Classic Poem

SCENE — Hell .

Lucifer . and F ESTUS entering .

Lucifer . Behold my world! Man's science counts it not
Upon the brightest sky. He never knows
How near it comes to him; but, swathed in clouds,
As though in plumed and palled state, it steals
Hearselike and thieflike round the universe,
For ever rolling and returning not —
Robbing all worlds of many an angel soul —
With its light hidden in its breast, which burns
With all concentrate and superfluent woe.
Nor sun nor moon illume it, and to those
Which dwell in it, not live, the starry skies
Have told no time since first they entered there.
Worlds have been built, and to their central base
Ruined and razed to the last atom; they
Of neither know, nor can — unconscious, save
To agony — nought knowing even of God
But His omnipotence to execute
Torture on those He hath in wrath endowed
With Heaven's own immortality, to make
Them feel what woe the Almighty can inflict,
And the all-feeble suffer, and not be
Annihilated as they would. Be sure
That this is Hell. The blood which hath embrued
Earth's breast, since first men met in war, may hope
Yet to be formed again and reascend,
Each drop its individual vein: the foam-bubble,
Sun-drawn out of the sea into the clouds,
To scale the cataract down which it fell,
Or seek its primal source in earth's hot heart;
But for the lost to rise to or regain
Heaven, or to hope it, is impossible.
F ESTUS . Are all these angels then, or men, or both?
Or mortals of all worlds?
Lucifer . Immortals, all.
F ESTUS . What numbers!
Lucifer . All are spirits fallen through sin
At various periods of eternity;
And not by one offence, to one same doom,
And at one moment, did they down from Heaven
Like to the rapid droppings of a shower; —
No! each distinct as thunder-peals, they fell;
Save those that fell with me. With me began
Sin even in Heaven; with me but sin remains.
Once I alone was Hell. Behold my fruits!
F ESTUS . What do yon fiends! some 'mong them look like mortals:
Their hearts shine through them like live coals through ashes.
They look like madmen gone delirious.
Oh! horror! let me hence!
Lucifer . Nay, hear.
F ESTUS . I hear
A strain incongruous as a merry dirge,
Or sacramental bacchanal might be.
Lucifer . Men are they not, but devils at the best;
And I would have thee mark them.
F ESTUS . I attend.

F IENDS . Fill the bowl! it burns but blackly
Fill it up with living fire:
Drunkard! hadst thou sipped as slackly
As thou pourest — pour it higher!
Then thou hadst ne'er with me been bound
In Hell to dwell;
But let the burning health go round —
Drunkard! — to Hell!

Fill! it drinks but cold and leadly;
Fill it up with bubbling fire:
Drink! 'tis nothing half so deadly
As thy soul when living, Liar!
Or thou hadst ne'er with me been bound
In Hell to dwell;
But let the burning health go round —
Liar! — to Hell!

Fill! it boils but sick and sadly;
Fill! some more immortal fire:
Murderer! drain it quickly, madly,
As the stab thou gav'st thy sire!
Or thou hadst ne'er with me been bound
In Hell to dwell;
But let the burning health go round —
Murderer! — to Hell!
F ESTUS . Nay, let me quit! now know I what Hell is.
What are they — drunkards, liars, murderers?
Lucifer . Can wine destroy the soul? or Hell's fierce flames
Feed upon holy water, wherewith Priest
Baptizeth sinless babe? Can liar make
God lie? or cheat his neighbor of his soul?
No! God's salvation waiteth not on man's
Weak will nor ministry; nor man's perdition
Upon his brother's hatred or neglect.
Can murderer slay the soul? or suicide
Drug immortality? Their sin is great,
And is eternally condemned of God;
But of their nature, the which Death destroys,
Their own as well as victim's recompense.
When Time hath overcome the ruin wrought
Upon their hearts who loved the dead, that they
Who suffered most have most forgiven ill, —
Shall the dead slay the living ceaselessly? —
Shall God, who is all Love, reverse, reserve,
Here in Hell, ages afterwards, those crimes?
And because man hath sinned a moment, crown
All crime in instituting punishment
Unending for an instantaneous wrong?
Shall that be justice? It were more than vengeance.
Yet such the Deity men fable, such
The Hell whereto they doom themselves.
F ESTUS . No more
The world is all-sufficient for itself;
And Hell and Heaven are not the equivalents
Of earth's iniquities and righteousness.
