40
THE SWORD OF PAIN
Then, like a flash, I knew the air around
Was living ether, and I felt the gaze
Of myriad eyes unseen, and heard the sound
As of vast music known in far-off days.
Was living ether, and I felt the gaze
Of myriad eyes unseen, and heard the sound
As of vast music known in far-off days.
There fell a star across the brow of Night,
And a voice answered, echoing from the height:
"The gods ye fashion perish one by one,
The Living God endures when all are gone.
Fool, canst thou know Th' Eternal in a day?
Can mortal judge The Immortal face to
face,
Who of the star-dust buildeth as He may,
And takes for throne the regions of all
Space?"
And a voice answered, echoing from the height:
"The gods ye fashion perish one by one,
The Living God endures when all are gone.
Fool, canst thou know Th' Eternal in a day?
Can mortal judge The Immortal face to
face,
Who of the star-dust buildeth as He may,
And takes for throne the regions of all
Space?"
Eternal Spirit, immanent, apart,
Thou, in the living temple of the Heart,
Lightest thine altar-fires that souls may reign
O'er worlds not yet create, and makest pain
The discipline of Life, the seal of worth,
The test of courage, and the burning star
That leads through vales of darkness to re-
birth,
To loftier life and victory afar!
Thou, in the living temple of the Heart,
Lightest thine altar-fires that souls may reign
O'er worlds not yet create, and makest pain
The discipline of Life, the seal of worth,
The test of courage, and the burning star
That leads through vales of darkness to re-
birth,
To loftier life and victory afar!
