This bo ok is inscribe d to rny Wife ,

HETTIE C. FLOWER ,

Who se nob le life , and fine ,in

sp iring thought, naVe b e e n a

constant aid in all I have

ende avo re d to acco xn

p lish fo r fre e dom,

justice and truth .

WOR! S B! 0 . FLOWER.

Civilizatio n ’s Infern o ; Studies in the

Social Ce llar. Clo th ,The New Tun e ! A Plea fo r the Un ion of

the Mo ral Fo rces fo r Fre edom an d Pro

gress. Clo th ,Le sson s Learn ed from Other Lives ! A B ookof Sho rt B iographies fo r ! o un g Peo ple .

Clo th ,Ge rald Massey Po e t , Pro phe t an d Mystic.

! I l lustrated.) C lo th ,

HIS little wo rk br iefly discusses

th e life an d wo rk ofo n e ofEn glan d

’

s po e ts of the pe ople,who

deserves far mo r e fr om the han ds of tho se

who lo ve justice , fre edom an d truth than he

has rece ived . I have purpo se ly quo ted very

freely from th e wr itin gs of Mr . Massey,

because I am persuaded that, in o rder to

kn ow the true se lf o r th e Spir itual ego of

an in dividual,we must se e h is sou l in actio n ,see him battlin g with in j ustice o r e rro r ,

when the pro foun d depths of his bein g are

stir red by some high an d savin g truth ; fo r

then is revealed th e spirit,un co n scious

fo r the momen t of the fette rs of en viro n

men t o r th e tramme ls ofar tificiality which

surroun d u s all . Then, th e curtain is

raised an d we catch a glimpse ofth e ho liest

ofho lies ofth e human so ul This revela

tio n of th e higher se lf is ve ry marked in

the n oble st lin es of a true po e t . I have

had a furthe r purpo se in v iew in thus

in tro ducin g the po et through h is own

wo rds . I de sir ed to br in g the high,fin e

thought of Ge rald Massey to th e atten tion

ofm en an d women ofco n victio n , believin g

that h is n oble ideals, his passio n ate appeals

fo r j ustice , h is pr ophe tic glimpse of the

comin g day, would se rve to awaken some

sleepin g souls, while they would stren gthen

o the rs in the ir purpo se to co n secrate life ’

s

best en deavo rs to th e cause of ear th ’

s

miserables an d to the difiusion oflight .

In the th ird chapte r I have in dicated

some str ikin g po in ts of resemblan ce be

tween the wr itin gs ofMassey an dWhittie r .

The fo rme r is passion ately in love with the

beauty in commo n life . He is a tire less

refo rme r, hatin g in justice mo re than he

i i

love s life , an d he po sse sse s a spir itual in

sight equalle d by few mo de rn po e ts .

These also are marked characte r istics of

o u r New En glan d Quake r po e t . Th e titles

po e t,prophe t an d see r ar e as applicable to

the o n e as to the o ther , although Mr .

Massey po ssesse s le ss in tuitio n al perceptio n

than Whittie r . What h e lacks he re,how

eve r is balan ced by h is passion fo r truth,which has led him to search pro foun dly fo r

hin ts an d facts that demo n strate th e

r eality ofan o the r life .

Mr . Massey has been to o fear less an d to o

persisten t a refo rme r to be appr eciated in

his time , bu t his wo rds an d wo rth will be

tr easur ed in the br ighte r day, when we

shall see dawn in g a so cial o rder which shall

en d e n fo rced !slave ry fo r man , pro stitutio n

fo r woman,an d ign o ran ce fo r the child .

!

As a po et of the commo n life who has

revealed n ew beauties within an d without

th e home s of th e humble , I admire him ;

i i i

as a fear less truth-se eker who has dar ed to

in cur the scoffs an d sn eers Of con ve n tion

alism an d th e savage hate of ign o ran ce ,bigo try an d fan aticism

,in th e cause Of

truth, I ho n o r him ; an d because h e has

been a true prophe t Of freedom,frate rn ity

an d justice,eve r loyal to th e in te re st ofthe

Oppressed,I love him . Mr . Massey

’

s face

has be en steadfastly se t toward th e mo rn

in g h is thoughts ar e lumin ous with the

light Of th e comin g age ; hen ce it is n o t

surpr isin g that he has disturbed th e bats

an d owls, o r en raged th e serpen ts an d

tigers in so cie ty, who in stin ctive ly shr in k

from the ho ly can do r Of truth o r th e swe et

reaso n ablen e ss Of justice .

B . O . FLOWER.

BOSTON , Jan uary , 1895 .

iv

HERE ar e in our midst man y

po e ts who attract small atte n

tio n from co n ve n tio n al critics,as they have studiously avo ided th e praise

ofcon se rvatism ,cho osin g the byways Of duty

in prefe ren ce to th e highway Of popular ity,an d always livin g up to the ir highe st con vio

tio n Of r ight . Th e po o r , the o ppr e ssed, an d

the so rrowin g have be en the ir special charge .

The ir live s have be e n characte r ized by

simplicity, an d the ir wo rds an d deeds have

in spired un n umbe r ed strugglin g souls with

lo fty ideals an d n oble r co n ception s Of life .

While the wreath of fame has be e n placed

by co n se rvatism o n th e brows of man y

who se empty rhyme s have co nfo rmed to

the di lettan te stan dard Of !ar t fo r art

’

s

sake,the se po e ts have quie tly sun g cour

age , hopei

an d love in to the hearts Of the

pe ople,lur in g them un co n sciously to highe r

altitude s Of spir ituality . They have at all

time s pro claimed the n o ble altruism of liv

in g fo r o the rs— the son g ofthe to -mo r row

of Civilizatio n . Amid the ambitio n s an d

j ealousie s Of life , th e str ife fo r fame an d

go ld, they ar e n o t foun d bu t where tyran n y

mo cks freedom an d the po o r cry fo r justice ,their wo rds r in g clear an d stron g . They are

the people’

s saviours, fo r they help the

multitudes in to the light Of truth an d up

the path ofn oble en deavo r .

Amon g this co ter ie of cho sen so n s of

God, who se un purchasable love of justice

an d ho ly can do r Of soul have r en dered it

impo ssible fo r them to yield to the siren

vo ices Of con ven tion alism,n o n ame is eu

titled to a mo re hon o red place than that of

G e rald Massey the po et-prophet of o ur

day, who has sto o d fo r truth an d r ight , while

2

le ss royal souls have so ld the ir heave n -g iven

birthright fo r earth ’

s po ttage . Had Mr .

Massey cho sen to devo te his rare talen t to

the humo rs an d dictates Of co n ven tio n alism,

in stead Of Offe n din g the dilettan te by bo ldly

pleadin g the cause of the Oppr essed ; had

h e devo ted his gifts to th e cr eatio n Of popular lyr ics

,in stead of compellin g his read

ers to thin k upo n the wr on gs Of tho se who

suffer through man’

s in human ity to man,

he would n o t have remain ed comparatively

Obscure an d been compelled to eat the

bread Of pove rty . Fo r few m en Of our

cen tury have r ece ived h igher praise from

leadin g lite rary cr itics than this po et Of th e

people . An d had wealth been able to flat

te r him in to a fawn in g sycophan t h e would

have become th e ido l Of a gay, fr ivo lous

an d amusemen t-lovin g class who imagin e

they ar e cultur ed .

B ut Ge rald Massey was a man befo re h e

was a po et . His love fo r justice was

3

gr eate r than his desire fo r th e e ider down

Of luxury or the chaplet Of fame . He was

the so n Of a po o r man . He himself had

tasted the bittern e ss of wan t . He po s

sessed the courage Of an Elijah an d/

the

spir it ofan Isaiah . He pre fe rred to r efle ct

th e best in his soul an d devo te h is divin e

gift to the se rvice Of justice , rathe r than

con fo rm to the vicious stan dards which

con ven tio n alism deman ds as the pr ice of

popular ity an d pr e fe rme n t . He cham

pion ed the cause of the weak, the po o r

an d tho se who se lives are made bitter by

havin g to bear heavie r burden s than r ight

ful ly be lo n g to them .

Now,be cause ofthis magn ificien t loyalty

to j ustice an d human r ights, because h e

dared to assail th e in justice Of en tr en ched

pluto cracy an d the hypo cr isy Of creedal

r eligio n,h e has been den ied the justice due

to his fin e po etic talen t an d his supe rb

man ho o d . B u t though ign o red, in the

main,by co n se rvatism,

he has w o n the

hearts Of million s who love , suffe r an d

wait . An d I believe the future will place

him high in the pan theon Of En glan d ’

s

po e ts,because he has vo iced th e r eal spir it

ofthe o n comin g civilization in a truer an d

braver way than man y co n tempo rar ie s who

are baskin g in popular favo r . The fo llow

in g extracts from his writin gs r efle ct the

dream eve r presen t in the po et’

s min d .

They may be said to co n tain the keyn ote

ofhis cr eed !

The first duty ofm en who have to die

is to learn h ow to live , so as to leave the

wo rld, o r somethin g in it , a little better

than they foun d it . Our future life must

be the n atural outcome ofthis the r o o t Of

the who le matter is in this life .

We hear th e cry fo r bread with plen ty smilin g all

aroun d ;Hill an d valley in the ir boun ty blush fo r man withfru itage crown ed

,

What a mer ry wo rld it might be , Opulen t fo r all

an d aye ,

With its lan ds that ask fo r labo r , an d its wealththat wastes away I

This wo r ld is fu ll of beau ty, as o ther wo rldsabove ;

An d, if we did our duty, it might be full of love .

The leaf-to n gue s Of th e fore st, an d the flowe r-lipsofth e sod

,

The happy birds that hymn the ir raptures in the

ear Of G od,The summe r W in d that br in geth music ove r lan d

an d se a,

Have each a vo ice that sin geth this swe et son g

ofson gs to m e

This wo r ld is fu ll Of beauty,as o ther worlds

above ;An d, if we did our duty, it might be full oflove .

If faith, an d hope , an d kin dn e ss passed,as co in ,

’twixt hear t an d hear t,

Up thro ugh the eye ’s tear-blin dn e ss, how th e sudden

so ul sho uld start

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

help suppo rt a family which kn ew all the

bitte rn ess of bitin g pove r ty . Man y years

Of h is early life we re spen t in straw plait

in g . At e ight he was wo rkin g twe lve

hours a day in a silk man ufacto ry, an d

rece ivin g from n in e pen ce to o n e

shillin g an d sixpen ce a week . Very

pathe tic is the po e t’s descr iptio n Of the bit

ter struggle with poverty which marked

his early boyho od . St ill, without this

exper ien ce it is doubtful if the wo rld would

have been en r iched by his clar io n cr ie s fo r

justice o r th e in spir in g son gs of hope an d

courage which will be sun g an d resun g

un til the wealth pro ducer is eman cipated

an d civilizatio n learn s her supreme lesso n

that Human ity is o n e .

John Ruskin, who has eve r seemed to take

a special in te rest in Ge rald Massey, on o n e

occasio n wro te the po et ! our educatio n

was a te rrible o n e , bu t min e was far wo rse

th e on e havin g suffe red the bitte rn ess ofpo v

8

er ty, the o the r havin g been the pampe red

child Of wealth . Ve ry few bo oks came

in to the po ssessio n of the po o r po et boy,an d his time was so take n up that h e had

few mome n ts fo r the luxury Of r eadin g .

He r e ce ived n o in structio n save that Ob

tain ed in a pen n y scho o l, bu t h is passio n

ate lo n gin g fo r kn owledge led him to man y

foun tain s Of truth which duller min ds

wo uld n eve r have disce rn ed . The bo ok of

n ature attracted his eye , her smile wo o ed

him,h e r vo ice charmed his ear ; his min d

un co n scio usly dran k deeply Of h er truths.

