New-York tribune., 1871-12-16

The Apocalypse, the Harmony
or the Sacred Scriptures. ne ana ora,
And the Psalter with Ten strings, eniJid
Within their pages. all ana rach,
Well remember the Kingdom Of Heaven
Hath been likencd to ii little lcaven
Hidden In two measures OF meal
Until IL leavencd the whole mass;
So likewise will 1t come to pass
With the doctrine that ] here conceal
.'opcn and manifest to
Tie truth appears, and must bc told;
All sacred mysteries are threeOld;
Three Persons in the Trinity,
Three Ages Of Humanity.
And Holy Scriptures likewise Three,
or Fear. of Wisdom and OF Love;
For Wisdom that begins IN Fear
Endeth in Love; the atmosphere
In winch the soul delights to he,
And finds that perfect liberty,
Which coDeth only from above"
The Abbot then explains that the first age of the
world was the reign of the Fear of God: with the
Son came the new reign of Wisdom and Law. Then
he says:
And the Third Age begins at last.
The coming of the Holy Ghost.
The reign Of Grace the reign OF Love,
B1ghtens the lDountain-tops above,
Already the whole land is white
With convent walls rs II by night
SHOW had fallen on hill and hight!
Already from the streets and marts
OF town and traffic, and low cares,
Men climb the cOnsecrated stairs
With weary feet aud bleeding hearts;
And leave the world, and its delights
Its passions, struggles, and despars,
For coutenplatons and for prayers
In cloistcr cells of CGnObtes.'
The Golden Legend now follows, with ITS vivid
and varied pictures of the Middle Ages. Around
that story of the poor Henry" which was first
sung by Hartmann Won Aue, in the twelfth century,
Mr.. Longfeliow has grouped numerous and i'm
presslve illustrations of the medieval pagansm of
the Christian Church but the golden thread Of love
and self-sacrfce runs through the poem, and the
power of Evil, nourished by ignorance and selfish
10 foi1a6 ot the clnSn Tho
dream which the Calabrian Abbot's faith made so
sure of fulfllment. has become a very unspiritual
reality but the spirit of Christ still abides among
men, We are sure that the reader who will take mp
this poem again. after reading the Divine Tragedy"
will find that new light has been thioyn over all
it's pages.
The second 1nte,lude is called Me- in Luther
The sturdy RefOrmer sits i'll his cD .ubcr in the
Wartburg, on a Summer morning, and writes his
grand CHORAL Elm Jeste Burg is Go meditating
between the stanzas. 1t is plain. strongly-drawn,
dramatic picture of Luther, with his faith, his pa
roxysms of doubt his powerful aspiration his whole
hearted love and hate. Mr.. Longfellows translation
of the choral may be placed side by side with Car
lyles its lines have the abrupt massive vigOr,
as of hammer blows. This picture of Luther's bel
lgerent soul is admirable:
"And NV mortal foes that lie in wait
In every avenue and gate
As to that OdiOus monk John Tetzel
Hawking about his hollow wares
And those mischievous fellows. wetzcl,
Campanus, Carlstadt, Martin CellariuS,
And all the busy, tDultnarlOus
Heretlcs, and disciples Of Arius,
Hall. learned, duncebOld, dry and hard,
They are not worthy of my regard
Poor and humble a. am.
"But ah! Erasmus Of Rotterdam,
He Is the vilest mscreant
That walked this world below
A Momus, making his mock and NOW,
At Papist and at Protestant,
sneering at st. John and St. Paul.
At God and Man, at one and all;
And yet M hollow and false and drear,
As cracked pitcher to the ear,
And ever growing worse and worse
On Erasmus the lnsincere!
"Phip Melancthon thon alone
Faithful among the faithless known,
Thee hail, and only thee!
Res ct perba Philippus.
Res sine rcrt!s Luuterus;
Erasmus cerbd sine re ~
The "New-England Tragedies" the third and con-
cluding part of the tilogy, connect the Puritan with
the medieval Monk and the Jew of Palestine in tho
long procession through seventeen centuries of the
figures who misinteruret Christ in their Pharisac
pride and partisan zeal, and the humble hearts who
feel Him as a living presence. Where the Catholic
Church may persecute through selfish lust Of power
q Protestant Church may pcrsecute with equal
cruelty from the intolerance of an exclusive doctrine.
Inc pure 10TH OF Snr1st, III Ills Dl'luc humanity,
passes down through the ages, still working its
miracles of healing but unseen by those upon whose
lips his name is lOudest.
At the close of the "Divine Tragedy" following
the text of the Gospel Of st. .ohu, Jesus says of
John: III will that he tarry till l come, what is
that to theef" This has suggested to the author
noble and beautiful conception, which he has en-
bodied in the Finale" st. John still wsnders over
the Earth, until the Christ shall come. not in the
forms of creed or church. but in the verify Of his
Divine Spirit manifested in tho hearts and hvos Of
men. There is no purer devotional poem in the En-.
glish language than this:
SAINT JOHN;
,canderi,,g over TIE huee ~ ne EarU.
Tho Ages and 80,
Tho Centuries pass ~ Years;
My hair is as white rs the snow,
My feet are weary and SLOW,
The earth 10 wet with my tears!
The kingdoms crunbic and TALL
Apart like Q ruined wall,
or hank that is undermined
by rivers ceaselcss flow,
And leave trnro behind!
The world itself Is Old;
The portals Of time uGfOil
On hinges OF irOi,, that grRtc
And groan with the rust and the weight
That hath fallen to decay;
But tho evil doth MT cssSe;
There 10 war instead Of peace;
lRstesd OF l0ye tl,ere u hate
And stiil must wander and wat
aot iorsctiiss IL sSc.s asiis,
Thousand yearS IN their f,yht
Arc ~ sanxs day.