Part 18

O Freiheit! Wie der Feind erbebt in Rücken Und Front und gerne flöh' in ~einer~ Fluth, Wär' er nicht halb bedeckt von Felsenstücken, Gewälzt von dieses Kämpfers Göttermuth! Geeint sind Berg, Wald, Wildbach, zu erdrücken Hohnlachend den Tyrann und seine Wuth.

2[B]

Freiheit, ersteig aus deinem Heimatsland Tirol! du Mädchen ernst und unzähmbar Und lieblich doch, der Berge Kind fürwahr! Ein Echo zwischen Fels und Alpenwand.

Und über Gletschern bist du festgebannt; Ein Echo, das die Jagd im Morgengrau Vom Schlaf' aufscheucht, daß Berg und Wald und Au Und Höhle dröhnen, wo's unsichtbar stand,

Sein Spiel verkündend. So urplötzlich strahl', Du hehre Macht, hervor im Siegeslauf Durch Wolkenwust, von Klippenknauf zu Knauf, Durch Almenhütten, durch das grüne Thal; In dir dann jauchzen alle Alpen auf Hier, dort und überall mit ~einem~ Mal!

3

Gefühle der Tiroler.

»Das Land ist uns vertraut vom Ahngeschlecht: So sei's vererbt--und kost' es auch das Leben-- Den Kindern: das ist Pflicht und fromm und eben; Natur und Gott, sie nennen es gerecht.

Wir ~müssen~ thun, was möglich, im Gefecht: Sieh' dies Gebot im Kindesauge leben, Von Frauenlippen, aus dem Aether schweben; Ihr Väter selbst aus Grabesmoder sprecht

Es laut empor.--So kling' in Sangesbraus Der alten Lieder herzliche Musik! Einstimmen Hirt und Heerde in den Reihen! Ein opferwillig' Häuflein zieh'n wir aus, Die Waffen in den Händen, Muth im Blick, Der Tugend treu, die Menschheit zu befreien.«

4

Was nützt, ach! langes sittenkluges Streiten, Das man aus »gut« und »böse« preßt mit Müh'; Was dummer Fleiß, zu höh'n die Energie Und zu transcendentaler Ruh' zu leiten,

Daß jede Leidenschaft sich lasse reiten Von der Vernunft in Allsuprematie: Ist das nicht seltsam eitle Theorie, Wenn Deutschland trotz so viel Spitzfindigkeiten

Dem rohen Schwert erliegt? Erröthen sollen Die hohen Schulen! Müssen wir nicht sagen: Mehr wußten wenig Regeln, starkes Wollen Durch schlichte Alpenhirten auszuführen Für's Menschenwohl in diesen Unglückstagen, Als alles stolze Metaphysiciren?

5

Auf die schließliche Unterwerfung der Tiroler.

Ist einer ~guten~ Sache galt ihr Schlagen; Wie hätten bei der Throne Niederfahrt Sonst sie, die armen Schäfer, sich bewahrt Begeisternd hohen Sinn und kräftig Wagen?

Auch hat ihr Kampf für's Gute Frucht getragen: Weckt nicht ihr Ruhm, die große Denkungsart Auch uns den Muth, mit Rechtsgefühl gepaart, Der nicht zu kaufen ist, nicht zu zernagen?

Schlaft, Kämpfer! Unter euren Bergen ruht! Dem strengsten Richter kann es nicht entgehen: Nie kannte euer ~Herz~ das Retiriren. Und bricht in höchster Pein und Rachewuth Europa los, so sollt ihr auferstehen, ~Ganz~ über euern Feind zu triumphiren!

FOOTNOTES:

[B] Sonette 2 und 4 sind unbetitelt.

"AND IS IT AMONG RUDE UNTUTORED DALES"

Composed 1809.--Published 1809[A]

This and the remaining sonnets of 1809 were placed among those "dedicated to Liberty."--ED.

And is it among rude untutored Dales,[1] There, and there only, that the heart is true? And, rising to repel or to subdue, Is it by rocks and woods that man prevails? Ah no! though Nature's dread protection fails, 5 There is a bulwark in the soul.[2] This knew Iberian Burghers when the sword they drew In Zaragoza, naked to the gales Of fiercely-breathing war. The truth was felt By Palafox, and many a brave compeer, 10 Like him of noble birth and noble mind; By ladies, meek-eyed women without fear; And wanderers of the street, to whom is dealt The bread which without industry they find.