Like man y an o the r po o r boy, Mr . Massey

learn ed th e value Of kn owledge . His min d

became a sto rehouse fo r truth, r ather than

a sieve,an d h is passio n fo r th e acquisitio n

offacts, which was awaken ed befo r e n eces

sity compelled him to en te r th e ran k ofthe

child slaves of facto ry life,grew str o n ger

as h e advan ced in years . At a late r per io d

he became a de ep studen t alon g several

9

lin es ofthought . An ove rmaster in g dete r

m in atio n to po ssess th e truth an d an

un flin chin g loyalty to what he con ce ived

to be r ight,have been marked characte r

istics Of the po et’

s life . In him we have a

curious combin atio n . He is o n e of the

mo st graceful an d charmin g lyr ic po e ts

En glan d has give n the wo r ld . He is also

a se e r an d philo sophe r , a mystic an d scien

tific studen t, a prophet an d r e fo rme r,while

all his wo rk r eflects simplicity an d pur ity

oflife in spired by h is high ethical code an d

lo fty faith . Fo r years h e has exper ien ced

remarkable psychic phe n omen a within h is

own home circle . TO him have been given

te st an d eviden ces which have co n vin ced

him beyo n d all pe ratlv en tu re ofdoubt that

h is loved o n e s who have passed from View

are n e ithe r in th e groun d n o r in some far

OffHeaven ly City ofthe Chr istian,n o r ye t

in th e state Of Devachan of the Buddhist

bu t ar e aroun d abo ut him,in his daily life .

10

He has had pro o f palpable an d Of such a

r eason -compe llin g characte r as to leave n o

doubt in h is min d that his dear o n e s live ,

lo v e an d move o nward . On this po in t Mr

Massey thus clearly an d fo rcibly expresse s

h is co n victio n s

My faith in o ur futur e life is fo un ded

upo n facts in n ature . an d r e alitie s Of my

own pe rso n al expe r ie n ce ; n o t upo n an y

falsificatio n Of n atural fact . These facts

have bee n mo re o r less kn own to m e pe r

so n ally dur in g fo rty years Of familiar face

to -face acquain tan ce ship, the r efo r e my ce r

titude is n o t prematur e ; they have given

m e th e pr o o f palpable that o ur ve ry own

human iden tity an d in te lligen ce do persist

afte r the blin d ofdarkn ess has be en drawn

down in death . He who has plumbed

the vo id of death as I have,an d touched

this so lid groun d Of fact, has established a

faith that can n eve r b e un de rmin ed n o r

11

o ve r-thrown . He has do n e with the po e try

Of de so latio n an d despair,th e sighs Of

un availin g r egret , an d all the passio n ate

wailin g Of un fruitful pain . He can n o t be

ber eaved in sou l ! An d I have h ad a’mple

te stimo n y that my po ems have do n e wel

come wo rk, ii o n ly in helpin g to de stroy

the tyran n y of death,which has made so

man y men tal slave s afraid to live .

! Th e false faiths ar e fadin g ; bu t it is in

th e light of a true r kn owledge . Th e half

Gods ar e go in g in o rde r that th e who le

Gods may come . The re is fin e r fish in the

un fathomed sea of the futur e than an y we

have yet lan ded . It is o n ly in Ou r time

that th e data have be e n co llecte d fo r

r ightly in te rpre tin g th e past Of m an , an d

fo r po r trayin g the lo n g an d vast pro ce s

sio n Of h is slow bu t n eve r-ceasin g pro gre ss

through th e san dy wilde rn e ss Of an umon l

tivated ear th in to th e w o r ld ofwo rk, with

th e ove r-quicke n in g co n scio usn e ss of a

12

highe r,wo rthie r life to come . An d with

o u t this measure Of th e human past, we

could have n o true gauge Of th e gr owth

that is po ssible in th e futur e! In de e d it se ems to m e that we ar e o n ly

just begin n in g to lay ho ld of this life in

ear n e st ! o n ly just stan din g o n th e ve ry

thr e sho ld of true thought ; o n ly just n ow

attain in g a r ight me n tal me tho d Of thin k

in g , through a kn owledge Of evo lutio n

o n ly just ge ttin g in lin e with n atural law,

an d se ekin g earn estly to stan d leve l-fo o te d

o n that gro un d ofr eality which must eve r

an d eve rywhe r e b e th e o n e lastin g fo un da

tio n Of all that is pe rman e n tly true .

!

On th e vital so cial pro blems which

in timate ly affe ct th e pr ogr e ss of th e race,

Mr . Massey evin ce s th e clear pe rcep tio n s

Of a bro ad-vision ed philo so phe r . He Ob

se rve s

It is o n ly Of late that th e tr e e Of kn owl

13

edge has begun to lo se its evil characte r,

to be plan ted an ew,an d spr e ad its ro o ts in

th e fr e sh groun d of eve ry board-scho o l,with its fruits n o lo n ge r accursed, but

made fre e to all .

We ar e begin n in g to se e that thewo rst

Of the evils n ow afflictin g the human race

are man made , an d do n o t come in to the

wo r ld by de cre e Of fate o r flat Of God ; an d

that which is man made is also r emediable

by man . No t by man alo n e Fo r woman

is abo ut to take h e r place by his side as true

he lpmate an d ally in carryin g o n th e wo rk

of th e wo rld, so that we may lo ok upon

th e fall ofm an as be in g gradually supe r

seded by th e ascen t Of woman . An d he re

le t me say, pare n thetically, that I co n sider

it to be the fir st n ecessity fo r women to

Obtain the parliamen try fran chise be for e

they can hope to stan d upon a busin ess

fo o tin g of practical equality with me n ;

an d the re fo re I have n o sympathy with

14

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

riage re lation . On this impo rtan t theme

h e Obse rves

The truth is, that woman at h e r best an d

n oblest must be mo n arch Of the marr iage

bed. We must begin in the creato ry if we

are to ben efit the race , an d the woman has

go t to r escue an d take po ssessio n Of h e r

se lf, an d co n sciously assume all the r espon

sibilities Of mate rn ity, o n behalf of the

children . NO woman has an y r ight to

part with the abso lute own ership of h er

own bo dy, but sh e has th e r ight to be pro

tected again st all fo rms of brute fo rce .

NO woman has any busin ess to mar ry any

thin g that is less than a man . NO woman

has any r ight to mar ry any man wh o will

sow th e se eds Of hereditary disease in her

dar lin gs . No t fo r all the m on ey in the

wo rld ! NO woman has any r ight,acco rd

in g to the highest law ,to bear a child to a

man sh e do es n o t love .

16

Ou r po e t ’

s high ideal Of woman an d he r

true po sitio n is beautifully expressed in the

fo llowin g lin es

My fe llow-men , as yet we have but seenW ife , siste r , mo ther , an d daughter n o t the queen

Upo n he r thro n e , wi th all he r j ewe ls crown ed !

Un kn owin g how to se ek, we have n o t foun dOur godde ss, waiting h er Pygmalio nT o wo o he r in to woman from the sto n e !

Our husban dry hath lacked essen tial powe rTo fructify the promi se Of the flowe r ;W e have n o t kn own he r n ature ripe all roun d.

W e have but seen h e r beauty o n o n e sideThat lean ed in lov e to u s with blush Of brideThe pure white lily ofall woman ho od,With heart all go lden , still is in th e bud.

W e have but glimpsed a momen t in her faceThe glo ry she will give the futur e race ;

Th e stro n g, her o ic spir it kn it beyo n dAll in duratio n Of th e diamo n d .

She is th e n atural br in ger from above ,The earthly mirr o r of immo r tal love ;

17

The cho sen mouthpiece fo r the mystic wo rdOf life divin e to speak through, an d be heardWith human vo ice , that make s its heavenward callNo t in o n e virgin mo therho o d, but all .

Unwo rthy Of th e gift, how have m e n tro dHe r pear ls ofpu re n ess, swin e -like , in the sod !

How Ofte n have they Offered h er the dustAn d ashes Of th e fan n ed-ou t fir es Of lust,Or

, devilishly in flamed with the divin e ,W axed drun ken with th e sacrame n tal win e

How have m en captur ed h e r with savage grips,TO stamp the kiss Of con quest o n h e r lips ;As feathe r in the ir crest have wo rn h er grace

,

Or brush offo x that crown s the hun te r ’s chase ;

Wo o ed he r with passio n s that but wed to fir e

W ith Hymen ’s to rch the ir own fun ereal pyre ;

Str ipped h e r as slave an d temptr ess ofdesire ;Embraced th e bo dy when h er sou l was farBeyo n d po sse ssio n as the lo ftiest star

He r whiten ess hath been tarn ished by the ir to uch ;He r promise hath be en br o ken in the ir clutch ;Th e woman hath r eflected man to o much,A n d made th e bread Of life with e ar thie st Ieave n .

18

Our comin g que e n must be the br ide Of he ave n

Th e wife who will n o t wear he r bo n ds with pr ide

As adul t do ll with frippe r ie s glo r ifiedThe mo the r fashio n ed o n a n oble r planThan woman who was mer e ly madefr om man .

On the proper rear in g ofch ildren h e has

wo rds to say which should appeal to eve ry

lovin g paren t

The life we live with them eve ry dayis the teachin g that tells

,an d n o t the

precepts utter ed weekly that ar e co n tin u

ally belied by ou r own daily practices .

Give the children a kn owledge Of n atural

law ,espe cially in that domain Of physical

n ature which has hitherto been tabo o ed .

If we br eak a n atural law we sufler pain in

con sequen ce , n o matter whether we kn ow

th e law o r n o t . This r esult is n o t an

acciden t , because it always happen s, an d is

Obviously in ten ded to happen . Pun ish

men ts are n o t to be avo ided by ign o ran ce

ofeflects ; they can on ly be warded Off by

19

a kn owledge ofcauses . The r efo re n o thin g

but kn owledge can help them . Teach the

children to become the so ldiers Of duty

in stead Of th e slaves Of se lfish desir e .

Show them h ow th e sin s again st self

r eappear in the lives Of others . Teach

them to thin k Of tho se o thers as th e mean s

Of ge ttin g out Of se lf . Teach them h ow

th e laws Of n ature wo rk by he redity .

Children have cars like the ve ry spies of

n ature herself ; eyes that pen etrate all

subterfuge an d preten ce . Let them

be well groun ded in th e do ctrin e of deve l

Opmen t, without which we can n o t begin to

thin k coher en tly . Give them the be st

mater ial, th e soun dest method ; let the

Spir it wo rld have a chan ce as a livin g

in fluen ce o n them ,an d the n let them do

th e r e st . Never fo rge t that the faculty

fo r se e in g is wo rth all that is to be se en .

It is go o d to set befo r e them the lo ftiest

ideals— n o t tho se that ar e mythical an d

20

n o n -n atural , bu t tho se that have be en lived

in human reality . Th e best ideal Of all

has to be po r trayed by the par e n ts in the

realities of life at home The teachin g

that go e s de epest will be in direct , an d the

truth will tell mo st o n them when it is

overheard . When you ar e n o t watch in g,an d th e child ren ar e— that is when the

lesso n s are learn ed fo r life .

!

