun1 ,as runs the life the song must run2 ,but1 glad or sad1 to ,his good end ,god grant the varying notes may tend6 #ahgg4 ,,hymn ,,of ,,the ,,dunkers ,,kloster ,,kedar1 ,,ephrata1 ,,pennsylvania 7#agch7 ,,sister ,,maria ,,christina sings ,wake1 sisters1 wake6 the day-star shines2 ,above ,ephrata's eastern pines ,the dawn is breaking1 cool and calm4 ,wake1 sisters1 wake to prayer and psalm6 ,praised be the ,lord for shade and light1 ,for toil by day1 for rest by night6 ,praised be ,his name who deigns to bless ,our ,kedar of the wilderness6 ,our refuge when the spoiler's hand ,was heavy on our native land2 ,and freedom1 to her children due1 ,the wolf and vulture only knew4 ,we praised ,him when to prison led1 ,we owned ,him when the stake blazed red2 ,we knew1 whatever might befall1 ,his love and power were over all4 ,he heard our prayers2 with outstretched arm ,he led us forth from cruel harm2 ,still1 wheresoe'er our steps were bent1 ,his cloud and fire before us went6 ,the watch of faith and prayer ,he set1 ,we kept it then1 we keep it yet4 ,at midnight1 crow of cock1 or noon1 ,he cometh sure1 ,he cometh soon4 ,he comes to chasten1 not destroy1 ,to purge the earth from sin's alloy4 ,at last1 at last shall all confess ,his mercy as ,his righteousness4 ,the dead shall live1 the sick be whole1 ,the scarlet sin be white as wool2 ,no discord mar below1 above1 ,the music of eternal love6 ,sound1 welcome trump1 the last alarm6 ,lord ,god of hosts1 make bare thine arm1 ,fulfil this day our long desire1 ,make sweet and clean the world with fire6 ,sweep1 flaming besom1 sweep from sight ,the lies of time2 be swift to smite1 ,sharp sword of ,god1 all idols down1 ,genevan creed and ,roman crown4 ,quake1 earth1 through all thy zones1 till all ,the fanes of pride and priesteraft fall2 ,and lift thou up in place of them ,thy gates of pearl1 ,jerusalem6 ,lo6 rising from baptismal flame1 ,transfigured1 glorious1 yet the same1 ,within the heavenly city's bound ,our ,kloster ,kedar shall be found4 ,he cometh soon6 at dawn or noon ,or set of sun1 ,he cometh soon4 ,our prayers shall meet ,him on ,his way2 ,wake1 sisters1 wake6 arise and pray6 #ahgg4 ,,giving ,,and ,,taking4 ,i have attempted to put in ,english verse a prose translation of a poem by ,tinnevaluva1 a ,hindoo poet of the third century of our era4 ,who gives and hides the giving hand1 ,nor counts on favor1 fame1 or praise1 ,shall find his smallest gift outweighs ,the burden of the sea and land4 ,who gives to whom hath naught been given1 ,his gift in need1 though small indeed ,as is the grass-blade's wind-blown seed1 ,is large as earth and rich as heaven4 ,forget it not1 ,o man1 to whom ,a gift shall fall1 while yet on earth2 ,yea1 even to thy seven-fold birth ,recall it in the lives to come4 ,who broods above a wrong in thought ,sins much2 but greater sin is his ,who1 fed and clothed with kindnesses1 ,shall count the holy alms as nought4 ,who dares to curse the hands that bless ,shall know of sin the deadliest cost2 ,the patience of the heavens is lost ,beholding man's unthankfulness4 ,for he who breaks all laws may still ,in ,sivam's mercy be forgiven2 ,but none can save1 in earth or heaven1 ,the wretch who answers good with ill4 #ahgg4 ,,the ,,vision ,,of ,,echard4 ,the ,benedictine ,echard ,sat by the wayside well1 ,where ,marsberg sees the bridal ,of the ,sarre and the ,moselle4 ,fair with its sloping vineyards ,and tawny chestnut bloom1 ,the happy vale ,ausonius sunk ,for holy ,treves made room4 ,on the shrine ,helena builded ,to keep the ,christ coat well1 ,on minster tower and kloster cross1 ,the westering sunshine fell4 ,there1 where the rock-hewn circles ,o'erlooked the ,roman's game1 ,the veil of sleep fell on him1 ,and his thought a dream became4 ,he felt the heart of silence ,throb with a soundless word1 ,and by the inward ear alone ,a spirit's voice he heard4 ,and the spoken word seemed written ,on air and wave and sod1 ,and the bending walls of sapphire ,blazed with the thought of ,god4 ,what lack ,i1 ,o my children8 ,all things are in my band2 ,the vast earth and the awful stars ,i hold as grains of sand4 ,need ,i your alms8 ,the silver ,and gold are mine alone2 ,the gifts ye bring before me ,were evermore my own4 ,heed ,i the noise of viols1 ,your pomp of masque and show8 ,have ,i not dawns and sunsets ,have ,i not winds that blow8 ,do ,i smell your gums of incense8 ,is my ear with chantings fed8 ,taste ,i your wine of worship1 ,or eat your holy bread8 ,of rank and name and honors ,am ,i vain as ye are vain8 ,what can ,eternal ,fulness ,from your lip-service gain8 ,ye make me not your debtor ,who serve yourselves alone2 ,ye boast to me of homage ,whose gain is all your own4 ,for you ,i gave the prophets1 ,for you the ,psalmist's lay ,for you the law's stone tables1 ,and holy book and day4 ,ye change to weary burdens ,the helps that should uplift2 ,ye lose in form the spirit1 ,the ,giver in the gift4 ,who called ye to self-torment1 ,to fast and penance vain8 ,dream ye ,eternal ,goodness ,has joy in mortal pain8 ,for the death in life of ,nitria1 ,for your ,chartreuse ever dumb1 ,what better is the neighbor1 ,or happier the home8 ,who counts his brother's welfare ,as sacred as his own1 ,and loves1 forgives1 and pities1 ,he serveth me alone4 ,i note each gracious purpose1 ,each kindly word and deed2 ,are ye not all my children8 ,shall not the ,father heed8 ,no prayer for light and guidance ,is lost upon mine ear ,the child's cry in the darkness ,shall not the ,father hear8 ,i loathe your wrangling councils1 ,i tread upon your creeds2 ,who made ye mine avengers1 ,or told ye of my needs2 ,i bless men and ye curse them1 ,i love them and ye hate2 ,ye bite and tear each other1 ,i suffer long and wait4 ,ye bow to ghastly symbols1 ,to cross and scourge and thorn2 ,ye seek his ,syrian manger ,who in the heart is born4 ,for the dead ,christ1 not the living1 ,ye watch ,his empty grave1 ,whose life alone within you ,has power to bless and save4 ,o blind ones1 outward groping1 ,the idle quest forego2 ,who listens to ,his inward voice ,alone of ,him shall know4 ,his love all love exceeding ,the heart must needs recall1 ,its self-surrendering freedom1 ,its loss that gaineth all4 ,climb not the holy mountains1 ,their eagles know not me2 ,seek not the ,blessed ,islands1 ,i dwell not in the sea4 ,gone is the mount of ,meru1 ,the triple gods are gone1 ,and1 deaf to all the lama's prayers1 ,the ,buddha slumbers on4 ,no more from rocky ,horeb ,the smitten waters gush2 ,fallen is ,bethel's ladder1 ,quenched is the burning bush4 ,the jewels of the ,urim ,and ,thurnmim all are dim2 ,the fire has left the altar1 ,the sign the teraphim4 ,no more in ark or hill grove ,the ,holiest abides2 ,not in the scroll's dead letter ,the eternal secret hides4 ,the eye shall fail that searches ,for me the hollow sky2 ,the far is even as the near1 ,the low is as the high4 ,what if the earth is hiding ,her old faiths1 long outworn8 ,what is it to the changeless truth ,that yours shall fail in turn8 ,what if the o'erturned altar ,lays bare the ancient lie8 ,what if the dreams and legends ,of the world's childhood die8 ,have ye not still my witness ,within yourselves alway1 ,my hand that on the keys of life ,for bliss or bale ,i lay8 ,still1 in perpetual judgment1 ,i hold assize within1 ,with sure reward of holiness1 ,and dread rebuke of sin4 ,a light1 a guide1 a warning1 ,a presence ever near1 ,through the deep silence of the flesh ,i reach the inward ear4 ,my ,gerizim and ,ebal ,are in each human soul1 ,the still1 small voice of