Palafox-y-Melzi, Don Joseph (1780-1847), immortalized by his heroic defence of Saragossa in 1808-9. He was of an old Aragon family, and entered the Spanish army at an early age. In 1808, when twenty-nine years of age, he was appointed governor of Saragossa, by the people of the town, who were menaced by the French armies. He defended it with a few men, against immense odds, and compelled the French to abandon the siege, after sixty-one days' attack, and the loss of thousands. Saragossa, however, was too important to lose, and Marshals Mortier and Moncy renewed the siege with a large army. Palafox (twice defeated outside) retired to the fortress as before, where the men, women, and children fought in defence, till the city was almost a heap of ruins. Typhus attacked the garrison within, while the French army assailed it from without. Palafox, smitten by the fever, had to give up the command to another, who signed a capitulation next day. He was sent a prisoner to Vincennes, and kept there for nearly five years, till the restoration of Ferdinand VII., when he was sent back on a secret mission to Madrid. In 1814 he was appointed Captain-General of Aragon; but for about thirty years--till his death in 1847--he took no part in public affairs.--ED.

VARIANTS:

[1] 1815.

... vales, 1809.

[2] The word "soul" was _italicised_ in the editions of 1809 to 1832.

FOOTNOTES:

[A] In Coleridge's _Friend_, December 21.--ED.

"O'ER THE WIDE EARTH, ON MOUNTAIN AND ON PLAIN"

Composed 1809.--Published 1809[A]

O'er the wide earth, on mountain and on plain, Dwells in the affections and the soul of man A Godhead, like the universal PAN;[B] But more exalted, with a brighter train: And shall his bounty be dispensed in vain, 5 Showered equally on city and on field, And neither hope nor stedfast promise yield In these usurping times of fear and pain? Such doom awaits us. Nay, forbid it Heaven! We know the arduous strife, the eternal laws 10 To which the triumph of all good is given, High sacrifice, and labour without pause, Even to the death:--else wherefore should the eye Of man converse with immortality?

FOOTNOTES:

[A] In Coleridge's _Friend_, December 21.--ED.

[B] Compare Aubrey de Vere's _Picturesque Sketches of Greece and Turkey_, vol. i. chap. viii. p. 204.--ED.

In _The Friend_ (edition 1812), the following footnote occurs--

"... universal Pan, Knit with the graces and the hours in dance, Led on the eternal spring.--MILTON." ED.

"HAIL, ZARAGOZA! IF WITH UNWET EYE"

Composed 1809.--Published 1815

Hail, Zaragoza! If with unwet eye We can approach, thy sorrow to behold, Yet is the heart not pitiless nor cold; Such spectacle demands not tear or sigh. These desolate remains are trophies high 5 Of more than martial courage in the breast Of peaceful civic virtue:[A] they attest Thy matchless worth to all posterity. Blood flowed before thy sight without remorse; Disease consumed thy vitals; War upheaved 10 The ground beneath thee with volcanic force: Dread trials! yet encountered and sustained Till not a wreck of help or hope remained, And law was from necessity[1] received.[B]

See note to the sonnet beginning "And is it among rude untutored Dales" (p. 222). "Saragossa surrendered February 20, 1809, after a heroic defence, which may recall the sieges of Numantiaor Saguntum. Every street, almost every house, had been hotly contested; the monks, and even the women, had taken a conspicuous share in the defence; more than 40,000 bodies of both sexes and every age testified to the obstinate courage of the besieged." (See Dyer's _History of Modern Europe_, vol. iv. p. 496.)--ED.

VARIANTS:

[1] The word "necessity" was _italicised_ in the editions of 1815 to 1843.

FOOTNOTES:

[A] Compare a passage in Wordsworth's Essay _Concerning the Convention of Cintra_ (1809, pp. 180-1), beginning "Most gloriously have the Citizens of Saragossa proved that the true army of Spain, in a contest of this nature, is the whole people."--ED.

[B] The beginning is imitated from an Italian Sonnet.--W. W. 1815.

In 1837 Wordsworth put it thus, "In this Sonnet I am under some obligations to one of an Italian author, to which I cannot refer." But it is to be noted that in the edition of 1837, this note does not refer to the sonnet on Saragossa, but to that beginning "O, for a kindling touch from that pure flame," belonging to the year 1816. In subsequent editions the note is reappended to this sonnet beginning "Hail, Zaragoza!"--ED.

