THE GREY hill and the purple heath | |
| Are round me as I stand; | |
| The torrent hoar doth sternly roar, | |
| The lake lies calm and grand; | |
| The altars of the living rock | 5 |
| ’Neath yon blue skies are bare, | |
| And a thousand mountain-voices mock | |
| Mine accents on the air. | |
| |
| O loved most lovely and beloved,— | |
| Whether in morn’s bright hues, | 10 |
| Or in the veil, so soft, so pale, | |
| Woven by twilight dews, | |
| God’s bounty pours from sun and cloud, | |
| Beauty on shore and wave,— | |
| I lift my hands, I cry aloud, | 15 |
| Man shall not make thee slave. | |
| |
| Ye everlasting witnesses,— | |
| Most eloquent, though dumb,— | |
| Sky, shore, and seas, light, mist, and breeze, | |
| Receive me when I come! | 20 |
| How could I in this holy place, | |
| Stand with unstainèd brow, | |
| How look on earth’s accursing face, | |
| If I forget my vow? | |
| |
| Not few nor slight his burdens are | 25 |
| Who gives himself to stand, | |
| Steadfast and sleepless as a star, | |
| Watching his fatherland; | |
| Strong must his will be, and serene, | |
| His spirit pure and bright, | 30 |
| His conscience vigilant and keen, | |
| His arm an arm of might. | |
| |
| From the closed temple of his heart, | |
| Sealed as a sacred spring, | |
| Self must he spurn, and set apart | 35 |
| As an unholy thing; | |
| Misconstrued where he loves the best, | |
| Where most he hopes, betrayed, | |
| The quenchless watchfire in his breast | |
| Must neither fail nor fade. | 40 |
| |
| And his shall be a holier meed | |
| Than earthly lips may tell;— | |
| Not in the end, but in the deed, | |
| Doth truest honour dwell. | |
| His land is one vast monument, | 45 |
| Bearing the record high | |
| Of a spirit with itself content, | |
| And a name that cannot die! | |
| |
| For this, with joyous heart, I give | |
| Fame, pleasure, love, and life; | 50 |
| Blest for a cause so high, to live | |
| In ceaseless, hopeless strife: | |
| For this to die, with sword in hand, | |
| Oh, blessed and honoured thrice! | |
| God, countrymen, and fatherland, | 55 |
| Accept the sacrifice! | |
| |