The se ar e twen tieth-ce n tury thoughts,

an d they are pr egn an t with the truth

which will ye t make th e wo rld glad . On e

thin g which impre sses th e reader,in all

Mr . Massey’

s wo rks, is his sin ce r ity an d his

abho rr e n ce Of hypo cr isy o r Shams Of anykin d . This thought, which is pr esen t in

all his wr itin gs,is emphasized in the fol

lowin g passage from his ! Devil Of Dark

n e ss

The devil an d hell Of my cr e ed co n sist

in that n atural Nemesis which fo llows o n

21

br oken laws, an d dogs the law breaker , in

spite of an y be lief of his that his sin s an d

the ir in evitable r esults can be so cheaply

spo n ged ou t,as h e has be e n misled to

thin k, thr ough th e sheddin g of in n oce n t

blo o d . Natur e kn ows n o thin g of the fo r

giv en ess fo r sin . Sh e has n o r ewards o r

pun ishmen ts— n o thin g but causes an d co n

sequen ces . Fo r example,if you should

co n tract a ce rtain disease an d pass it o n to

your childr e n an d the ir children,all the

alleged fo rgiven e ss Of God will be of n o

avail if yo u can n o t fo rgive yourse lf . Ours

is th e devil Of her edity, wo rkin g in two

wo r lds at o n ce . Ours is a far mo re te rr ible

way of r ealizin g th e her eafte r , whe n it is

brought home to u s in co n crete fact,

whethe r in this life o r th e life to come ,

than an y abstract idea ofhe ll o r devil can

affo rd . We have to face th e facts befo re

han d— n o use to whin e ove r them impo t

en tly afte rwards, when it is tOO late . Fo r

example22

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

On ly thin k of a fin e lady who , in this

life,had been wo o ed an d flattered

, sumptu

ously clad an d delicately fed ; fo r whom th e

pure,sweet air of heaven had to be per

fumed as in cen se , an d the red r o se Of health

had to fade fr om man y youn g human faces

to blo ssom in th e r obes she wo re,who se

every sen se had been mo st dain tily feasted,

an d h er who le life summed up in o n e lo n g

thought Of self, thin k Of fin din g he rself

in th e n ext life a spir itual leper , a walkin g

pestilen ce , person ified disease , a sloughin g

so r e Of this life which th e spir it has to ge t

rid Of, an excremen t Of this life ’s selfishn ess

at which all go o d spirits stop the ir n o ses

an d shudder when sh e comes n ear ! Do n’

t

you thin k if sh e realized that as a fact in

time,it would wo rk mo re effectually than

much preachin g ! Th e hell Of th e drun k

ard, the libidin ous, th e bloo d-thirsty, o r

go ld-greedy soul,they tell us, is the burn

in g Of th e Old, devour in g passio n which

4

was n o t quen ched by th e chills of death .

The cro ssin g Of th e co ld,dark r iver , even ,

was o n ly as the un tasted water to the

co n sumin g thirst ofTan talus ! In suppor t

Of this,evo lutio n shows th e co n tin uity of

ourselve s,our desires

,passio n s an d char

acters . As the Egyptian s said, Who so is

in te lligen t he re will be in te llige n t ther e !

An d if we haven ’

t maste red an d disciplin ed

our lowe r passion s he re , they will be mas

ters Of u s, fo r th e t ime be in g, he r eafte r .

!

In lyr ic verse Gerald Massey ran ks

amo n g the first En glish po ets . His des

cription s Of humble life , po r trayal of pro

foun dly human sen timen ts, an d exquisite ly

de licate r eflection s Of tho se subtle emo tion s

which are the commo n her itage of every

true man an d woman,have r ar e ly be en

equalled . They r eveal th e powe r of the

true po et . Take,fo r example

,the fo llow

in g stan zas sele cted from Babe Chr ista

bel,!

an d n o te the purity, wealth offee lin g

25

an d beauty Of expr e ssion which clo the th e

simple sto ry Of dawn an d n ight in the

human hear t

Babe Chr istabe l was r oyally bor nFo r when th e ear th was flushed with flowe rsAn d dren ched with beauty in sun showers,

Sh e came through go lde n gates Of mo rn .

NO chambe r arras-p ictur ed roun d,Whe re sun beams make a go rge o usA n d touch its glo r ie s in to blo om,

An d fo o tsteps fall without en soun d,

Was her birth-place that mer ry May mo rnNO gifts we re heaped, n o bells wer e run g,NO healths we re drun k, n o so n gs wer e sun g

,

When dear Babe Christabe l was bo rn

B ut n atur e o n the dar lin g smiled,An d with h er beauty’

s blessin gs crown edLove br o oded o ’

er the hallowed groun d ,An d the re we re an ge ls with th e child .

36 at

26

The father, down in t o il’s mirk min e ,

Turn s to h is wealthie r wo rld above ,Its radian ce

,an d its home oflove

An d lights h is life like sun -struck win e .

The mo the r moves with queen lie r tr e adProud swe ll the globe s ofr ipe de lightAbove he r heart, so warm an d whiteA pillow fo r the baby-he ad

She grew a swe e t an d sin le ss child,

In shin e an d showe r , calm an d strifeA rain bow o n our dark oflife ,

From love ’s own radian t heaven down -smiled

In lo n e ly love lin e ss sh e grew,

A shape all music, light , an d love ,With start lin g lo oks

,so e lo qu en t of

The spir it whiten in g in to view .

An d still h e r che ek grew pale as pear l,It to ok n o tin t ofsummer ’

s wealthOf co lo r

,warmth, an d win e ofhealth

Death’s han d SO white ly pressed th e gir l

27

No blush grew r ipe to sun o r kissWhere vio let ve in s ran purple light,SO ten der ly thr ough Par ian white ,

Touchin g you in to ten dern ess.

She came as comes th e light ofSmi le sO

’er earth, an d every buddin g thin gMakes qu ick with beauty, alive with sprin g ;Then go e th to the go lden isles.

She came like music in th e n ightFloatin g as heaven in th e brain ,

A momen t Oped, an d shut again ,An d all is dark wher e all was light .

Sh e thought o ur go od-n ight kiss was given ,An d like a flower h er life did clo se .

An gels un curtain ed that r epo se ,An d th e n ex t wakin g dawn ed in heaven .

They sn atched o ur little ten der lin g,SO shyly Open in g in to V iew,

De lighted, as th e children doThe pr imro se that is first in spr in g

28

The lin es quo ted above are taken from

var ious par ts Of th e po em,an d the refo re do

n o t pre sen t the un ity Of thought which

characte rizes th e exquisite creatio n as a

whole .

! My Cousin Win n ie !

is an o ther

very charmin g po em ,in which th e autho r

descr ibes th e child love which thr obbed in

his hear t, when , as a boy, h e basked in the

smiles of Cousin Win n ie . I have space

fo r a few stan zas o n ly . They will be suffi

cien t, however , to call up man y lon g

van ished images to the min d of the reader .

Fo r th e chamber s of th e human brain are

sto r ed with sprin gtime treasur es, which are

forgo tten un til some magic wo rd is spoken,

some pictur e flashed upon the men tal

r e tin a, o r a soun d of lo n g ago is heard,

an d straightway th e sealed do o r flies open,

an d fo r th come tro opin g, as children from

a coun try scho o l, th e dr eams an d hopes

which gilded life ’

s youn g day z

29

The glad spr in g gr een gr ows lumin o usWith comin g summer ’

s go lden glow ;Mer ry birds sin g as they san g to us

In far -offseason s, lo n g ago

Th e Old place br in gs th e youn g dawn back,That mo ist eye s mirr o r in their dewMy heart go es fo r th alo n g th e trackWher e oft it dan ced, dear Win n ie , with you .

A wo r ld Of time , a sea ofchan ge ,Have r o lled betwe en th e paths we tr ead,Sin ce you wer e my Cousin Win n ie ,

!an d I

W as yo ur own little , go od little Ned.

!

at as a =x< as

My be in g in yo ur pr e sen ce basked,An d kitte n -like fo r pleasure pu rr ed ;A higher heaven I n eve r asked

Than watchin g, wistfu l as a bird,T o hear that vo ice SO r ich an d low ;

Or sun m e in th e r osy r iseOf some sou l-r ipen in g smile , an d kn owThe thr ill ofope n in g paradise .

The boy might lo ok to o ten der lyAll lightly ’

twas in terpr eted! ou wer e my Cousin Win n ie , an d I

W as your own little , go od little Ned .

at as s at

3 0

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

Alo n e , unwearyin g, year by year ,I go o n layin g up my love ,

I thin k G od makes n o pr omi se hereB ut it shall be fu lfilled above ;

I thin k my W ild we ed of the wasteWill o n e day pr o ve a flower mo st sweetMy love shall bear its fruit at last

’Twill all be r ighted when we meet ;An d I Shall fin d them gather ed upIn pearls for you th e tears I ’

ve shed

Sin ce you wer e my Cousin Win n ie ,!an d I

W as your own little , go od little Ned.

!

Here again in ! Th e Mo ther ’

s Ido l

B roken which,in my judgmen t , is the

fin est wo rk Of thi s character wr itten by

Mr . Massey we fin d a depth ofemo tion ,a beauty of imagery

,an d a wealth Of pur e

po e tic power which would have do n e ho n o r

to Ten n yso n in the best mo ods of the late

po et laureate .

After descr ibin g th e mother ’

s joy over

the adven t of th e babe in the househo ld,our po et co n tin ues

32

An d pr o ud e re her eye s as she r o se with the

p r ize,

A pear l in he r palms, my pe e r less !

Oh,fo un d yo u a little sea sire n ,

In some pe r ilo us palace le ft !Or is it a little child an ge l,Of h e r high-bo r n kin ber eft !

Or came sh e o ut ofthe e lfin lan d,By ear thly love beguiled !

Or hath th e Sweet spir it ofbeautyTaken Shape as o ur starry child !

With mystical fain t fragran ce ,Our house oflife sh e filled

Revealed each ho ur some fairy tower ,Whe r e win ged hopes might build .

W e saw— though n o n e like u s might se eSuch pr ecio us pr omise pearledUpo n the petals of our we eWhite Ro se ofall th e wo r ld !

38

Our Ro se was but in blo ssom ;Our life was but in spr in g ;

3 3

When down th e so lemn midn ightW e heard th e spir its sin gAn o ther bud of infan cy,

W th h o ly dews imp ear led,

An d in the ir han ds they bo r e our wee

W hite Rose ofall th e wo r ld.

Sh e came like April, wh o wi th ten der graceSmi les in ear th ’

s face , an d se ts upo n her br eastThe bud ofall her glo ry ye t to come ,Then bur sts in tears, an d take s h er so rr owfu l leave .

Sh e br ought heave n to us just wi thin th e spaceOf the dear depths ofhe r large , dream-like eyes,Then o

’e r th e vista fe ll the death-ve il dark .

She o n ly caught thr e e wo rds Of human speechOn e for h er mo the r , o n e fo r m e

,an d o n e

She cr owed with, fo r th e fie lds an d Open air .

That last sh e sighed with a sharp farewe ll patho sA min ute er e sh e le ft th e house of life ,To come fo r kisses n ever an y mo r e .

Pale Blo ssom h ow sh e lean ed in love to us !

An d how we feare d a han d might r each fr om

he aven

T o pluck o ur sweetest flowe r , our love liest flowe r

3 4

Of life , that spran g from lowlie st r o o t Of loveSome ten de r tro uble in h e r eyes complain edOf Life ’

s rude str eam,as me ek fo rge t-m e -n o ts

Make swee t appeal when win ds an d wate rs fr e t .

An d oft sh e lo oked beyo n d us with sad eye s,As fo r th e comin g of th e Un se en Han d .

