81. Warfare
|
{141}
"Freely ye have received; freely
give." |
"GIVE any boon for peace! |
| Why should our fair-eyed Mother e'er engage |
| In the world's course and on a troubled stage, |
| From which her very call is a release? |
| No! in
thy garden stand, |
| And
tend with pious hand |
| The
flowers thou plantest there, |
| Which
are thy proper care, |
| O man of God! in meekness and in love, |
| And waiting for the blissful realms above." |
Alas! for
thou must learn, |
| Thou guileless one! rough is the holy hand; |
| Runs not the Word of Truth through every land, |
| A sword to sever, and a fire to burn? {142} |
| If
blessèd Paul had stay'd |
| In cot
or learned shade, |
| With
the priest's white attire, |
| And the
Saints' tuneful choir, |
| Men had not gnash'd their teeth, nor risen to slay, |
| But
thou hadst been a heathen in thy day. |
Palermo.
June 3, 1833. |