THE BURNING OF THE LAW
87
Moses; and Aaron in the Mountain Hor;
I will of them inquire:
Is there another to replace this Law
Devoured of fire?
O thou third month most sacred! woe is me
For treason of the fourth,
Which dimmed the sacred light that shone from thee
And kindled wrath;
And brake the tablets, yea, and still did rage:
And lo! the Law is burnt!
Ye sinful! is not this the twofold wage
Which ye have earnt?
Dismay hath seized upon my soul; how, then,
Can food be sweet to me,
When, O thou Law, I have beheld base men
Destroying thee?