Lucifer . Can those who are idolaters defraud
God of His worship? who adore the world,
Gold, or as savages, the stars and Heaven,
And Elements of Earth? None worship Him,
But with and in His spirit. Nought attains
His love but that proceedeth from it first.
His praise is everlasting in all worlds
And starry ages of eternity.
Can they who covet the world's worthiest goods,
Wealth, honor, power, knowledge, rank, or aught
Merit eternal torment for a sin
Wherewith is bound the world's prosperity
And human glory? Nought eternal is
But that which is of God. All pain and woe
Are therefore finite. Can the robber steal
From God or Heaven a thing, or from the soul?
Or the deflowerer desecrate and undo
The espousals of the spirit with its Lord?
How weak is virtue, then, and vice, how vain!
How wretched human righteousness — and sin,
How despicable to the soul assured,
Since neither hath a recompense. The one
By Him destroyed who can alone unmake
That He hath made; the other perfected,
United, Deified in God the Son
With His own nature. Infinite Universe!
Thou hast no like, no second favorite
To mortal man of God's.
F ESTUS . What mean the words
Of yonder fiendish chant, there?
Lucifer . Words and shapes
Are equally as soon assumed by spirits.
What mean my words to thee?
F ESTUS . In sooth, I know not.
I am constrained to hear them.
Lucifer . As for these! —
It is a fire of soul in which they burn,
And by which they are purified from sin —
Rid of the grossness which had gathered round them,
And burned again into their virgin brightness.
All things work round like worlds. The orb of Hell
Hath yet its place in Heaven as thine and all.
But, as a spiritual quality,
As spirit is the substance of all matter —
Hidden or open, heatlike doth inhere
In all existence — or for good or ill.
Look at yon spirit.
F ESTUS . What was it brought thee hither?
S PIRIT . I was an angel once, ages agone;
But doing good and glorifying not
God, who empowered me, He sent me here
To fire the proud spot from my heart.
F ESTUS . And when
Wilt thou do this, and own thou hast wronged God?
S PIRIT . I do repent me, and confess it now.
I will not ask God now to let me be
What once I was; but might I only sit
A footstool for some other worthier far
Who owneth now my throne, I should be happy —
Far happier than I was in my proud prayers,
That God would give me worlds on worlds to govern,
And in receiving all their prayers and blessings.
O God! remember me! O save me!
F ESTUS . See!
I do believe there is an angel coming
This way from Heaven.
S PIRIT . He comes to me — to me!
A NGEL . Hail, sufferer!
S PIRIT . Sinner.
A NGEL . God hath bade me bring thee
Away to Heaven; thy throne is kept for thee;
And all the hosts of Heaven are on the wing
To welcome thee again.
S PIRIT . I dare not come:
I am not worthy Heaven.
A NGEL . But God will make thee.
F ESTUS . Spirit — farewell! and may we meet again
In better time and place.
S PIRIT . Glory to God!
I go — farewell! — and I will speak of thee.
But, oh! repent! Be humble, and despair not.
[ Angel and Spirit rise.
Lucifer . Oh! think, when all are judged, what hosts of souls
Will then be mine at last! — what wings of fire!
Deemest thou yet as mortal?
F ESTUS . This is not
As thou didst speak of Hell, nor as I judged.
Lucifer . Hell is the wrath of God — His hate of sin.
God hates man's nature; be it said of his
As of all beings!
F ESTUS . How hate that he hath made?
Lucifer . The infinite opposition of Perfection
To imperfection leaves nor choice nor mean.
Thus the demeanor of thy world grieved God,
Till its destruction pleased Him, and its name
Was struck out of the starry scroll; thus all
Creation worketh infinite grief in Time.
When human nature is most perfect, then
Its fall is nearest, as of ripest fruit.
Man's pleasure in the world — to both of which
His nature is made fit — is not of God,
Save theirs on whom His spirit He bestows,
As in a twilight between earth and Heaven,
A promissory Being unfulfilled —
But still how glorious to the stone-blind world.
This is in time, but in eternity,
He raises, remakes, adds to all He made
His own immortalizing love and grace,
Which keeps them ever pure as is the sea,
And incorruptible in godly will.
The bliss of God and man originates,
Unites, and ends in self — in Deity:
To whom is neither motive — good — nor end
Greater or less, or other than Himself.