W e saw ,but fear ed to speak Of,h e r stran ge beauty,

AS some hushed bird that dare s n o t sin g i ’ then ight,

Lest lurkin g fo e sho u ld fin d its secr e t place ,An d se ize it thr ough the dark . W ith twin -love ’

s

str e n gth

All cr owded in th e so fte st n estlin g-to uch,W e fe n ced he r r o un d,— exchan gin g sile n t lo oks.

W e wen t abo ut the hou se with listen in g hear ts,That kept the watch fo r dan ger ’

s stealthiest step .

Our spir its fe lt th e Shadow e r e it fe ll .

>X= =l=

Th e mo rn in gs came with all the ir glo ry o n

Birds, br o oks, an d be e s we r e sin gin g in th e sun,

Ear th ’s blithe heart br eathin g blo om in to h er face ,

Th e flowe rs all cr owdin g up like memo r iesOf love lier life in some fo rgo tte n wo r ld,Or dr eams ofpeace an d beau ty yet to come .

The so ft so uth-br eezes r ocked th e baby-buds

3 5

In fon dlin g arms upo n a balmy breast ;An d all was gay as un iver sal lifeSwam down th e str eam that glads th e City of G od.

B ut we lay dark where De ath had stru ck us downWith that stern blow which made u s ble ed W ithin ,An d bow while th e In evitable wen t by.

as =x< as at

Thi s is a cur l of little Mar ian ’s hair

A r in g ofsin less go ld that weds two wo r lds !

Po etic gen ius Of a high o rder is dis

played in this r emarkable pro duction , an d

though the extracts given above carry

with them the spir it of the po em,they are

on ly threads in what, when taken as a

who le , is a cloth of man y tin ts, r ich in

co lo r an d fin e in textur e .

Seldom do we fin d an ythin g so pure an d

swe e t as the fo llowin g lin es taken from! Wedded Love ,

!

in which the po e t gives

us a glimpse Of his own deep an d r ich

exper ie n ces

3 6

My life ran like a r ive r in r o cky ways,A n d seaward dashed, a so un din g cataract !

B ut thin e was like a qu ie t lake of beau ty,So ft-shadowed r o un d by gracio us in flue n ce s

,

That gathe rs silen tly its wealth ofear th,An d wo o s heaven till it me lts down in to it .

They mi n gled an d the glo ry an d th e calmClo sed r o un d m e

,br o odi n g in to perfe ct r e st.

Oh,ble ssin gs o n thy true an d ten de r hear t !

How it hath go n e fo r th like th e dove ofOld,T o br in g some leaf ofpr omi se in life ’

s de luge !

Thou hast a str o n g up-soar in g ten de n cy,

That bears m e Godward, as th e stalwar t oakUplifts th e clin gin g vin e , an d give s it gr owthThy r ever en t hear t fami liar ly do th takeUn co n scious clasp Of high an d ho ly thin gs,An d trusteth whe r e it may n o t u n der stan d .

W e have had so r r ows, love an d wept th e tearsThat r u n the r o se -hu e fr om th e che eks of lifeB ut gr ie f hath j ewe ls as n ight hath h er stars,

An d Sh e r eveale th what we n e’e r had kn own

,

With j oy’s wr eath tumbled o ’

er our blin ded eyes.

The hear t is like an in strumen t who se str ingsSteal n obler music fr om life ’

s man y fr ets ;

3 7

The go lden threads ar e spun thr ough suffer in g ’s

fir e ,

Wher ewi th the mar r iage r obe s fo r heaven are

wove n ;An d all th e rar est hue s ofhuman lifeTake radian ce , an d ar e rain bowed ou t in tear s.

Th ou ’r t little chan ged, dear love sin ce we wer ewed .

Thy beauty hath climaxed like a cr escen t mo o n ,W ith glo ry gr eaten in g to the go lden fu ll .Thy flowers of spr in g are cr own ed with summerfru its,

An d thou hast pu t a qu e e n lier pr e sen ce o n

With thy r egality ofwoman ho o d !! et time but toucheth the e wi th me llowi n g shadesThat se t thy graces in a we althie r light .

Thy sou l still lo oks wi th its rar e smi le oflove ,Fr om the gate beautiful ofits palace home ,Fair as th e spir it ofth e even in g star ,

That lights its glory as a radian t po rch

T o beaco n ear th with br ighte r glimpse ofheaven .

W e are po o r in this wo r ld’

s wealth, but r ich inlove ;

An d they who love fe e l r ich in eve rythin g.

at

38

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

with disease,b ravely editin g his maga

zin e an d compo sin g immo r tal lin es while

con fin ed to h is bed an d racked with pain

was en ough to appeal to th e imagi n atio n

an d sympathy ofa large-hearted n ature like

Ge rald Massey’

s . An d then these two

champion s of th e po o r we re kin dred souls .

He who wrote ! The Br idge of Sighs

was n aturally en deared to the po et who

pen n ed ! The Cry of the Un employed .

!

Ho o d was wo rthy of the fo llowin g tr ibute,

which I r egard as amo n g the fin est speci

men s of Massey’

s wo rk !

’Twas the o ld sto ry ever th e blin d wo r ld

! n ows n o t its An ge ls ofDe liveran ceTill they stan d glo r ified ’

twixt ear th an d heave n .

It sto n e s th e Martyr then , with prayin g han ds,Se es th e G od mo un t his char io t offir e ,

An d calls sweet n ames, an d wo rships what

spur n ed .

It slays th e Man to deify th e Chr ist

An d the n h ow lovin gly ’twill bin d the brows

40

Whe r e late its tho r n -crown laughed with crue llips

Red,an d r e j o icin g from th e killin g kiss

TO tho se wh o walk be side them,great m e n se em

Me r e commo n ear th ; but distan ce makes them

star s.

A s dyin g limbs do le n gthe n o u t in death ,SO gr ows the statur e ofthe ir afte r -fame

An d the n we gather up the ir glo r iou s wo rds,An d tr easur e up the ir n ames with lovin g care .

SO Ho od, o ur Po e t, lived his martyr -lifeWith a swift so u l that trave lled at such speed,An d struck such flashe s fr om its flin ty r oad,That by its trail of radian ce thr ough th e dark,W e almo st see the u n featur ed Futur e ’

s face ,A n d we n t u n cr own ed to h is u n time ly tomb .

’T is tr u e , th e wo r ld did praise h is glo r io us witTh e merry J este r with h is cap an d be lls I

An d so o th, his wit was like Ithur ie l ’s spearB ut ’

twas me r e lighten in g fr om th e cloud of hi s

life ,Which he ld at heart mo st r ich an d ble ssed rainOf tear ’

s me lodi ous, that ar e wo r lds of loveAn d Rain bows that wo u ld br idge fr om ear th to

heave n

An d Light, that shoul d have sho n e like Jo shua’s sun

41

Above our lo n g death-grapple with th e Wr o n g ;An d thun der -vo ices, with the ir Wo rds offir e ,T o me lt the slaves chain , an d th e Tyran t ’

s cr own .

His wit ! a kin d smi le just to hearten us

Rich fo am-wr eaths o n the wave s oflavish life ,That flashed o ’

e r pre cious pearls an d go lden san ds.

B ut,ther e was that ben eath surpassin g wit

The starry soul, that shin es when all is dark !En duran ce , that can sufi e r an d grow str o n gWalk thr o ugh the wo r ld with bleedin g fe e t

,an d

smi leLove ’

s in n e r light, that kin dles Life ’s rare co lours,

Br ight win e ofBeau ty fo r th e lo n gin g soul ;An d tho ughts that swathe Human ity with such

glo ry

As lin es the outlin e ofthe comin g G o d .

In him we re gleams ofsuch her o ic sple n dour

As light this co ld, dark wo r ld up like a star

Arrayed in glo ry for the eye s ofheaven

An d a gr eat heart that beat acco rdin g musicWith the irs Of Old, G od-Iikest kings ofm en !

A co n qu er in g heart ! which Circumstan ce , thatfr ights

The man y down from Love ’s t ran sfigur in g he ight,

Aye mettled in to mar tial attitude .

He might have clutched the palm of V ictory

42

In the wo rld’s wr estlin g-r ing ofn oble de eds ;B ut h e we n t down a precious Argo syA t sea, just glimme rin g in to sight Of sho re ,With its rare fr e ightage from divin e r climes.

While fr ien ds we re crowdi n g at th e Harbou r mo u thTo mee t an d we lcome th e brave Sailo r back ,He saw,

an d san k in sight of them at home

The wo rld may n eve r kn ow th e wealth it lo st,

When Ho od wen t darklin g to h is tear fu l tomb,So mighty in his u n deve loped fo r ceWith all his crowdin g un accomplished ho pesTh’

un uttered we alth an d glo ry ofh is sou lAn d all the music r in gin g r o un d his life

,

A n d po ems stir r in g in h is dying brain .

B ut blessings o n him fo r th e so n gs h e san gWhich yearn ed about th e wo r ld till then fo r bir th !How like a bo n n y bird ofG od h e came

,

A n d poured h is hear t in music fo r th e Po o rW h o Sit in g lo om wh ile sun shin e flo ods th e lan d,An d grope thr ough darkn e ss

,fo r th e han d ofHelp .

An d trampled Man ho od heard, an d claimed itscr own

An d trampled Woman ho o d spran g up e n n obled !The human soul lo oked radian tly thr ough rags !An d ther e was me ltin g ofco ld hearts, as whenThe ripeni ng sun light fin gers fr o zen flowers.

43

O ble ssin gs o n him fo r the so n gs h e san g !When all the star s ofhappy tho ught had se t

In man y a min d, his spirit walked th e glo omClo thed o n with beau ty, as th e r egal Mo o n

W alks h er n ight-kin gdom,turn in g clouds to light .

Our Champio n with h is hear t to o big to beatIn bo n ds

,o ur Po e t in his pr ide ofpowe r !

Aye , we’ll r emember him wh o fought o ur fight ,

An d cho se th e Martyr ’s r obe Of flame

,an d spu rn ed

The go ld an d purple o fth e gliste r in g slave .

His Mau so leum is th e Pe ople ’s heart

,

There he lies crown ed an d glo rified,— in state .

Man y of Euro pe ’

s mo st competen t an d

co n scien tious critics have expr essed their

appreciation of th e h igh o rde r ofmuch of

Mr . Massey’

s po e tical wo rk .

! I r e j o ice ,!

wro te John Ruskin to the po e t,

! in ac

kn owledgin g my own debt of gratitude to

you fo r man y an en co uragin g an d n oble

thought, an d expr e ssion of thought . Few

n atio n al services can be greate r than that

yo u have r e n der ed .

! Thomas Aird, in

a cr itical r eview , Obse rved Ge rald

44

Massey be lo n gs to th e n ew cho ir . Patho s

an d love an d a purple flush Of beauty

ste ep the co lo r of all h is so n gs. The

emin en t e ssayist, Walter Bageho t,in e r iti

cisin g Mr . Massey’

s wo rk, said ! His

descr ip tio n s Of n atur e show a clo se Oh

se rver ofhe r ways, an d a delicate apprecia

t io n Of he r beauties . His images, howeve r

subtle an d delicately woven ,ar e n eve r

false .

!

Her e ar e some melodious stan zas which

t e ll us of the po e t ’

s hope fo r a brighte r

tomo rr ow,a hope which h e en ter tain ed

befo r e h is lon g an d car eful psychical in ves

tigation ,led to th e po sitive co n victio n

e xpressed in his later prose an d po etical

wo rks

Although its features fade in light of u n imagin edbliss,

W e have shadowy revealings Of the Bette r W o r ldin this

A little glimpse , when Spr in g un ve ils her face an d

o pe s h er eye s,Of the Sle epin g Beauty in th e soul that wakes inParadise .

