XIII
Scene—Air.
Lucifer and Festus.
Festus
Where, where am I?
Lucifer
We are in space and time, just as we were
Some half a second since; where wouldst thou be?
Festus
I would be in Eternity and Heaven;
The spirit and the blessed spirit, of
Existence.
Lucifer
And thou shalt be, and shalt pass
All secondary nature; all the rules
And the results of time: upon thy spirit
These things shall act no more; their hands shall be
Withered upon thee, as the ray of life
Returns to that it came from: they shall cease
In thee, like lightning in the deadening sea.
But not now; we have worlds to go through, first.
When spirit hath deposited its earth,
And brightly, freely flows, self-purified
In its own action, acted on by God,
It holds the starry transcript of the skies
Booklike within its bosom, evermore.
But thine even now, exhausted, not exhaled,
Bears the design of earthly discontent,
Not sacred satisfaction. Unto him
Whose soul is saved, all things are clear as stars,
And, to the chosen, safety:—to none else.
Nor cold insurgent heart, nor menial mind
Can compass this: it is the way of God:
The starry path of Heaven which none can tread
But spirits high as Heaven, which He hath raised;
Who were of Him before all worlds, and are
Beloved and saved for ever while they live.
Thou of the world art yet, with motives, means,
And ends as others.
Festus
I will no more of it.
Lucifer
Oh, dream it not! Thou knowest not the depth
Of nature’s dark abyss, thyself, nor God.
Light over strong and darkness over long
Blind equally the eye. Thou mayst yet rise
And fall as often as the sea.
Festus
How comes it,
Being a spirit, that I see not all
As spirit should?
Lucifer
Thou lackest life and death.
The life of Heaven and the death of earth.
Then wouldst thou see in harmony with God,
Creation’s strife.
Festus
Death alters not the spirit!
Lucifer
Death must be undergone ere understood.
One world is as another. Best we here!—