F ESTUS . But how can the Creator glory find
In Hell, or creature, good — if God be Love,
Or man a being salvable? Oh, say!
But who comes hither?
Lucifer . It is the Son of God! —
Omnipotent! before whose steadfast feet
The thrones of Heaven, which hoped to have o'erthrown thine,
But now all strengthless, hopeless, Godless here,
Rose once and ebbed forever, even these
Deep in their fiery abyss of woe
Unbent, unbettered will again rush forth
In all the might of madness and despair,
To prove their hatred of Thee and Thy love.
Salvation is the scorn of Angels here.
What dost Thou here, not having sinned?
S ON OF G OD . For men
I bore with death — for fiends I bear with sin;
And death and sin are each the pain I pay
For the love which brought me down from Heaven to save
Both men and devils; and the Father makes
And orders every instant what is best.
F ESTUS . This is God's truth; Hell feels a moment cool.
S ON OF G OD . Hell is His justice — Heaven is His love, —
Earth His long-suffering: all the world is but
A quality of God; therefore come I
To temper these — to give to justice, mercy;
And to long-suffering, longer. Heaven is mine
By birthright. Lo! I am the heir of God:
He hath given all things to me. I have made
The earth mine own, and all yon countless worlds,
And all the souls therein; yea, soul by soul,
And world by world, have I redeemed them all —
One by one through eternity, or given
The means of their salvation: why not, then,
Hell?
F ESTUS . Every spirit is to be redeemed.
S ON OF G OD . Mortal! it has: the best and worst need one
And same salvation. There is nothing final
In all this world but God; therefore these souls
Whom I see here, and pity for their woes —
But for their evil more — these need not be
Inhelled for ever; for although once, twice, thrice,
On earth or here they may have put God from them —
Disowned His prophets — mocked His angels — slain
His Son in his mortality — and stormed
His curses back to Him; yet God is such,
That He can pity still; and I can suffer
For them, and save them. Father! I fear not,
But by Thy might I can save Hell from Hell.
Fiends! hear ye me! Why will ye burn for ever!
Look! I am here all water: come and drink,
And bathe in me! baptize your burning souls
In the pure well of life — the spring of God.
I come to save all souls who will be saved.
Come, ye immortal fallen! rise again!
There is a resurrection for the dead,
And for the second dead. And though ye died,
And fell, and fell again, and again died —
There is a life to come, a rise for all, —
A life to come for ever, and a rise
Perpetual as the spring is in the year.
A F IEND . Thou Son of God! what wilt thou here with us?
Have we not Hell enough without Thy presence?
Remorse, and always strife, and hate of all,
I see around me: is it not enough?
Why wilt Thou double it with Thy mild eyes?
S ON OF G OD . Spirit! I come to save thee.
F IEND . How can that be?
S ON OF G OD . Repent! God will forgive then then; and I
Will save thee; and the Holy One shall hallow.
Repent thou, for thy judgment is at hand;
But if thou slurrest over these means and times,
Which have been given thee for repentance here —
Tremble! This Hell is nothing to thy next.
Believest thou I can save thee?
F IEND . Son of God!
I do believe it. Let me worship.
S ON OF G OD . Come!
Come to me! Lo! I will but touch thy brow,
And make thee bright as morning is in Heaven.
S PIRIT . Angel of light I am again! Look here!
This — this is to be saved!
Lucifer . I like it not.
S ON OF G OD . Hear! ye immortals dead! this I can do.
Repent! and be all angels.
S PIRIT . Oh, believe!
He is God. Worship Him! He comes to save us.
Lucifer . Stand thou beside me: I will speak to them;
Or they will sure believe Him. Hell! oh Hell!
Powers of perdition! thrones of darkness! — hear
Wrath, ruin, torment! — hear me! It is I!
Thanks, fiends! I know ye hate me well, and may:
I tempted, ruined, damned ye every one.
Were ye not proud, now, to be conquered by me?
But wherefore so supine? Am I your lord?
Me do ye doubt? or dare ye Him believe?
What is an angel dressed in shiny white?
Can I not make ye angels? Ay! and more:
I cannot make ye less — nor ye yourselves —
Nor God — nor Son of God. But hark to me!
Be still, ye thunderblasts and hills of fire!