A little drop Of Heave n in each diamon d of th e

showe r,

A breath of th e Etern al in th e fragran ce of e ach

flowe r !

A little low vibratio n in th e warble ofNight’s bird,Of th e praises an d th e music that shall be he reafter

heard

A little whisper in the leave s that clap the ir han dsan d try

To glad th e hear t of man , an d lift to Heaven h is

grateful eye .

A little semblan ce mirro r ed in Old Ocean ’s smile o r

frownOf His vast glo ry who do th bow the Heaven s an d

come down !

A li ttle symbo l shin in g through the wo rlds thatmove at rest

On in visible foun datio n s of the br o ad Almightybreast !

46

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

subj ects pleasin g to we alth an d con ven tion

alism ; but, like o ther royal sou ls, who

throughout th e past have persisten tly he ld

to the path ofduty,he cho se to be loyal to

truth an d faithful to earth ’

s oppr essed, ever

pr e fe rr in g th e br ead of poverty with the

appr oval ofh is h igher self, to the applause

ofthe dilettan ti with a life ofcomparative

ease . Such spir its are rare ly appreciated

un til they have passed from earth . They

belo n g to the Royalty of Nature they

are in truth th e So n s ofG od .

48

HE r efo rmer is always the po ssi

ble prophet . He who se n ature

is so fin e ly strun g an d whose

co n scien ce so sen sitive to the ete rn al

ver ities as they re late to r ight an d wr on g

that h e fee ls in jur ies in flicted upon the

un fo r tun ate an d in justice practised upo n

the defen celess as though the evil fell

upo n himse lf, sustain s an in t imate r e la.

tio n sh ip to the h ighest as we ll as the

humblest expression s of life . If the cry of

the wre tch un de r th e whe e l wr in gs his

heart, h e is also so o thed by divin e sympho

n ies, which tho se of dul ler sen sibilities are

un con scious of; an d upon his spir itual per

ceptio n there frequen tly flash th e lights

an d shadows of the comin g mo rrow . It

was thus with the great pro phets of Israe l .

It was thus with John Huss an d Savo n

aro la . It was thus with Whittier an d

Wen de ll Phillips. An d it is thus, in a very

marked degre e , with Gerald Massey .

It is somethin g mo re than an un conque rable faith in th e ultimate tr iumph Of go o d,learn ed from the slow ascen t of m an

,that

in spires the fo llowin g thr illin g lin es, which

are peculiarly appropr iate to our pr e sen t

so cial co n dition s, when a n ew-bo rn sen se of

r ight an d a quicken ed in te lligen ce are

leadin g million s throughout civilization to

deman d a fair e r share in the boun ti es of

life !

Immo rtal liberty ! we see the e stan dLike mo rn just stepped from heaven upo n a

moun tainWith beautiful feet, an d blessin g-laden han d,An d hear t that we lleth love ’

smo st livin g foun tain !Oh, whe n wilt thou draw from th e people ’

s lyreJ oy’

s broken co rd an d on the people ’s brow

50

Se t empire ’s crown ! light up thin e altar-fire

W ithin the ir hearts, with an u n dyin g glow ;No r give u s blo od fo r milk, as m e n are drun k with

n ow !

Old legen ds te ll us ofa go lden age ,

Whe n ear th was gu iltless—gods th e guests of

men ,

Ere sin had dimm ed the heart ’s illumin ed page ,An d pr ophe t-vo ice s say

’twill come again

,

0 happy age when love Shall ru le the hear t,An d time to live shall be the po o r man ’

s dowe r,

When martyrs ble ed n o mo r e , n o r e x iles smartMin d is the o n ly diadem ofpower .

People , it r ipen s n ow Awake , an d str ike th e hour !

Hearts,high an d mighty

,gathe r in o ur cau se

Bless, bless, O G od, an d crown the ir ear n e st labor,W ho daun tle ss fight to win u s equal laws,With men tal armor an d with spir it sabr e !

Bless,ble ss, O G o d ! th e pr oud in te llige n ce

That n ow is dawn in g o n the people ’s fo rehead

Human ity spr in gs from them like in cen se ,The future bursts upo n them , bo un dless, star

r iedThey weep repen tan t tears, that they so lo n g have

tarried .

5 1

Th e spir itual in tuition o r perceptio n of

the true prophet soul was beautifully

expre ssed in the legen d of the despair in g

sage . The sto ry comes from that far

away time when types an d symbo ls were

used by the childr en Of earth,an d When

man was so n ear to n ature that at times he

seemed to hear the vo ice ofthe Creato r .

The sage , SO run s the sto ry, had to ile d

fo r his fe llow-m en through years of suffe r

in g an d pr ivation . He had clo sed h is eyes

again st the temptation s of luxury an d case

which we re he ld ou t to lure him from the

service of h is race . He had dwe lt with

pove rty an d had n ursed the plague-str icken ,had fed the starvin g, always str ivin g to

fix the eyes Of his fe llow-men upo n that

which was en dur in g an d divin e . He rea

so n ed with scho lars on th e higher philo s

0 phy of l ife , an d str ove to impr e ss upo n

them the kin ship Of man kin d . He appealed

to the r ich to be just, an d bo ldly assailed

52

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

the po sse ssion of the powers of darkn ess.

Virtue , love an d peace seemed routed all

alon g the lin e of human en deavo r .

While lo st in prayer , so run s this legen d,the sage became over come with a sen se

of peace kn own o n ly to the victo r i n a

glo r ious cause . Then th e heavin ess of

ear th fell away h is sou l en te red an ecsta

tic co n ditio n ; his spir it was bo r n e alo ft in

a chario t of lumin ous clouds upheld an d

guided by in visible han ds . At len gth his

eyes we re Open ed, when lo ! h e was e n com

passed by a multitude of radian t souls.

Then his ears caught th e symphon y of

n ature ; he was bewilde red. The multi

tudes aroun d him we re in carn ation s of

light, ofpurity, oflove an d wisdom . They

were victo rs, an d the music which swe lled

upo n the car was an an them oftr iumph .

An an ge l oflo fty mien appeared, sayin g! Because Of th e failin g power of the phys

ical fo rm ,th e truth has become ve iled to

54

thy visio n . Now beho ld the wo rk of thy

life .

!

Then to him was given the powe r of the

Un ive rsal Eye . He b ehe ld a home whe re

n ow dwelt a fathe r , o n ce a plague-str icken

boy n ursed by the sage . The father san g

to h is so n th e so n gs of love,courage an d

bro the rho o d which he had learn ed from

th e pr ophet lo n g year s ago . In an o the r

co ttage he behe ld a mo ther te llin g th e

sto ry of the gr eat man who se life made all

men better , an d through who se lovin g care

th e mo the r was then alive . An d h e n o ted

th e radian ce in the faces of th e e age r

children as they exclaimed We wan t to

be like him

The n he behe ld o n e whom h e had taught

in years go n e by di scoursin g to a vast mul

t itude upo n th e truths which th e prophet

had in fo rmer days impressed upo n his

brain . He saw thousan ds of eager ears

strain ed to hear th e evan ge l which fe ll

55

fr om the e lo quen t lips of o n e he had

kn own as a ragged boy,who had fo llowed

him from vil lage to v illage with o ther

po o r people . An d then the pan o rama

broaden ed, un til he beheld that h e had

all un co n sciously kin dled fires fo r truth

which should yet illumin ate his people .

Then th e an ge l said, Lo ok o n ce mo r e,

an d h e behe ld th e tumult of battle , he

heard th e screams of the multitude, who

san k o n every han d . After the battle came

in justice an d Oppre ssion ; he heard th e cry

of tho se un der the o ppresso r an d beheld

the suffe r in gs of the wo rld ; an d as in

ho r ro r he sought the an ge l’s face , a light

dawn ed . It came from the hear ts an d

homes of the multitude s. Then th e light

grew br ighter ; it spread from but to

co ttage , from co ttage to palace . A n ew

co n flict was in pro gress . Man met man in

a struggle o n a higher plan e ; ideas were

weapo n s mo re Ofte n than swo rds, an d in

56

the dim future th e sage saw the who le

wo rld bathed in the light Of j ustice , man

tled in peace an d pro spe rity .

SO it is with the refo rme rs of all times .

At momen ts their souls,so sen sitive an d

respo n sive to the suffe r in g an d misery of

life,also catch th e strain s of the higher

music. Their eyes,which se e the suffer in g

ofthe un fo rtun ate an d th e poo r as though

every tr ial was the ir own ,also at in tervals

catch glimpses of the comin g day ,In

o n e of these great visio n s Gerald Massey

br eaks in to the fo llowin g tr iumphan t

strain

Tis comin g up the ste ep oftime ,An d this Old wor ld is growin g br ighter !

W e may n o t se e its dawn sublime ,! e t high hope s make th e hear t throb lighter !

Our dust m ay slumbe r un de r groun dWhen it awake s the wo r ld in wo n de r ;

B ut we have fe lt it gathe r in g r o un dHave heard its vo ice ofdistan t thun der !

T is comi ng ! ye s,’tis comin g

57

’Tis coming n ow,

that glor io us timeFo r eto ld by se e rs an d sun g in sto ry,

Fo r which, when thin kin g was a cr ime,

So u ls le aped to heaven from scaffo lds go ryThey passed. B ut lo ! th e wo rk they wr ought !Now the crown ed hope s ofcen tur ies blo ssom

Th e lightni ng ofthe ir livin g thoughtIs flashin g through us, brain an d bosom

’Tis coming ! ye s,

’tis comin g

Cre eds,empire s, systems, ro t with age ,

B ut the gr eat pe ople ’s eve r yo uthfu l

An d it shall wr ite th e futur e ’s page

T o o ur human ity mo r e truthfu lTher e ’

s a divin ity W ithinThat make s m e n great if they but will it

G od wo rks with all who dar e to win ,

An d th e t ime come th to r eveal it .Tis comin g ! ye s, tis comin g !

Frate rn ity ! Love ’s o ther n ame

Dear , heave n -co n n e ctin g lin k ofbe in g ;Then shall we grasp thy go lden dr eam,

As sou ls, fu ll-statured, grow far -se e in gTho u shalt u n fo ld ou r bette r par t,An d in our life cup yie ld mo r e hon ey ;

58

Light up with joy the po o r man’s he ar t,

An d love ’s own wo rld with smile s mo re sun n y I

T is coming ! ye s,’tis comin g

Jesus,who was the supreme expre ssio n

of love, was terr ible in His den un ciatio n s

whe n co n fro n ted by th e hypo cr isy an d

se lfishn ess of slo thful , se lf-in dulgen t co n

v en tio n alism Ge rald Massey has p en n ed

some ofth e swe etest lin e s eve r wr itten by

po e t of the people,but when h e faces the

plun der e rs of the to ilin g millon s, when h e

lo oks upo n th e hypo cr ite an d Oppr e sso r , he

become s t ran sfo rmed . His wo rds ar e n o

lo n ger so o thin g an d peaceful ; th e limpid

bro ok become s a ro ar in g to rren t . The

vo ice whi ch speaks in the fo llowin g lin es

is n o t the vo ice of o n e man,but th e articu

late cry o i million s, thrown in to speech

by the in strumen t of God, that the wise

may be war n ed, an d, be in g warn ed , may be

saved from the ruin which must an d will

ove rtake that so cie ty which selfishly imag

59

in es it can etern ally thwart the upward

march ofhuman ity !

Back, trample rs o n th e man y ! Death and dan gerambu shed lie

Beware ye , o r th e blo o d may run ! The patie n tpe ople cry

Ah, shut n o t o ut th e light of hope

,o r we may

blin dly dash ,Like Samso n with his stro n g death-grope , an d whe lm

ye in th e crash .