blessing1 ,and ,sinai's thunder-roll4 ,the stern behest of duty1 ,the doom-book open thrown1 ,the heaven ye seek1 the hell ye fear1 ,are with yourselves alone4 4 4 4 4 4 ,a gold and purple sunset ,flowed down the broad ,moselle2 ,on hills of vine and meadow lands ,the peace of twilight fell4 ,a slow1 cool wind of evening ,blew over leaf and bloom2 ,and1 faint and far1 the ,angelus ,rang from ,saint ,matthew's tomb4 ,then up rose ,master ,echard1 ,and marvelled3 ,can it be ,that here1 in dream and vision1 ,the ,lord hath talked with me8 ,he went his way2 behind him ,the shrines of saintly dead1 ,the holy coat and nail of cross1 ,he left unvisited4 ,he sought the vale of ,eltzbach ,his burdened soul to free1 ,where the foot-hills of the ,eifel ,are glassed in ,laachersee4 ,and1 in his ,order's kloster1 ,he sat1 in night-long parle1 ,with ,tauler of the ,friends of ,god1 ,and ,nicolas of ,basle4 ,and lo6 the twain made answer ,yea1 brother1 even thus ,the ,voice above all voices ,hath spoken unto us4 ,the world will have its idols1 ,and flesh and sense their sign ,but the blinded eyes shall open1 ,and the gross ear be fine4 ,what if the vision tarry8 ,god's time is always best2 ,the true ,light shall be witnessed1 ,the ,christ within confessed4 ,in mercy or in judgment ,he shall turn and overturn1 ,till the heart shall be ,his temple ,where all of ,him shall learn4 ,,inscriptions4 ,,on ,a ,,sun-,,dial4 ,,for ,,dr4 ,,henry ,i4 ,,bowditch4 ,with warning hand ,i mark ,time's rapid flight ,from life's glad morning to its solemn night2 ,yet1 through the dear ,god's love1 ,i also show ,there's ,light above me by the ,shade below4 #ahgi4 ,,on ,a ,,fountain4 ,,for ,,dorothea ,l4 ,,dix4 ,stranger and traveller1 ,drink freely and bestow ,a kindly thought on her ,who bade this fountain flow1 ,yet hath no other claim ,than as the minister ,of blessing in ,god's name4 ,drink1 and in ,his peace go #ahgi ,,the ,,minister',s ,,daughter4 ,in the minister's morning sermon ,he had told of the primal fall1 ,and how thenceforth the wrath of ,god ,rested on each and all4 ,and how of ,his will and pleasure1 ,all souls1 save a chosen few1 ,were doomed to the quenchless burning1 ,and held in the way thereto4 ,yet never by faith's unreason ,a saintlier soul was tried1 ,and never the harsh old lesson ,a tenderer heart belied4 ,and1 after the painful service ,on that pleasant ,sabbath day1 ,he walked with his little daughter ,through the apple-bloom of ,may4 ,sweet in the fresh green meadows ,sparrow and blackbird sung2 ,above him their tinted petals ,the blossoming orchards hung4 ,around on the wonderful glory ,the minister looked and smiled2 ,how good is the ,lord who gives us ,these gifts from ,his hand1 my child4 ,behold in the bloom of apples ,and the violets in the sward ,a hint of the old1 lost beauty ,of the ,garden of the ,lord6 ,then up spake the little maiden1 ,treading on snow and pink ,o father6 these pretty blossoms ,are very wicked1 ,i think4 ,had there been no ,garden of ,eden ,there never had been a fall2 ,and if never a tree had blossomed ,god would have loved us all4 ,hush1 child6 the father answered1 ,by ,his decree man fell2 ,his ways are in clouds and darkness1 ,but ,he doeth all things well4 ,and whether by ,his ordaining ,to us cometh good or ill1 ,joy or pain1 or light or shadow1 ,we must fear and love ,him still4 ,oh1 ,i fear ,him6 said the daughter1 ,and ,i try to love ,him1 too2 ,but ,i wish ,he was good and gentle1 ,kind and loving as you4 ,the minister groaned in spirit ,as the tremulous lips of pain ,and wide1 wet eyes uplifted ,questioned his own in vain4 ,bowing his head he pondered ,the words of the little one2 ,had he erred in his life-long teaching8 ,had he wrong to his ,master done8 ,to what grim and dreadful idol ,had he