Page:Thalaba the Destroyer 1809 Vol 1 - Southey.djvu/32

I. 14

“The work of our own foolish hands;
“We worshipp’d in our foolishness.
“Vainly the Prophet’s voice
“Its frequent warning rais’d,
“Repent, and be forgiven!”…
“We mock’d the messenger of God,
“We mock’d the Lord, long-suffering, slow to wrath.

“A mighty work the pride of Shedad plann’d,
“Here in the wilderness to form
“A garden more surpassing fair
“Than that, before whose gate
“The lightning of the Cherub’s fiery sword
“Waves wide to bar access,
“Since Adam, the transgressor, thence was driven.
“Here too would Shedad build
“A kingly pile sublime,
“The palace of his pride.
“For this exhausted mines
“Supplied their golden store,
“For this the central caverns gave their gems;
“For this the woodman’s axe
“Open’d the cedar forest to the sun;