56
Not Understood
THE VILEST FIEND OF ALL.
“Oh, thou invisible spirit of wine, if thou hast no name to be known by, let us call thee devil.”—Othello.
FALSE spirit! take thy fiendish shape,
Thy name is demon, and not wine;
Durst thou cling to the purple grape,
Durst thou seek shelter ’neath the vine?
Nay, cling unto thy patron, Death,
And hide thee ’neath his blackest pall:
Throughout Creation’s length and breadth,
Thou art the vilest fiend of all.
Thy name is demon, and not wine;
Durst thou cling to the purple grape,
Durst thou seek shelter ’neath the vine?
Nay, cling unto thy patron, Death,
And hide thee ’neath his blackest pall:
Throughout Creation’s length and breadth,
Thou art the vilest fiend of all.
What are thy crimes? Go, ask the grave,
That, yawning, waits its lifeless clod
Thy murdered serf, thy poisoned slave,
A type, once, of the living God;
The shrieks within the maniac’s cell,
The chain clinks ’yond the prison’s wall,
The wails and groans of millions, tell
Thou art the vilest fiend of all.
That, yawning, waits its lifeless clod
Thy murdered serf, thy poisoned slave,
A type, once, of the living God;
The shrieks within the maniac’s cell,
The chain clinks ’yond the prison’s wall,
The wails and groans of millions, tell
Thou art the vilest fiend of all.
What are thy crimes? Yon soulless thing
Was once God’s image pure and fair;
Yea, fiend, as witnesses I’ll bring,
Lust, hatred, murder, and despair,
To prove thy guilt! The fiercest flame
That burns below when sinners fall,
Is fed by thee, remorse and shame
Proclaim thee, vilest fiend of all.
Was once God’s image pure and fair;
Yea, fiend, as witnesses I’ll bring,
Lust, hatred, murder, and despair,
To prove thy guilt! The fiercest flame
That burns below when sinners fall,
Is fed by thee, remorse and shame
Proclaim thee, vilest fiend of all.