Thin k h ow they spurr ed th e people mad, that Oldr egime ofFran ce

,

Whose heads, like po ppies, fr om death’s scythe , fell

in a blo o dy dan ce .

In the fo llowin g stan zas we ar e re

min ded of some of the Old prophets Of

Israel, who champio n ed th e cause Of God

an d the po o r at th e r isk of life,an d utte red

lumin ous truths which still light up man ’

s

pathway . Mr . Massey is n o thin g if n o t a

fear less re fo rmer . He does n o t believe in

a half loaf whe n justice is the issue . The

60

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

Nay live lik e m en an d set h e r freeA S her itage fo r all.

In th e same strain ,an d speakin g n o t as

an in dividual bu t as th e art iculate vo ice of

etern al justice ,Mr . Massey e lsewhere utters

the se wo rds to the to ilin g million s

Lift up yo ur faces from th e sod

Fr own with each fur r owed browGo ld ape s a mightie r power than G od,An d wealth is wo rshipped n ow !

In all these to il-en n obled lan ds! o u have n o her itageThey sn atch th e frui t ofyouthful han ds,The staff from weary age .

Oh,t e ll them in the ir palace s,The se lo rds oflan d an d mo n ey,They shall n o t kill th e po o r like bee s,T o r ob them oflife ’

s ho n ey.

Through lo n g, dark years ofblo o d an d tears,You ’ve to iled lik e bran ded slaves

Till wr on g’s red han d hath made a lan d

Of paupers,pr iso n s, grave s

62

B ut o ur lo ng suffe ran ce e n de th n o w

Within the so uls o fm e n

The fru itful buds ofpromise blow,

An d fre edom live s againOh

, te ll them in the ir palace s,These lo rds oflan d an d mo n ey,They Shall n o t kill th e po o r like be es,To rob them o flife ’

s ho n ey.

In h is pr ose wo rks he takes th e same

radical an d un compromisin g stan d fo r

abso lute j ustice fo r th e lowliest . In o n e

place he says

We mean to have a day of r ecko n in g

with th e un just stewards of the earth .

We mean to have th e n atio n al property

r esto red to th e pe ople . We mean that the

lan d,with its in alien able r ight of livin g

,

its min eral wealth be low th e so il an d its

waters above,shall be open to all . We

mean to have o u r ban kin g don e by the

state,an d o u r railways wo rked fo r the

be n efit o f th e who le people . We mean to

63

tempe r the te r ro r oframpar t in dividualism

with the pr in ciples of co -o peration . We

mean fo r woman to have pe rfect equality

with man, so cial, r eligo us an d po litical

,an d

h er fair share in that equity which is Of n o

se x . We mean also that th e same !Stan dard ofmo rality shall apply to th e man as

to th e woman . In sho rt , we in te n d that

th e r edr e ss ofwro n gs an d the r ightin g of

in equalities, which can o n ly be r ectified in

thi s wo r ld, shall n o t be pu t ofl an d po st

pon ed to any futur e stage of existen ce .

!

In an o the r place he asserts with empha

Sis !

Human i ty is on e . The Ete rn al in ten ds

to Show us that human ity is o n e . An d th e

family is mo re than th e in dividual m em

ber , the Nation is mo re than th e fam ily,an d the human race is mo re than the

n ation . An d if we do n o t accept th e

revelation lovin gly, do n ot take to th e fact

kin dly,why then ’

tis flashed upo n us

64

te rribly,by lightn in g ofhe ll , if we will n o t

have it by light ofheave n an d the po o r ,n eglected scum an d can aille Of the n atio n s

r ise up mighty in th e st ren gth of disease ,an d prove the o n e n e ss ofhuman ity by kill

in g yo u with th e same in fe ctio n .

! It has r e cen tly be e n shown h ow th e po o r

Of Lo n do n do n o t live,but fe ste r in the

pe stilen tial hovels called the ir homes. To

ge t in to these you have to visit co ur ts

which the sun n eve r pen e trate s, which are

n eve r visited by a breath of fr e sh air,an d

which n eve r kn ow the virtues Of a drop of

clean sin g water . Immo rality is but the

n atur al outcome ofsuch a devil ’ s spawn in g

groun d . The pove r ty ofman y wh o str ive

to live ho n estly is appallin g .

An d this disclo sure is made with the

customary moan that such people atten d

n e ither church n o r chape l,as if that we r e

th e pan acea . I shoul d n o t wo n der if these

reve latio n s r esul t in th e buildin g ofmo re

65

churches an d chapels,an d the co n secration

ofat least o n e o r two mo re bishops .

Th e Bishop of Bedfo rd said th e o ther

day, It was highly n ece ssary that in these

t imes when th e po o r have so little earthly

en j oymen t,th e j oys of heaven should be

made kn own to them It is n o t po ssible

to car icature an utteran ce so gro te sque as

that .

!

In h is so n gs of human ity, ther e is the

calm assuran ce Of the philo sopher,that

r ight will ultimate ly prevail . He pleads fo r

the millio n s un der the r od. He may n ot

se e the false fallin g away aroun d him, but

far up the moun tain slope he se es the

purplin g dawn growin g br ighte r . Lo okin g

backward h e perce ives that the pr e sen t,with its hideousn e ss an d wro n g is n o t, so

dark as the past, an d with that trust in the

fin al tr iumph of r ight which makes him

Opt imistic, h e thus r e fers to h is son gs fo r

th e Oppr essed

Le t my so n gs be citedAs bre ake r s ofthe peace ,Till th e wr o n gs are r ighted,The m an -made mise rie s ce aseTill e arth’

s disin he ritedB eg n o mor e to earn the ir bre ad ;T ill the co n sumin g dar ts ofburn in g dayShall fire th e midn ight foxes ; scare awayFr om labo r ’

s fruits th e parasites ofpr ey.Let them die when all is do n e ,Now V icto r iously begun

Our vision s have n o t come to n aught,W ho saw by lightn in g in th e n ight

,

Th e de eds we dr eamed ar e be in g wr oughtBy tho se wh o wo rk in clearer light ;

In o the r ways o ur fight isfough t,A n d o ther fo rms fu lfill o ur thoughtMade visible t o all men ’

s sight .

The re is a cer tain thought-compellin g

power in man y ofh is po ems of labo r fo un d

o nly in th e w o rk of an en thusiast,mad

with divin e love fo r his fellow-m en . Often

he outlin es upo n his can vas a splen did

dream,a big hope

,a gran d aspiratio n ,

an d

67

then in th e fo r egr oun d h e pain ts with a

few bo ld strokes a fr ightful truth . The

an tithesis - is treme n dous in its effects,as

will be se en in th e fo llowin g stan za

Whe n th e heart ofo n e -half th e wo r ld do th beatAkin to th e brave an d the true ,

An d th e tramp ofdemo cracy’s ear th-quakin g fe e t

Go e s thr illin g th e wide wo r ld thr o ughW e should n o t be cro uchin g in darkn e ss an d dust,An d dyin g lik e slave s in th e n ight ;

B ut big with th e might ofth e inward mu st!

W e shou ld battle for fre edom an d r ight !

Our father s are prayin g fo r pauper pay,Our mo thers with death’

s kiss ar e whiteOur so n s ar e th e r ich man ’

s se rfs by day,An d o ur daughte r s his slave s by n ight .

Man y of Massey ’

s po ems ar e as appli

cable to the pr oblems n ow co n fro n tin g u s

as if called fo r th by pr e sen t-day co n ditio n s

in o u r own lan d . Take fo r example the

fo llowin g Cry ofthe Un employed,! which

r eve als th e pro fo un d sympathy an d appre

68

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

An d fo od fo r all God’s happy things ; but n on e

gives fo od to me .

Earth, wear in g plen ty fo r a crown , smiles o n my

achin g eye ,

The purse -proud, swathed in lu x ury, disdain fulpass m e by

I’ve willin g han ds, an d eager hear t bu t may n o t

wo rk fo r br eadG od of the Wr etched, hear my prayer ! I would

that I were de ad

Go ld, ar t thou n o t a ble ssed thin g, a charm aboveall o ther

,

T o shut up hear ts to Natur e’s cry, when bro ther

pleads with bro therHast thou a music swe eter than th e vo ice Of lo vin gkin dn e ss

No ! curse the e , th ou’rt a mist ’

twixt G od an d men

in oute r blin dn e ss.

Father , come back! ! my Children cry ; the ir

vo ices, o n ce so swe et,Now pie rce an d quiver in my heart ! I can n o t, dare

n o t me et

The lo oks that make the brain go mad,fo r dear

o n e s askin g breadG od of th e Wretched

,hear my prayer ! I would

that I we re dead !70

Lo rd ! what r ight have the po or to wed ! Love ’s

fo r the gilded gre atAre they n o t fo rmed of n oble r clay

,who din e Off

go lden plate’Tis the wo rst curse of Pove rty to have a feelingheart !

Why can I n o t, with iro n grasp, choke o ut the

ten der partI can n o t slave in you Bastille ! I thin k ’

twerebitterer pain ,

To wear th e Pauper ’s iro n within , than drag the

Con vict’s chain .

I’d wo rk bu t can n o t,starve I may, but will n ot beg

fo r bread !G od of th e Wr etched

,hear my prayer ! I would

that I were dead !

The slow progre ss of j ustice fr equen tly

makes th e fain t-hear ted waver , an d man y

who star t out in youth brave an d valian t

r efo rmers ar e lur ed in to th e to ils of slo th

ful co n ven tion alism,o the rs become des

po n den t an d give up even befo re th e sun

oflife has cro ssed the me r idian . To such

71

falte r in g o n e s Ge rald Massey speaks inthese stirr in g lin es

Never despair ! O, my Comrade s in so rr ow !I kn ow that o ur mourn in g is e n ded n o t . ! et

,

Shall th e van quished today be th e V icto rs tomo rr ow .

Our star shall shin e o n in the Tyran t’s Sun se t .

Ho ld o n ! though they spurn thee,fo r whom tho u

ar t livin gA li fe o n ly chee red by the lamp ofits love

Ho ld o n Fr e edom’s hope to th e bo un den on es

givin gGr e e n spo ts in the waste wait th e wo rn spiritdove .

Ho ld o n ,still ho ld o n , in th e wo r ld’s despite ,

Nu rse th e faith in thy hear t, keep the lamp OfTruth br ight,

An d, my life fo r thi n e ! it shall en d in the Right .

What, though the Martyrs an d Prophe ts have perish ed !

Th e An ge l of Life r o lls th e ston e from the irgrave s

Immo r tal ’s the faith an d th e fr eedom they che r

ish ed,

The ir lo n e Tr iumph-cry stir s the spir its ofslave s !

72

They ar e go n e,

bu t a Glo ry is le ft in o u r li fe,

Like th e !lay-

go d’s last kiss o n th e darkn e ss of

Eve nGo n e do wn o n the de so late seas Of the ir str ife ,T o climb as star -beaco n s up Libe rty

’s heave n .

Ho ld o n , still ho ld o n ,— in th e wo rld’

s despiteNur se the faith in thy hear t , ke ep th e lamp of

Tru th bright,A n d

,my life fo r thin e it shall e n d in the Right.

Thin k of the Wro n gs that have gro un d u s fo r ages,Thin k ofthe W ro n gs we have still to en dur eThin k ofo ur blo od, r ed o n Histo ry

’s pages

Then wo rk that ou r r eck’n in g be speedy an d sure .