"SAY, WHAT IS HONOUR?--'TIS THE FINEST SENSE"

Composed 1809.--Published 1815

Say, what is Honour?--'Tis the finest sense Of _justice_ which the human mind can frame, Intent each lurking frailty to disclaim, And guard the way of life from all offence Suffered or done. When lawless violence 5 Invades a Realm, so pressed that in the scale[1] Of perilous war her weightiest armies fail, Honour is hopeful elevation,--whence Glory, and triumph. Yet with politic skill Endangered States may yield to terms unjust; 10 Stoop their proud heads, but not unto the dust-- A Foe's most favourite purpose to fulfil: Happy occasions oft by self-mistrust Are forfeited; but infamy doth kill.

VARIANTS:

[1] 1837.

A Kingdom doth assault, and in the scale 1815.

"BRAVE SCHILL! BY DEATH DELIVERED, TAKE THY FLIGHT"

Composed 1809.--Published 1815

Brave Schill! by death delivered, take thy flight From Prussia's timid region. Go, and rest With heroes, 'mid the islands of the Blest, Or in the fields of empyrean light. A meteor wert thou crossing a dark night:[1] 5 Yet shall thy name, conspicuous and sublime, Stand in the spacious firmament of time, Fixed as a star: such glory is thy right. Alas! it may not be: for earthly fame Is Fortune's frail dependant; yet their lives 10 A Judge, who, as man claims by merit, gives; To whose all-pondering mind a noble aim, Faithfully kept, is as a noble deed; In whose pure sight all virtue doth succeed.

Ferdinand von Schill, a distinguished Prussian officer, born 1773, entered the army 1789, was seriously wounded in the battle of Jena, but took the field again at the head of a free corps. Indignant at the subjection of his country to Buonaparte, he resolved to make a great effort for the liberation of Germany, collected a small body of troops, and commenced operations on the Elbe; but after a few successes was overpowered and slain at Stralsund, May 31, 1809. On June 4, 1809, Wordsworth writing to Daniel Stewart, editor of _The Courier_ newspaper, says, "Many thanks for the newspaper. Schill is a fine fellow." The sonnet was doubtless inspired by what he thus heard of Schill.--ED.

VARIANTS:

[1] 1837.

... in a darksome night: 1815.

"CALL NOT THE ROYAL SWEDE UNFORTUNATE"

Composed 1809.--Published 1815

Call not the royal Swede unfortunate, Who never did to Fortune bend the knee; Who slighted fear; rejected steadfastly Temptation; and whose kingly name and state Have "perished by his choice, and not his fate!" 5 Hence lives He, to his inner self endeared; And hence, wherever virtue is revered, He sits a more exalted Potentate, Throned in the hearts of men. Should Heaven ordain That this great Servant of a righteous cause 10 Must still have sad or vexing thoughts to endure, Yet may a sympathizing spirit pause, Admonished by these truths, and quench all pain In thankful joy and gratulation pure.

The royal Swede, "who never did to Fortune bend the knee," was Gustavus IV. He abdicated in 1809, and came to London at the close of the year 1810. Compare the earlier sonnet on the same King of Sweden (vol. ii. p. 338), beginning--

The Voice of song from distant lands shall call.

In the edition of 1827, Wordsworth added the following note:--"In this and a former Sonnet, in honour of the same Sovereign, let me be understood as a Poet availing himself of the situation which the King of Sweden occupied, and of the principles avowed in his manifestos; as laying hold of these advantages for the purpose of embodying moral truths. This remark might, perhaps, as well have been suppressed; for to those who may be in sympathy with the course of these Poems, it will be superfluous; and will, I fear, be thrown away upon that other class, whose besotted admiration of the intoxicated despot here placed in contrast with him, is the most melancholy evidence of degradation in British feeling and intellect which the times have furnished."--ED.

"LOOK NOW ON THAT ADVENTURER WHO HATH PAID"

Composed 1809.--Published 1815

Look now on that Adventurer who hath paid His vows to Fortune; who, in cruel slight Of virtuous hope, of liberty, and right, Hath followed wheresoe'er a way was made By the blind Goddess,--ruthless, undismayed; 5 And so hath gained at length a prosperous height, Round which the elements of worldly might Beneath his haughty feet, like clouds, are laid. O joyless power that stands by lawless force! Curses are _his_ dire portion, scorn, and hate, 10 Internal darkness and unquiet breath; And, if old judgments keep their sacred course, Him from that height shall Heaven precipitate By violent and ignominious death.

The "Adventurer" who "paid his vows to Fortune," in contrast to the royal Swede "who never did to Fortune bend the knee," was of course Napoleon Buonaparte.--ED.