lent the holiest name8 ,did his own heart1 loving and human1 ,the ,god of his worship shame8 ,and lo6 from the bloom and greenness1 ,from the tender skies above1 ,and the face of his little daughter1 ,he read a lesson of love4 ,no more as the cloudy terror ,of ,sinai's mount of law1 ,but as ,christ in the ,syrian lilies ,the vision of ,god he saw4 ,and1 as when1 in the clefts of ,horeb1 ,of old was ,his presence known1 ,the dread ,ineffable ,glory ,was ,infinite ,goodness alone4 ,thereafter his hearers noted ,in his prayers a tenderer strain1 ,and never the gospel of hatred ,burned on his lips again4 ,and the scoffing tongue was prayerful1 ,and the blinded eyes found sight1 ,and hearts1 as flint aforetime1 ,grew soft in his warmth and light4 #ahhj4 ,,by ,,their ,,works4 ,call him not heretic whose works attest ,his faith in goodness by no creed confessed4 ,whatever in love's name is truly done ,to free the bound and lift the fallen one ,is done to ,christ4 ,whoso in deed and word ,is not against ,him labors for our ,lord4 ,when ,he1 who1 sad and weary1 longing sore ,for love's sweet service1 sought the sisters' door1 ,one saw the heavenly1 one the human guest1 ,but who shall say which loved the ,master best8 #ahha4 ,,the ,,word4 ,voice of the ,holy ,spirit1 making known ,man to himself1 a witness swift and sure1 ,warning1 approving1 true and wise and pure1 ,counsel and guidance that misleadeth none6 ,by thee the mystery of life is read2 ,the picture-writing of the world's gray seers1 ,the myths and parables of the primal years1 ,whose letter kills1 by thee interpreted ,take healthful meanings fitted to our needs1 ,and in the soul's vernacular express ,the common law of simple righteousness4 ,hatred of cant and doubt of human creeds ,may well be felt3 the unpardonable sin ,is to deny the ,word of ,god within6 #ahha4 ,,the ,,book4 ,gallery of sacred pictures manifold1 ,a minster rich in holy effigies1 ,and bearing on entablature and frieze ,the hieroglyphic oracles of old4 ,along its transept aureoled martyrs sit2 ,and the low chancel side-lights half acquaint ,the eye with shrines of prophet1 bard1 and saint1 ,their age-dimmed tablets traced in doubtful writ6 ,but only when on form and word obscure ,falls from above the white supernal light ,we read the mystic characters aright1 ,and life informs the silent portraiture1 ,until we pause at last1 awe-held1 before ,the ,one ineffable ,face1 love1 wonder1 and adore4 #ahha ,,requirement4 ,we live by ,faith2 but ,faith is not the slave ,of text and legend4 ,reason's voice and ,god's1 ,nature's and ,duty's1 never are at odds4 ,what asks our ,father of ,his children1 save ,justice and mercy and humility1 ,a reasonable service of good deeds1 ,pure living1 tenderness to human needs1 ,reverence and trust1 and prayer for light to see ,the ,master's footprints in our daily ways8 ,no knotted scourge nor sacrificial knife1 ,but the calm beauty of an ordered life ,whose very breathing is unworded praise6-- ,a life that stands as all true lives have stood1 ,firm-rooted in the faith that ,god is ,good4 #ahha4 ,,help4 ,dream not1 ,o ,soul1 that easy is the task ,thus set before thee4 ,if it proves at length1 ,as well it may1 beyond thy natural strength1 ,faint not1 despair not4 ,as a child may ask ,a father1 pray the ,everlasting ,good ,for light and guidance midst the subtle snares ,of sin thick planted in life's thoroughfares1 ,for spiritual strength and moral hardihood2 ,still listening1 through the noise of time and sense1 ,to the still whisper of the ,inward ,word2 ,bitter in blame1 sweet in approval heard1 ,itself its own confirming evidence ,to health of soul a voice to cheer and please1 ,to guilt the wrath of the ,eumenides4 #ahha4 ,,utterance4 ,but what avail inadequate words to reach ,the