S lave s cry to the ir Gods ! but be o ur G od r evealedIn our lives, in our wo rds, in o ur warfare fo rman

An d bear in g o r bo rn e upon V icto ry’s shie ld,

Le t us fight battle -har n essed, an d fall in the van .

Ho ld o n , still ho ld o n,

in the wo r ld’s despite ,

Nurse th e faith in thy heart, ke ep th e lamp of

Tr uth bright,

An d,my life fo r thin e it shall en d in the Right .

An d to th e fain t heart who woul d turn

aside because the multitude fail to appre

73

ciate the sin gle-hearted struggle made fo r

them,o ur po e t has this message

Hope o n,hOpe eve r though T o -day be dark,

The swe et sun bur st may smile o n the e Tomo rrowThough thou art lo n e ly

,there ’

s an eye will markThy lo n e lin ess

,an d guerdo n all thy so r r ow !

Though thou mu st to il ’mo n g co ld an d so rdid m en,

With n on e to e cho back thy thought, o r lovethee

,

Chee r up, po o r hear t ! tho u do st n o t beat in vainWhile G od is over all, an d heaven above the e ,

Hope o n , hope ever ,

The ir o n may en ter in an d pierce th e sou l,B ut can n o t kill th e love within the e bu rn ing,

The tears ofmisery, thybitte r do le ,Can n ever que n ch thy true hear t’s eager yehrnin g

Fo r bette r thin gs n o r crush thy ardo ur ’s trust,

T hat Erro r from th e m in d shall be upro o ted,That Truth shall flowe r fr om !

all this te ar -deweddust,

An d Love be che r ished whe re Hate was em

brutedHope o n

,hope eve r .

74

I kn ow tis hard to bear the sn e e r an d taun t,

With the hear t’s ho n e st pride at midn ight wr estle

TO fe e l the killin g can ke r -wo rm ofWan t

While r ich r ogue s in the ir mo ckin g luxury n estleFo r I have felt it . ! e t from Earth’

s co ld RealMy sou l lo oks o u t o n comin g thin gs, an d cheerfu l

The warm Sun r ise flo o ds all th e lan d Ideal,

An d still it whispe rs to th e wo rn an d tear fu l,Hope o n , hope eve r .

Hope o n , hope eve r ! after darke st n ightComes full of lovin g life , th e laughin g Mo rn in g ;

Hope o n, hope ever ! Spr in g-tide , flushed with

light,

Aye crown s o ld W in ter with h e r ado r n in g.

HOpe o n,hOpe eve r Fo r th e time shall come ,

When man to man shall be a frien d an d brother ;An d this Old wo r ld shall be a happy home

,

An d all Earth’s family love o n e an o the r !

HOpe o n,hope ever .

In this little po em,en titled Th e ! in gli

est ! in gs,

the po e t makes the same

stirrin g appeal to th e co n scien ce of the

in dividual !

75

HO ! ye who in n oble wo rkW in sco rn

,as flame s draw air ,

An d in th e w ay whe r e Lio n s lu rk,Go d’s image brave ly bear ;

Tho ugh tr o uble -t ried an d to r ture -to r n,

The kin gliest ! in gs ar e crown ed wi th thor n

Life ’s glo ry like th e bow in heaven ,Still spr in geth fr om th e cloudSou l n e ’

er o ut-soared the starry Seve nB ut Pain ’

s fire -char io t r odeThey’ve battled best who ’ve bo ldliest bo rn eTh e kin gliest ! in gs ar e crown ed with thorn .

Th e mar tyr ’s fire -crown o n th e br ow

Do th in to glo ry burn ;An d tear s that from Love ’

s to rn hear t flow,

T o pear ls Of sp irit turn ,Our deare st hopes in pan gs are bo rnThe kin gliest ! in gs are cr own ed with tho rn .

As beauty in Death’s ce remen t shr o uds,

An d Stars be jewe l Night,

Bright thoughts ar e bo rn in dim hear t-clouds,A n d suffe r in g wo rke th might .

The mirke st ho ur isMo the r O’ Mo rn ,

The kingliest ! in gs are crown ed with tho r n .

76

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

Star t up livin g he ro e s, lo n g dreamt-Ofby Sage s !A n d smite with str o n g arm th e oppresso rs of

man

T o se e them come daun tle ss fo r th ’mid the wo rld’swarr in g

,

Slave s ofth e midn ight min e S erfs ofth e sod !

Show h ow the Ete rn al within them is stir r ingAn d n eve r mo re ben d to a cr o wn ed clodDear G od ! ’

tis a sight fo r Immo rtals to se e,

A Pe ople up-girdin g its might to be fre e .

Battle o n brave ly, 0 so n s ofHuman ity !Dash down th e cup fr om yo ur lips

,O ye To ilers !

T o o lo n g bath th e wor ld bled fo r Tyran t’s in san ityT o o lo n g o ur we akn ess be en str e n gth t o our

spo ile rsThe hear t that thr ough dan ger an d death will bedu tiful,So u l that with Cranmer in fire would shakehan ds

,

An d a life like a palace home built fo r the beautiful

,

Fr eedom Of all h e r be loved deman dsAn d earth has n o sight half so gloriou s to see

,

As People up-girdin g its might to be fr ee

78

Mr . Massey has labo red thr ougho u t h is

life fo r th e oppre ssed in eve ry co n ditio n

of ign o ran ce an d supe rstitio n . Whe r eve r

man,woman

,o r child has suffe red through

in justice,his vo ice has leaped fo r th in

defen ce of the wro n ged, an d again st th e

wr on g-do e r h e has waged an in ce ssan t

warfare . He has bo ldly champio n ed th e

cause ofwoman,steadfastly

‘

deman din g fo r

her that full-o rbed justice which sh e must

r ece ive befo r e th e highe r civilizatio n will

be assured . An d in th e n in e te en th cen

tury n o philo sopher o r r e fo rme r has

pleaded mo r e earn estly fo r the r ights of

children,an d that the ir live s be pe rmitted

to un fo ld un der th e b est po ssible co n di

tio n s,than this pure-soul ed

,earn e st man .

We ar e en ter in g a struggle which will

prove the mo st momen tous We ste rn civili

zation has eve r kn own,because th e co n

flict is alo n g every lin e ofadvan ce . So cial

an d e co n omic problems,o r th e the o ry of

79

man ’

s relatio n ship to man an d to so ciety

as a who le ; the problem of r eligion , the

r ealm ofp sychical scien ce , th e r ights of

woman,th e r equiremen ts an d po ssibilitie s

Of childho o d— these are some of the ques

tio n s aroun d which the fo rces ofcon se rva

tism an d progress are alr eady rallyin g fo r

a san guin ary co n flict . Upon all these que s

tion s Mr . Massey has spoken , an d sp oken

in n o un cer tain vo ice . An d,what is mo r e

impo rtan t, h e has always placed himself

squar e ly o n the side of progre ss an d the

dawn . The re fo re I be lieve that the gen er

ation of the future , who will en j oy, in a

measur e , the fruits ofthe higher an d true r

life fo r which the prophet!

wo rked, will

appreciate hi s splen did service s, an d eu

shr in e his n ame amon g th e immo r tal co ter ie

who placed truth an d the go od of the ir

fe llow-men above the comfo r ts of life o r

the applause ofth e wor ld .

80

HE prophet an d mystic must

n ot be confused with the

priest , fo r , speakin g broadly,the two r epresen t widely divergen t

spher es of thought. The prophe t is

the herald of pr ogr ess. He assails out

grown be liefs, e n tren ched wron gs, an d con

v en tio n al in justice . He po in ts from the

half truths which were o n ce he lpful step

pin g sto n es, bu t which n ow r etard man’

s

o nward march, to th e bro ader visio n which

the futur e presen ts . His eye rests o n the

lumin ous peaks which lie befo r e . He has

un boun ded faith in freedom . He is Often a

destroyer of the Old, but it is that the n ew

may r ise in fairer fo rms an d be of mo r e

en dur in g characte r . If he tears down the

81

log cabin,it is that he may e rect th e mar

ble palace .

Th e pr iest, o n the o ther han d, is the

defen de r of con se rvatism . He distrusts

the n ew . To him the prophe t is a destruo

tio n ist who ign o r es that which age has

san ct ified an d time made ven e rable . He

fears that wide r liberty an d gr eater kn owl

edge will prove dan ge rous . He wo rships

at the shr in e ofthe past . What is wr itten ,

o r what o ther age s have believed, is, in a

ce rtain way, sacr ed to him . Th e que stion ,Is it true ! br eaks powe rless as waves

befo re th e pr ecipice , when it beats again st

h is pr ej udice an d the ve n e ratio n with

which h e views the established o rde r which

has been san ctified by time . Th e pr iest is

the bulwark ofco n ven tio n alism .

This co n trast is str ikin gly illustrated in

the histo ry of Israe l ’s p rophets . But n o

wher e do es it fin d so impressive an illustra

tio n as in th e life of Jesus . Her e we se e

82

the relative attitude of the two great

sphe res of thought rep resen ted by these

classe s . On the o n e side was Jesus, the

prophe t an d mystic ; o n the o the r , the

pr iestho o d,upho ldin g the past an d defen d

in gco n ditio n s as they existed . Jesus cried,

! ! e have heard it said,

‘An eye fo r an

eye ,’

bu t I say, Love your e n emies.

!

Jesus disregarded th e cer emo n ials, the

dogmas,an d the fo rms held sacr ed by the

church . He was a Sabbath breake r . He

min gled with publican s an d Sin n e rs . He

healed the sick in a way en tire ly ir regular .

His teachin gs we r e r egarded as sacr ilegious

an d essen tially dan gerous to th e established

o rder Th e great pr ophet an d mystic

po in ted to the higher altitudes of spiritual

attainmen t . He drew in spiration fr om the

lily ofthe fie ld. The go ld ofmo rn in g an d

th e flamin g scar let ofthe even in g,the stars

an d blue Galile e,spoke mo r e elo quen tly to

him of his Father than did th e sto r ies of

83

blo ody str ife in which the God of love was

r eprese n ted as o rder in g defen ce less wome n

an d in n o cen t babes to be me rcilessly slain .

The priestho od then , as has been ever th e

case , wo rshipped at the tomb ofyest e rday’

s

thought an d dr ew in spirat io n fr om the

ideals of ear lier age s, which t ime hadmade

first ve n e rable an d then sacr ed in th e eyes

ofman . It n aturally r egarded him at first

with apprehen sio n ,later with alarm

,an d

fin ally th e fear of its membe rs expr essed

itself in a deadly hate which en ded in h is

martydom . It was r epetition of histo ry .

The r eputatio n an d life of the pr ophet are

always in dan ge r . He will be m isr epre

sen ted,Slan de red an d misjudged

,if he

e scape the pen alty of the death sen ten ce

At rare in te rvals the soul of the prophet

an d mystic has been foun d un der th e r obes

ofa pr iest , but he r e usually th e pr ie stho od

has be en arrayed again st the ico n o clast .

Savo n aro la was a co n spicious example of

this class.

84

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

He arouse s the divin e life , calls in to action

th e highe r po ten tialities of th e man’

s be

in g , an d in this way is a saviour to the

in dividual!

as well as a to rch bear e r to

civi lizat io n .

I sp eak of the pro phet an d mystic as

o n e ; fo r in truth the distin ctio n is rathe r

of degre e than of n ature ; o r , to be mo re

accurate , they ar e diffe ren t man ife statio n s

of th e divin e in man . The pr ophet is an

e n gin e in actio n . He is an aggressive

powe r fo r r ighte ousn ess n ow an d he r e .

He min gles with th e surgin g tide of go o d

an d evil, a warr io r fo r j ustice an d truth .

