Ye nymphs of Solyma! begin the song,
To heavenly themes sublimer strains belong,
The mossy fountains, and the sylvan shades,
The dreams of Pindus, and the Aonian maids,
Delight no more-0 thou my voice inspire,
Who touch'd Isaiah's hallow'd lips with fire!
Rapt into future times, the bard begun,
A Virgin shall conceive, a Virgin bear a son !
From Jesse's root behold a branch arise,
Whose sacred flow'r with fragrance fills the skies,
The Holy Spirit o'er its leaves shall move,
And on its top descends the mystic dove.
Ye heav'ns from high the dewy nectar pour,
And in soft silence shed the kindly show'r!
The sick and weak, the healing plant shall aid,
From storms a shelter, and from heat a shade.
All crimes shall cease, and ancient fraud shall fail,
Returning justice lift aloft her scale;
Peace o'er the world her olive wand extend,
And white rob'd innocence from heaven descend.
Swift fly the years, and rise the expected morn!
Oh spring to light, auspicious, Babe be born!
See! nature hastes, her earliest wreaths to bring,
With all the incense of the breathing spring!
See lofty Lebanon his head advance,
See nodding forests on the mountains dance :
See spicy clouds from lowly Sharon rise!
And Carmel's flow'ry top perfumes the skies.
Hark! a glad voice the lonely desert cheers:
Prepare the way! a God, a God appears;
A God, a God! the vocal hills reply,
The rocks proclaim th' approaching deity.
Lo earth receives him from the bending skies ;
Sink down ye mountains, and ye vallies rise ;
With heads declin'd ye cedars homage pay;
Be smooth ye rocks, ye rapid floods give way!
The Saviour comes! by ancient bards foretold:
Hear him ye deaf, and all ye blind, behold;
He from thick films shall purge the visual ray,
And on the sightless eye-ball pour the day.
'Tis he th' obstructed paths of sound shall clear,
And bid new music charm th' unfolding ear;
The dumb shall sing, the lame his crutch forego,
A nighneanan Shaleim! tionnsgnaibh oran réidh,
'S na puinne is àirde gluaisear dàn nan speur,
Na fuarain bhlair, fo sgàil nan gorm-choill ùr,
'S na bruadair Ghreugach, theich gu leir fo'r cùl.
A Righ thug càil do'n Fhaidhe ghleusadh ceòil!
Le eibhleig naoimh, cuir blàths an laoidh mo bheoil.
Mu linn na slainte sheinn am Bard o chian;
Bidh Mac aig Oigh-aig Oigh is torrach siol;
O fhreumhaich Iesse faic le teas a' fàs
A suas san speur a' Gheug is cùbhraidh blàth !
Bidh Spiorad De 'g a ghluasad fein m'a barr ;
'S an dos neo-sheargta tearnaidh Calaman Nèamh.
Silibh a neoil an dealt o'n àird gu dlùth,
Trom-shàmhach, maoth-bhog, frasach, braonach, ciùin!
'S ann duibhs' tha an-fhann, tinn, gun neart, gun treoir,
A bhrùchdas driùchd na slaint' air bharr gach meoir;
Le tamh fo 'sgàil gu bràth cha loisg a' ghrian,
'S o stoirm nan gaoth ni'm fasgadh caomh 'ur dion.
Treigidh an t-olc, 's gach ceilg a lot an sluagh,
'S air slighe 'pheacaidh coisnidh ceartas buaidh;
Bidh Oilibh ghràis na sìochaimh sinnt' a mach,
'S thig neo-chiont àígh o nèamh san deis' is àille dreach.
A linntean fada siubhlaibh seach gu luath!
Grad éireadh fiamh na maidne 'nìos o'n chuan,
A bheir gu crìch do bhreith-sa-Righ nan slògh.
O! Leinibh uasail! dùisg a suas gu d' ghlòir;
Faic Nadur fein, 's gach flùr an ceud am fais
Fo chomhdach eibhinn! mil a' seideadh tlath!
Faic Lebanon gu h-àrd mar thog e cheann,
'S gach dos-chrann àrd 's na coilltibh àigh a' danns'-
Faic smùidreadh spìsridh Sharoin suas 's na neoil,
A's Charmeil ùr nan seud is drùchdach ceò!
Nach cluinn thu luath-ghair ait san fhàsach chéin,
Thig Dia, thig Dia g'ar còir! gach ròd biodh réidh !
Thig Dia, thig Dia! co-fhreagraidh fuaim nam beann!
Gach creag ni gàir m'an Tì is àirde t'ann!
Tha'n saoghal ag éiridh ; lùb an speur a nios,
Gach ni le gràdh 'cur fàilt air teachd an Triath!
Na seudair rìomhach cromaidh sìos an ceann!
Fodha na sleibhtean! éireadh làr nan gleann !
Gach creag biodh mìn! biodh sìth air thuiltibh luath
Roimh sholus gnùise Slanuighir chiùin nam buadh!
Faiceadh na doill! a bhodhair cluinn do Dhia!
Sud Righ nan gràs mar sheinn na Baird o chian;
And leap exulting like the bounding roe;
No sigh, no murmur, the wide world shall hear;
From every face, he wipes off every tear.
In adamantine chains shall death be bound,
And hell's grim tyrant feel the eternal wound.
As the good shepherd tends his fleecy care,
Seeks freshest pasture, and the purest air;
Explores the lost, the wandering sheep directs,
By day o'ersees them, and by night protects,
The tender lambs he raises in his arms,
Feeds from his hand, and in his bosom warms :
Thus shall mankind his guardian care engage,
The promis'd Father of the future age.
No more shall nation against nation rise,
Nor ardent warriors meet with hateful eyes.
Nor fields with gleaming steel be covered o'er,
The brazen trumpets kindle rage no more;
But useless lances into scythes shall bend,
And the broad falchion in a ploughshare end.
Then palaces shall rise; the joyful son
Shall finish what his short liv'd sire begun ;
Their vines a shadow to their race shall yield,
And the same hand that sowed, shall reap the field.
The swain in barren deserts with surprise
Sees lilies spring, and sudden verdure rise;
And starts amidst the thirsty wilds to hear
New falls of water murmuring in his ear.
On rifted rocks, the dragons' late abodes,
The green reed trembles,and the bulrush nods
Waste sandy vallies, once perplex'd with thorn,
The spiry fir and shapely box adorn:
To leafless shrubs the flowering palms succeed,
And odorous myrtle to the noisome weed.
The lambs with wolves shall graze the verdant mead,
And boys in flow'ry bands the tiger lead.
The steer and lion at one crib shall meet,
And harmless serpents lick the pilgrim's feet.
The smiling infant in his hand shall take
The crested basilisk and speckled snake;
Pleas'd the green lustre of their scales survey,
And with their forky tongue shall innocently play.
Rise crowned with light, imperial Salem rise!
Exalt thy towery head, aud lift thine eyes:
See a long race thy spacious courts adorn;
See future sons and daughters yet unborn;
In crowding ranks on ev'ry side arise,
Demanding life, impatient for the skies!
See barbarous nations at thy gates attend,
|