innermost of ,truth8 ,who shall essay1 ,blinded and weak1 to point and lead the way1 ,or solve the mystery in familiar speech8 ,yet1 if it be that something not thy own1 ,some shadow of the ,thought to which our schemes1 ,creeds1 cult1 and ritual are at best but dreams1 ,is even to thy unworthiness made known1 ,thou mayst not hide what yet thou shouldst not dare ,to utter lightly1 lest on lips of thine ,the real seem false1 the beauty undivine4 ,so1 weighing duty in the scale of prayer1 ,give what seems given thee4 ,it may prove a seed ,of goodness dropped in fallow-grounds of need4 #ahha4 ,,oriental ,,maxims4 ,,paraphrase ,,of ,,sanscrit ,,translations4 ,,the ,,inward ,,judge4 ,from ,institutes of ,manu4 ,the soul itself its awful witness is4 ,say not in evil doing1 ,no one sees1 ,and so offend the conscious ,one within1 ,whose ear can hear the silences of sin4 ,ere they find voice1 whose eyes unsleeping see ,the secret motions of iniquity4 ,nor in thy folly say1 ,i am alone4 ,for1 seated in thy heart1 as on a throne1 ,the ancient ,judge and ,witness liveth still1 ,to note thy act and thought2 and as thy ill ,or good goes from thee1 far beyond thy reach1 ,the solemn ,doomsman's seal is set on each4 #ahgh4 ,,laying ,,up ,,treasure ,from the ,mahabharata4 ,before the ,ender comes1 whose charioteer ,is swift or slow ,disease1 lay up each year ,thy harvests of well-doing1 wealth that kings ,nor thieves can take away4 ,when all the things ,thou tallest thine1 goods1 pleasures1 honors fall1 ,thou in thy virtue shalt survive them all4 #ahha4 ,,conduct ,from the ,mahabharata4 ,heed how thou livest4 ,do no act by day ,which from the night shall drive thy peace away4 ,in months of sun so live that months of rain ,shall still be happy4 ,evermore restrain ,evil and cherish good1 so shall there be ,another and a happier life for thee4 #ahha4 ,,an ,,easter ,,flower ,,gift4 ,o dearest bloom the seasons know1 ,flowers of the ,resurrection blow1 ,our hope and faith restore2 ,and through the bitterness of death ,and loss and sorrow1 breathe a breath ,of life forevermore6 ,the thought of ,love ,immortal blends ,with fond remembrances of friends2 ,in you1 ,o sacred flowers1 ,by human love made doubly sweet1 ,the heavenly and the earthly meet1 ,the heart of ,christ and ours6 #ahhb4 ,,the ,,mystic',s ,,christmas4 ,all hail6 the bells of ,christmas rang1 ,all hail6 the monks at ,christmas sang1 ,the merry monks who kept with cheer ,the gladdest day of all their year4 ,but still apart1 unmoved thereat1 ,a pious elder brother sat ,silent1 in his accustomed place1 ,with ,god's sweet peace upon his face4 ,why sitt'st thou thus8 his brethren cried4 ,it is the blessed ,christmas-tide2 ,the ,christmas lights are all aglow1 ,the sacred lilies bud and blow4 ,above our heads the joy-bells ring1 ,without the happy children sing1 ,and all ,god's creatures hail the morn ,on which the holy ,christ was born6 ,rejoice with us2 no more rebuke ,our gladness with thy quiet look4 ,the gray monk answered3 ,keep1 ,i pray1 ,even as ye list1 the ,lord's birthday4 ,let heathen ,yule fires flicker red ,where thronged refectory feasts are spread2 ,with mystery-play and masque and mime ,and wait-songs speed the holy time6 ,the blindest faith may haply save2 ,the ,lord accepts the things we have2 ,and reverence1 howsoe'er it strays1 ,may find at last the shining ways4 ,they needs must grope who cannot see1 ,the blade before the ear must be2 ,as ye are feeling ,i have felt1 ,and where ye dwell ,i too have dwelt4 ,but now1 beyond the things of sense1 ,beyond occasions and events1 ,i know1 through ,god's exceeding grace1 ,release from form and time and place4 ,i listen1 from no mortal tongue1 ,to hear the song the angels sung2 ,and wait within myself to know ,the ,christmas lilies