"IS THERE A POWER THAT CAN SUSTAIN AND CHEER"

Composed 1809.--Published 1815

Is there a power that can sustain and cheer The captive chieftain, by a tyrant's doom, Forced to descend into his destined tomb--[1] A dungeon dark! where he must waste the year, And lie cut off from all his heart holds dear; 5 What time his injured country is a stage Whereon deliberate Valour and the rage Of righteous Vengeance side by side appear, Filling from morn to night the heroic scene With deeds of hope and everlasting praise:-- 10 Say can he think of this with mind serene And silent fetters? Yes, if visions bright Shine on his soul, reflected from the days When he himself was tried in open light.

This may refer to Palafox, alluded to in the sonnet (p. 222) beginning, "And is it among rude untutored Dales," and in the one next in order in the series (p. 223); although, from the latter sonnet, it would seem that Wordsworth did not know that Palafox was, in 1809, a prisoner at Vincennes.

In his edition of the poems published in 1837, Professor Henry Reed of Philadelphia said, "He must be dull of heart who, in perusing this series of Poems 'dedicated to Liberty,' does not feel his affection for his own country--wherever it may be--and his love of freedom, under whatever form of government his lot may have been cast--at once invigorated and chastened into a purer and more thoughtful emotion."--ED.

VARIANTS:

[1] 1837.

Forced to descend alive into his tomb, 1815.

The text of 1815 was re-adopted in 1838; the text of 1840 returned to that of 1837.

EPITAPHS TRANSLATED FROM CHIABRERA

[Those from Chiabrera were chiefly translated when Mr. Coleridge was writing his _Friend_, in which periodical my "Essay on Epitaphs," written about that time, was first published. For further notice of Chiabrera, in connection with his Epitaphs, see _Musings near Aquapendente_.--I. F.]

It is better to print all the Epitaphs from Chiabrera together, than to spread them out over the years when they were written or published. Some of them were certainly written in 1809, or at least before 1810; others at a later date. But it is impossible to say in what year those published after 1810 were composed. They are all to be found in the class of "Epitaphs and Elegiac Pieces."--ED.

I

"WEEP NOT, BELOVÈD FRIENDS! NOR LET THE AIR"

Published 1837

Weep not, belovèd Friends! nor let the air For me with sighs be troubled. Not from life Have I been taken; this is genuine life And this alone--the life which now I live In peace eternal; where desire and joy 5 Together move in fellowship without end.-- Francesco Ceni willed that, after death, His tombstone thus should speak for him.[1] And surely Small cause there is for that fond wish of ours Long to continue in this world; a world 10 That keeps not faith, nor yet can point a hope To good, whereof itself is destitute.

VARIANTS:

[1] 1849.

Francesco Ceni after death enjoined That thus his tomb should speak for him ... 1837.

II

"PERHAPS SOME NEEDFUL SERVICE OF THE STATE"

Published 1810[A]

Perhaps some needful service of the State Drew TITUS from the depth of studious bowers, And doomed him to contend in faithless courts, Where gold determines between right and wrong. Yet did at length his loyalty of heart, 5 And his pure native genius, lead him back To wait upon the bright and gracious Muses, Whom he had early loved. And not in vain Such course he held! Bologna's learned schools Were gladdened by the Sage's voice, and hung 10 With fondness on those sweet Nestorian strains.[1] There pleasure crowned his days; and all his thoughts A roseate fragrance breathed.[2][B]--O human life, That never art secure from dolorous change! Behold a high injunction suddenly 15 To Arno's side hath brought him,[3] and he charmed A Tuscan audience: but full soon was called To the perpetual silence of the grave. Mourn, Italy, the loss of him who stood A Champion stedfast and invincible, 20 To quell the rage of literary War!

VARIANTS:

[1] 1815.

... Nestrian 1810.

[2] 1815.

There did he live content; and all his thoughts Were blithe as vernal flowers.-- 1810.

[3] 1837.

To Arno's side conducts him, 1810.

FOOTNOTES:

[A] In _The Friend_, February 22.--ED.

[B] Ivi vivea giocondo ei suoi pensieri Erano tutti rose.

The Translator had not skill to come nearer to his original.--W. W. 1815.

