220 Of the mid-world, and hold the frosty star’s
Riphæan citadels. Every colonist
Of every land stands frighted here: the boor;
The son of Atreus with his diadem
Of royalty put off; the rich man mixt
225 Coequally in line with pauper peers.
Deep tremor everywhere: then groans the orb
With prayers; and peoples stretching forth their hands
Grow stupid with the din!
The Lord Himself
Seated, is bright with light sublime; and fire
230 Potent in all the Virtues flashing shines.
And on His high-raised throne the Heavenly One
Coruscates from His seat; with martyrs hemmed
(A dazzling troop of men), and by His seers
Elect accompanied (whose bodies bright
235 Effulgent are with snowy stoles), He towers
Above them. And now priests in lustrous robes
Attend, who wear upon their marked front
Wreaths golden-red; and all submissive kneel
And reverently adore. The cry of all
240 Is one: “O Holy, Holy Holy, God!”
To these the Lord will mandate give, to range
The people in twin lines; and orders them
To set apart by number the depraved;
While such as have His biddings followed
245 With placid words He calls, and bids them, clad
With vigour—death quite conquered—ever dwell
Amid light’s inextinguishable airs,
Stroll through the ancients’ ever blooming realm,
Through promised wealth, through ever sunny swards,
250 And in bright body spend perpetual life.
A place there is, beloved of the Lord,
In Eastern coasts, where light is bright and clear,
And healthier blows the breeze; day is eterne,
Time changeless: ’tis a region set apart
255 By God, most rich in plains, and passing blest,
In the meridian of His cloudless seat.
There gladsome the air, and is in light
Ever to be; soft is the wind, and breathes
Life-giving blasts; earth, fruitful with a soil
260 Luxuriant, bears all things; in the meads
Flowers shed their fragrance; and upon the plains
The purple—not in envy—mingles all
With golden-ruddy light. One gladsome flower,