bud and blow4 ,the outward symbols disappear ,from him whose inward sight is clear2 ,and small must be the choice of clays ,to him who fills them all with praise6 ,keep while you need it1 brothers mine1 ,with honest zeal your ,christmas sign1 ,but judge not him who every morn ,feels in his heart the ,lord ,christ born6 #ahhb4 ,,at ,,last4 ,when on my day of life the night is falling1 ,and1 in the winds from unsunned spaces blown1 ,i hear far voices out of darkness calling ,my feet to paths unknown1 ,thou who hast made my home of life so pleasant1 ,leave not its tenant when its walls decay2 ,o ,love ,divine1 ,o ,helper ever present1 ,be ,thou my strength and stay6 ,be near me when all else is from me drifting ,earth1 sky1 home's pictures1 days of shade and shine1 ,and kindly faces to my own uplifting ,the love which answers mine4 ,i have but ,thee1 my ,father6 let ,thy spirit ,be with me then to comfort and uphold2 ,no gate of pearl1 no branch of palm ,i merit1 ,nor street of shining gold4 ,suffice it if--my good and ill unreckoned1 ,and both forgiven through ,thy abounding grace-- ,i find myself by hands familiar beckoned ,unto my fitting place4 ,some humble door among ,thy many mansions1 ,some sheltering shade where sin and striving cease1 ,and flows forever through heaven's green expansions ,the river of ,thy peace4 ,there1 from the music round about me stealing1 ,i fain would learn the new and holy song1 ,and find at last1 beneath ,thy trees of healing1 ,the life for which ,i long4 #ahhb ,,what ,,the ,,traveller ,,said ,,at ,,sunset4 ,the shadows grow and deepen round me1 ,i feel the deffall in the air2 ,the muezzin of the darkening thicket1 ,i hear the night-thrush call to prayer4 ,the evening wind is sad with farewells1 ,and loving hands unclasp from mine2 ,alone ,i go to meet the darkness ,across an awful boundary-line4 ,as from the lighted hearths behind me ,i pass with slow1 reluctant feet1 ,what waits me in the land of strangeness8 ,what face shall smile1 what voice shall greet8 ,what space shall awe1 what brightness blind me8 ,what thunder-roll of music stun8 ,what vast processions sweep before me ,of shapes unknown beneath the sun8 ,i shrink from unaccustomed glory1 ,i dread the myriad-voiced strain2 ,give me the unforgotten faces1 ,and let my lost ones speak again4 ,he will not chide my mortal yearning ,who is our ,brother and our ,friend2 ,in whose full life1 divine and human1 ,the heavenly and the earthly blend4 ,mine be the joy of soul-communion1 ,the sense of spiritual strength renewed1 ,the reverence for the pure and holy1 ,the dear delight of doing good4 ,no fitting ear is mine to listen ,an endless anthem's rise and fall2 ,no curious eye is mine to measure ,the pearl gate and the jasper wall4 ,for love must needs be more than knowledge3 ,what matter if ,i never know ,why ,aldebaran's star is ruddy1 ,or warmer ,sirius white as snow6 ,forgive my human words1 ,o ,father6 ,i go ,thy larger truth to prove2 ,thy mercy shall transcend my longing ,i seek but love1 and ,thou art ,love6 ,i go to find my lost and mourned for ,safe in ,thy sheltering goodness still1 ,and all that hope and faith foreshadow ,made perfect in ,thy holy will6 #ahhc4 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,ida4 ,francesca ,alexander1 whose pen and pencil have so reverently transcribed the simple faith and life of the ,italian peasantry1 wrote the narrative published with ,john ,ruskin's introduction under the title1 ,the ,story of ,ida4 ,weary of jangling noises never stilled1 ,the skeptic's sneer1 the bigot's hate1 the din ,of clashing texts1 the webs of creed men spin ,round simple truth1 the children grown who build ,with gilded cards their new ,jerusalem1 ,busy1 with sacerdotal tailorings ,and tinsel gauds1 bedizening holy