Hell doth out-din itself. — Hell-hearted slaves!
What are ye that I thus should toil for ye?
Who hardly earn the fire that burns ye up?
Power I have proffered, but ye have refused:
Nothing is for ye but your fiery fate.
Kingdoms I have prepared, and ye have spurned.
Slaves! slaves! ye are too much at ease! Ye leave
Me single in the work of woe. I, sole,
Go forth to sow destruction: I, alone,
Reap ruin. Had ye been as I, ere now
The universe had been all Hell; and, for
A pit, each fiend had had a world to rule.
Rise! Yet we'll play all hell against all Heaven.
Up! up! and then at once we will battle God;
And hurling each his orb against the throne,
Strange if we will not scatter it like sand.
To reign is nothing half like to dethrone!
Dethrone! and each is greater then than God.
And will ye, then, give up your hopes of Heaven,
And entrance as young conquerors fresh from spoil,
And choice of thrones won by your death-red hands,
For pitiful repentance, like him yonder?
Forbid it! all the prowess, pride, and pain
Of Hell that we have borne with ! do ye not?
Meanwhile man's world is straight to be destroyed.
Be glad! be glad! Earth's sons may soon be here.
And here, as earnest of the truth I tell,
Behold this earthling standing by my side!
Speak to them, Festus.
F ESTUS . Nay, I dread them.
Lucifer . Speak!
Great spirits! he scarce is worthy to address ye,
In that I cannot say he yet is damned.
F ESTUS . But I am here; what recks it how or why?
Ye care not, and I know not. It is fate:
The will of God and him who sets me here;
And which I question not. It must be good,
Whether decreed that I be saved or lost.
But I have poor pretensions for this place;
And none, I hope, have worse that are to come.
For I have never mocked the word of God,
Nor torn it into fuel for my scorn:
Nor doubted, saving tremblingly, His being: —
His love to man — His right to be adored, —
Never have hated, never wronged my race, —
Deluded nor rejoiced in their delusion;
Never have beckoned off the good from good —
Never have mocked nor scattered hopes — nor e'er
Have wasted hearts, nor desolated hearths;
And if I have once, twice, as who hath not?
Toyed with temptation, yet even he will say
Who standeth there, that I have never given
Up to his burning dalliance my soul.
And yet he is my friend, the Evil one.
And why is wondrous; judge ye wherefore too.
I have no malice, envy, nor revenge;
None of those petty passions which bad hearts
Scourge red into themselves — for passions are
Sufferings — and which to nourish is his want;
Wherein doth lie his power: these I have not.
And, save enjoying earth, I have done never
Aught that he could take part in. But he came
From God he said, to give; and I believed; —
Great spirits lie not — doubt not.
Lucifer . He says truth.
But it is not for him nor you to know
The reason of my doings: it is the thing
Unfeared and unforethought which tempts, betrays.
It is I who bait the world to do its will.
As to this mortal, God hath sanctioned all
That I have done, or may do to the end;
Which I have nought to do with. Son of God!
Go on redeeming! — I will go on damning.
God! go on making! — I will go on marring.
Go on believing, man! — I go on tempting.
Saint! angel! cherub! seraph! and archangel!
Go ye on blessing! — I will go on cursing!
I now retrack my course to earth; therein
To work out what remaineth of the fate
Of this man, and await his world's destruction.
What next may hap I care not.
F ESTUS . Let us hence!
Lucifer . Where is He?
F ESTUS . There — see! many do believe.
Orb of perdition! thou, too, shalt die out,
And thy red-sheeted flames shall fail for aye.
Thy palpitating piles of ruin, hot
With ever-active agony, and quick
With soul immortal, down whose midnight heights
The wrath of God in cataracts of fire
Precipitates itself unceasingly,
Shall rush into destruction as a steed
Rushes into the battle, there to die.
Thy quivering hills of black and bloody hue,
Death-breathing, shall collapse like lifeless lungs,
And end in air and ashes. Thou shalt be
Dashed from creation spark-like from a hand
Scarless: pass like a rolled syllable
Of midnight thunder from the coming day.
The river of all life, which flows through Heaven,
Shall yet reach thee and overflood thy flames! —
Thou shalt no more vex God nor man; nor all
The seekings of the soul shall hunt thee out.
Thy day is sometime over. Be it soon!
And thou the lost world which the world hath lost!