III

"O THOU WHO MOVEST ONWARD WITH A MIND"

Published 1810[A]

O Thou who movest onward with a mind Intent upon thy way, pause, though in haste! 'Twill be no fruitless moment. I was born Within Savona's walls, of gentle blood. On Tiber's banks my youth was dedicate 5 To sacred studies; and the Roman Shepherd Gave to my charge Urbino's numerous flock. Well[1] did I watch, much laboured, nor had power To escape from many and strange indignities; Was smitten by the great ones of the world, 10 But did not fall; for Virtue braves all shocks, Upon herself resting immoveably. Me did a kindlier fortune then invite To serve the glorious Henry, King of France, And in his hands I saw a high reward 15 Stretched out for my acceptance,--but Death came. Now, Reader, learn from this my fate, how false, How treacherous to her promise, is the world; And trust in God--to whose eternal doom Must bend the sceptred Potentates of earth. 20

VARIANTS:

[1] 1837.

Much ... 1810.

FOOTNOTES:

[A] In _The Friend_, February 22.--ED.

IV

"THERE NEVER BREATHED A MAN WHO, WHEN HIS LIFE"

Published 1809[A]

There never breathed a man who, when his life Was closing, might not of that life relate Toils long and hard.--The warrior will report Of wounds, and bright swords flashing in the field, And blast of trumpets. He who hath been doomed 5 To bow his forehead in the courts of kings, Will tell of fraud and never-ceasing hate, Envy and heart-inquietude, derived From intricate cabals of treacherous friends. I, who on shipboard lived from earliest youth, 10 Could represent the countenance horrible Of the vexed waters, and the indignant rage Of Auster and Boötes. Fifty[1] years Over the well-steered galleys did I rule:-- From huge Pelorus to the Atlantic pillars, 15 Rises no mountain to mine eyes unknown; And the broad gulfs I traversed oft and oft: Of every cloud which in the heavens might stir I knew the force; and hence the rough sea's pride Availed not to my Vessel's overthrow. 20 What noble pomp and frequent have not I On regal decks beheld! yet in the end I learned[2] that one poor moment can suffice To equalise the lofty and the low. We sail the sea of life--a _Calm_ One finds, 25 And One a _Tempest_--and, the voyage o'er, Death is the quiet haven of us all. If more of my condition ye would know, Savona was my birth-place, and I sprang Of noble parents: seventy[3] years and three 30 Lived I--then yielded to a slow disease.

VARIANTS:

[1] 1837.

... Forty ... 1809.

[2] 1832.

I learn ... 1809.

[3] 1837.

... sixty ... 1809.

FOOTNOTES:

[A] In _The Friend_, December 28.--ED.

V

"TRUE IS IT THAT AMBROSIO SALINERO"

Published 1837

True is it that Ambrosio Salinero With an untoward fate was long involved In odious litigation; and full long, Fate harder still! had he to endure assaults Of racking malady. And true it is 5 That not the less a frank courageous heart And buoyant spirit triumphed over pain; And he was strong to follow in the steps Of the fair Muses. Not a covert path Leads to the dear Parnassian forest's shade, 10 That might from him be hidden; not a track Mounts to pellucid Hippocrene, but he Had traced its windings.--This Savona knows, Yet no sepulchral honours to her Son She paid, for in our age the heart is ruled 15 Only by gold. And now a simple stone Inscribed with this memorial here is raised By his bereft, his lonely, Chiabrera. Think not, O Passenger! who read'st the lines That an exceeding love hath dazzled me; 20 No--he was One whose memory ought to spread Where'er Permessus bears an honoured name, And live as long as its pure stream shall flow.[A]

FOOTNOTES:

[A] Compare S. T. Coleridge's poem, _A Tombless Epitaph_.--ED.

VI

"DESTINED TO WAR FROM VERY INFANCY"

Published 1809[A]

Destined to war from very infancy Was I, Roberto Dati, and I took In Malta the white symbol of the Cross: Nor in life's vigorous season did I shun Hazard or toil; among the sands was seen 5 Of Libya; and not seldom, on the banks Of wide Hungarian Danube, 'twas my lot To hear the sanguinary trumpet sounded. So lived I, and repined not at such fate: This only grieves me, for it seems a wrong, 10 That stripped of arms I to my end am brought On the soft down of my paternal home. Yet haply Arno shall be spared all cause To blush for me. Thou, loiter not nor halt In thy appointed way, and bear in mind 15 How fleeting and how frail is human life!

FOOTNOTES:

[A] In _The Friend_, December 28.--ED.

VII

"O FLOWER OF ALL THAT SPRINGS FROM GENTLE BLOOD"

Published 1837