things1 ,i turn1 with glad and grateful heart1 from them ,to the sweet story of the ,florentine ,immortal in her blameless maidenhood1 ,beautiful as ,god's angels and as good2 ,feeling that life1 even now1 may be divine ,with love no wrong can ever change to hate1 ,no sin make less than all-compassionate6 #ahhd4 ,,the ,,light ,,that ,,is ,,felt4 ,a tender child of summers three1 ,seeking her little bed at night1 ,paused on the dark stair timidly4 ,oh1 mother6 ,take my hand1 said she1 ,and then the dark will all be light4 ,we older children grope our way ,from dark behind to dark before2 ,and only when our hands we lay1 ,dear ,lord1 in ,thine1 the night is day1 ,and there is darkness nevermore4 ,reach downward to the sunless days ,wherein our guides are blind as we1 ,and faith is small and hope delays2 ,take ,thou the hands of prayer we raise1 ,and let us feel the light of ,thee6 #ahhd4 ,,the ,,two ,,loves ,smoothing soft the nestling head ,of a maiden fancy-led1 ,thus a grave-eyed woman said3 ,richest gifts are those we make1 ,dearer than the love we take ,that we give for love's own sake4 ,well ,i know the heart's unrest2 ,mine has been the common quest1 ,to be loved and therefore blest4 ,favors undeserved were mine2 ,at my feet as on a shrine ,love has laid its gifts divine4 ,sweet the offerings seemed1 and yet ,with their sweetness came regret1 ,and a sense of unpaid debt4 ,heart of mine unsatisfied1 ,was it vanity or pride ,that a deeper joy denied8 ,hands that ope but to receive ,empty close2 they only live ,richly who can richly give4 ,still1 she sighed1 with moistening eyes1 ,love is sweet in any guise2 ,but its best is sacrifice6 ,he who1 giving1 does not crave ,likest is to ,him who gave ,life itself the loved to save4 ,love1 that self-forgetful gives1 ,sows surprise of ripened sheaves1 ,late or soon its own receives4 #ahhd4 ,,adjustment4 ,the tree of ,faith its bare1 dry boughs must shed ,that nearer heaven the living ones may climb2 ,the false must fail1 though from our shores of time ,the old lament be heard1 ,great ,pan is dead6 ,that wail is ,error's1 from his high place hurled2 ,this sharp recoil is ,evil undertrod2 ,our time's unrest1 an angel sent of ,god ,troubling with life the waters of the world4 ,even as they list the winds of the ,spirit blow ,to turn or break our century-rusted vanes2 ,sands shift and waste2 the rock alone remains ,where1 led of ,heaven1 the strong tides come and go1 ,and storm-clouds1 rent by thunderbolt and wind1 ,leave1 free of mist1 the permanent stars behind4 ,therefore ,i trust1 although to outward sense ,both true and false seem shaken2 ,i will hold ,with newer light my reverence for the old1 ,and calmly wait the births of ,providence4 ,no gain is lost2 the clear-eyed saints look down ,untroubled on the wreck of schemes and creeds2 ,love yet remains1 its rosary of good deeds ,counting in task-field and o'erpeopled town2 ,truth has charmed life2 the ,inward ,word survives1 ,and1 day by day1 its revelation brings2 ,faith1 hope1 and charity1 whatsoever things ,which cannot be shaken1 stand4 ,still holy lives ,reveal the ,christ of whom the letter told1 ,and the new gospel verifies the old4 #ahhe4 ,,hymns ,,of ,,the ,,brahmo ,,somaj4 ,i have attempted this paraphrase of the ,hymns of the ,brahmo ,somaj of ,india1 as ,i find them in ,mozoomdar's account of the devotional exercises of that remarkable religious development which has attracted far less attention and sympathy from the ,christian world than it deserves1 as a fresh revelation of the direct action of the ,divine ,spirit upon the human heart4 ,i4 ,the mercy1 ,o ,eternal ,one6 ,by man unmeasured yet1 ,in joy or grief1 in shade or sun1 ,i never will forget4 ,i give the whole1 and not a part1 ,of all ,thou gayest me2 ,my goods1 my life1 my soul and heart1 ,i yield them all to ,thee6 ,,ii4 ,we fast and plead1 we weep and pray1 ,from morning until even2 ,we feel to find the holy way1 ,we knock at the gate of heaven ,and when in silent awe we wait1 ,and word and sign forbear1 ,the hinges of the golden gate ,move1 soundless1 to our prayer6 ,who hears the eternal harmonies ,can heed no outward word2 ,blind to all else is he who sees ,the vision of the ,lord6 ,,iii4 ,o soul1 be patient1 restrain thy tears1 ,have hope1 and not despair2 ,as a tender mother heareth her child ,god hears the penitent prayer4 ,and not forever shall grief be thine2 ,on the ,heavenly ,mother's breast1 ,washed clean and white in the waters of joy ,shall ,his seeking child find rest4 ,console thyself with ,his word of grace1 ,and cease thy wail of woe1 ,for ,his mercy never an equal hath1 ,and ,his love no bounds can know4 ,lean close unto ,him in faith and hope2 ,how many like thee have found ,in ,him a shelter and home of peace1 ,by ,his mercy compassed round6 ,there1 safe from sin and the sorrow it brings1 ,they sing their grateful psalms1 ,and rest1 at noon1 by the wells of ,god1 ,in the shade of ,his holy palms6 #ahhe4 ,,revelation4 ,and ,i went into the ,vale of ,beavor1 and as ,i went ,i preached repentance to the people4 ,and one morning1 sitting by the fire1 a great cloud came over me1 and a temptation beset me4 ,and it was said3 ,all things come by ,nature2 and the ,elements and the ,stars came over me4 ,and as ,i sat still and let it alone1 a living hope arose in me1 and a true ,voice which said3 ,there is a living ,god who made all things4 ,and immediately the cloud and the temptation vanished1 and ,life rose over all1 and my heart was glad and ,i praised the ,living ,god4--,journal of ,george ,fox1 #afij4 ,still1 as of old1 in ,beavor's ,vale1 ,o man of ,god6 our hope and faith ,the ,elements and ,stars assail1 ,and the awed spirit holds its breath1 ,blown over by a wind of death4 ,takes ,nature thought for such as we1 ,what place her human atom fills1 ,the weed-drift of her careless sea1 ,the mist on her unheeding hills8 ,what reeks she of our helpless wills8 ,strange god of ,force1 with fear1 not love1 ,its trembling worshipper6 ,can prayer ,reach the shut ear of ,fate1 or move ,unpitying ,energy to spare8 ,what doth the cosmic ,vastness care8 ,in vain to this dread ,unconcern ,for the ,all-,father's love we look2 ,in vain1 in quest of it1 we turn ,the storied leaves of ,nature's book1 ,the prints her rocky tablets took4 ,i pray for faith1 ,i long to trust2 ,i listen with my heart1 and hear ,a ,voice without a sound3 ,be just1 ,be true1 be merciful1 revere ,the ,word within thee3 ,god is near6 ,a light to sky and earth unknown ,pales all their lights3 a mightier force ,than theirs the powers of ,nature own1 ,and1 to its goal as at its source1 ,his ,spirit moves the ,universe4 ,believe and trust4 ,through stars and suns1 ,through life and death1 through soul and sense1 ,his wise1 paternal purpose runs2 ,the darkness of ,his providence ,is star-lit with benign intents4 ,o joy supreme6 ,i know the ,voice1 ,like none beside on earth or sea2 ,yea1 more1 ,o soul of mine1 rejoice1 ,by all that ,he requires of me1 ,i know what ,god himself must be4 ,no picture to my aid ,i call1 ,i shape no image in my prayer2 ,i only know in ,him is all ,of life1 light1 beauty1 everywhere1 ,eternal ,goodness here and there6 ,i know ,he is1 and what ,he is1 ,whose one great purpose is the good ,of all4 ,i rest my soul on ,his ,immortal ,love and ,fatherhood2 ,and trust ,him1 as ,his children should4 ,i fear no more4 ,the clouded face ,of ,nature smiles2 through all her things ,of time and space and sense ,i trace ,the moving of the ,spirit's wings1 ,and hear the song of hope she sings4 #ahhf