The mystic asce n ds th e moun tain s of spr it

uality an d drin ks de eply from th e divin e

foun tain s. The t ruths ofGod steal in to his

soul silen tly an d with an all-pe rvadin g

in fluen ce,as comes th e even in g dew o r

the so ft light of day. We are to ld

that Jesus,o n o ccasio n s, doubtless when

weary with battlin g again st the powe rs

86

ofevil o n every side , an d sick at heart fo r

po o r , suffe rin g human ity, withdrew in to

th e moun tain s to pray that is, to com

mun e with th e In fin ite .

The mystic craves the in spiration ofso li

tude whe n to rn by the disco rd of human

str ife . He po sesses a stro n g in tuitio n al

n ature . His in te r io r visio n is pr e tern atur

ally deve loped . He hears,se e s

,an d with

in h is soul kn ows man y thin gs wh ich e lude

the grasp Of the se lf-seekin g,busin e ss

en thralled struggle r upo n earth’

s r estless

highways. Some t ime ago I visited a

fr ie n d who is a scien tist an d a deep studen t

of the vibrato ry law . Takin g down an

in strume n t somewhat r e semblin g a ho rn,

he han ded it to m e . I pu t it to my ear

an d in stan tly I he ard a gre at ro ar in g in

th e r o om— a n o ise suggestive of a com

in g sto rm . I had me r e ly been able to

gathe r some Of th e n o ise s pr e sen t, which

without th e in strumen t,had escaped my

87

hear in g. Doubtle ss the r eade r has Often

tr ied the same exper imen t with a she ll .

Now,the in te r io r n ature ofthe mystic is so

tho roughly awake that his visio n pen etrate s

farthe r than tho se in whom the spiritual

n ature is less sen sitive , an d in mome n t s of

exaltation he beho lds human ity with face

set toward th e sky human ity movin g

slowly,an d Often with halt in g step, but

ever movin g Godward . He hears the vo ice

of th e In fin ite , an d kn ows that the ulti

mate en d of all is Go od. He speaks the

wo rds he hears un to tho se who se eyes are

fix ed upo n th e stars .

Sometime s h e descen ds to the se e thin g,strugglin g wo rld be low

,wher e; tiger-like ,

man devours his fe llow-m en . Then the

mystic n o t un fr equen tly become s the

prophet an d r e fo rme r . In Je sus, we se e

the perfect blen din g - the mystic, prophet

an d refo rmer ; an d in o u r own time we

have frequen tly seen this tr in ity in un ity .

88

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

SO also , in this stan za from The Cr isis,we ar e r emin de d of the p rophet , wh o

Speaks with an autho r ity fr om within ,in

bo ld con trast to the diffiden t , r etir in g an d

mild-man n er ed Quaker

The crisis pr e sse s o n u s ; face to face with us it

stan ds,

W ith so lemn lips of que stio n , like th e Sphin x inEgypt ’s san ds

Th is day we fashio n de stin y, o u r web of fate wespin ;

Th is day fo r all her eafte r cho o se we ho lin ess o r

sin ;

Even n ow from starry Gerizim, o r Ebal’s clo udy

crown,

W e call the dews ofblessin g o r th e bo lts Of cu rsin gdown !

From the heat an d turmo il of the great

mo ral battles which so pro foun dly aroused

the prophet soul, we turn to the po et afte r

he has withdrawn from th e fo rum ofpublic

co n ten tion — after h e has ascen ded the

90

moun tain ,if you will— an d hear the calm

vo iced mystic utter though ts which flo od

h is soul as the mo on ligh t flo o ds the sn ow

cr own ed moun tain peaks

! et some time s glimpse s o n my sight,Thr o ugh pr e se n t wr o n g

,th e e ter n al r ight ;

An d step by step , sin ce time began ,

I se e the steady gain ofman

That all ofgo od the past hath hadRemain s to make o ur own t ime glad,Our commo n , daily life div in e ,An d every lan d a Palestin e .

Thro u g h th e har sh n o ises ofo ur dayA low swe e t pre lude fin ds its wayThro ugh clouds ofdo ubt an d cr e eds offear

,

A light is br eakin g, calm an d clear .

That so n g of love,n ow low an d far

,

Er e lon g shall swe ll fr om star to star !

That light, th e breakin g day which tipsTh e go lden -spir ed apocalypse !

0 fr ie n d ! we n e ed n o r r o ck n o r san d,No r sto ried stream ofmorn in g-lan d ;

91

The heaven s are glassed in Me r r imacWhat mo re could Jordan r en der back !

W e lack but Ope n eye an d ear

T o fin d th e Orien t’s marve ls hereThe still small vo ice in autumn ’

s hush! o n maple wo od the burn in g bush .

Hen ce forth my heart shall sigh n o mo reFo r Olden t ime an d ho lie r shoreGod’s love an d blessin g, then an d there ,Are n ow an d her e an d everywhe r e .

An d again he asserts, with that all-sus

tain in g faith which character izes the true

mystic

There are , who like the seer of Old,Can Se e the he lper s G od has sen t,

An d h ow life ’s rugged moun tain side

IS white with man y an an ge l te n t !

They hear the heralds whom o ur Lo rdSen ds down His pathway to prepar e

An d light, fr om o thers hidden , shin e sOn their high place of faith an d prayer .

92

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

tr iumph ofr ight through the mir ro r of his

soul . We n ow pass to n o tice th e po e t as a

mystic . In the fo llowmg lin es we have

a great thought beautifully expr essed

G od hath be e n gradually fo rmin g man

In His own image sin ce th e wo r ld began ,

An d is fo r ever wo rkin g o n th e sou l,

Like sculpto r o n his statue,till th e who le

Expr e ssio n ofthe upward life be wr oughtIn to some semblan ce ofth e Ete rn al thought .Race afte r race hath caught its liken e ss OfTh e Make r as th e eye s grew larger with love .

He re is a compan io n thought

What yo u call matter is bu t as th e sheath,

Shaped, even as bubbles ar e , by th e spir it-br eath.

The mou n tain s ar e but firme r clo uds ofearth ,S till chan gin g to th e bre ath that gave them birth.

Sp ir it aye shape th matter in to view,

As music wear s th e fo rm it passes thro ugh.

Spir it is lo rd ofsubstan ce , matte r ’s so leFirst cause

,fo rmative power , an d fin al go al.

It will be se e n that th e po e t , while dis

94

cardin g the crude ideas an d co n ceptio n s of

creatio n which we r e bo rn in th e childho o d

ofthe human race,oppo ses the views popu

lar amo n g cer tain thin ke rs, who ho ld that

the human brain is me r e ly an expr e ssio n

of physical evo lutio n ,an d that the law

govern ed un ive rse , with ar t,de sign an d

in te lligen ce visible in its every phen ome

n on ,is me rely th e r esult Oi fo rce , wo rkin g

blin dly an d without in te lligen ce . The

wo n de rful facts demo n strated through hyp

n o tism ,an d the results whi ch have crown ed

the pain stakin g an d careful r e search of

leadin g scien tists in th e fie lds of psychical

phen ome n a,have by exter n al eviden ce an d

in con tr ove r tible facts greatly stren gthen ed

th e po sitio n ar rived at by the mystic

through th e in tuition al power an d acute

in te r io r perception .

Mr . Massey be lieves that the tre e is to

be judged by its fruit ; that , acco rdin g as

you have pe rfo rmed th e will of the In fin ite

95

On e , o r expr e ssed the best an d tru est in

your life , you shall be r ewarded o r,

rathe r , that every go o d deed bears the do er

upward,every r eal sin lowers th e soul .

He t eache s th e high an d who le some mo ral

ity that, pr ecise ly as we he lp lift / an d

ben efit o ur fellow-men,ou r souls blo ssom

in to th e liken e ss of divin ity that it is by

deeds of service that the sp ir it is made

r oyal. His teachin g touchin g the futur e

ofthe so ul is thus clear ly se t fo r th !

Bo th heaven an d he ll are from the human race ,

An d eve ry sou l pro jects its future placeLo n g shadows ofo urse lves ar e thrown be fo re ,T o wait our comin g o n th e e tern al sho re .

These e ithe r clo th us with eclipse an d n ight,Or , as we e n ter them

,are lo st in light .

The re is a str ikin g similar ity of thought

betwe en the above an d the se lin es Of Whit

tier,although th e image ry is en tire ly dif

fe ren t

96

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

Le st some be lated trave ller sho uld comeHear t-broken , askin g just to die at home

,

SO that the Father will at last fo rgive,A n d lo oking o n His face that sou l Shall live .

I thin k ther e wil l be watchme n thr o ugh the n ight,Lest any, far Off, tu rn them to the light ;That He wh o loved u s in to life must beA Fathe r in fin ite ly fathe r ly,An d

, gropin g fo r Him, these shall fin d the ir wayFrom outer dark, thro ugh twi light, in to day.

I cou ld n o t sin g th e so n g of harvest home ,Thin kin g oftho se po o r souls that n ever comeI cou ld n o t joy fo r harvest gathered in ,

If an y sou ls, like tar es an d twitch ofsin,

We r e flun g ou t by the farme r to the fir e,

Who se smoke of to rmen t, r ising higher an d highe r,Should fill th e un ive rse fo r evermo re .

Our scien ce gr asps with its tran sfo rm in g han d,Makes r e al half th e tales ofwo n der lan d .

W e turn the deathlie st fetor to perfumeW e give decay n ew life an d ro sy blo om ;Chan ge filthy rags to paper , virgin whiteMake pur e in spir it what was fou l to sight .Eve n dead, r eco ilin g fo rce , to a fairy giftOf h elp is turn ed, an d taught to deftly lift .

98

How can we thin k G od hath n o crucibleSave some black co un try of a burn ing he ll !Or the great o cean ofAlmighty powe r ,NO sco op to take the life str eam from o ur sho r e ,Muddy an d dark, an d make it pur e o n ce mo r e !

Dear G od, it se ems to m e that love must beTh e missio n ary ofetern ity !Must still fin d wo rk, in wo rlds beyo n d the grave ,So lo n g as there ’

s a sin gle soul to saveGathe r the jewe ls that flash Godward inThe dark, down -trodden

,toad-lik e head ofsin

That all dive rgen t lin es at len gth will meet,

To make th e claspin g r o un d oflove completeThe r ift ’

twix t sen se an d Spirit will be healed,Befo re creatio n ’

s wo rk is crown ed an d sealed !

Th e disco rds cease , an d all the ir str ife shall beRe so lved in o n e vast, peaceful harmo n y.

An o the r truth which Mr . Massey fre

quen tly expr esses is th e presen ce of the

In fin ite On e her e an d n ow,in oppo sition to

the n ar row view that God spake to His

childr en on ly in an cien t times. Like

Whittier,h e ever teaches that God is

99

with us n ow an d here , an d that n o n e of

th e glo ry of o ther days is absen t from our

own In o n e n o table po em he thus

sin gs

The re is n o gleam ofglo ry go n e ,Fo r tho se wh o r ead in n atur e

’s bo ok

'

;

N0 lack oftriumph in the ir lo okW h o stan d in h e r e te rn al dawn .

An d again,with the calm assuran ce of

th e mystic, h e says

No t o n ly in Old days He bowedTh e heaven s an d came down ;

W e,to o

,we r e shadowe d by th e cloud

,

We saw th e glo ry shown !Th e n atio n s that se emed de ad have fe ltHis comi n g thr ough them thr ill

Ben eath His tread th e moun tain s me ltOur G od is living still !

He who in secr e t hears the sigh,

In te rpre ts every tear ,Hath lighten ed o n us from o n high,Made kn own His pre sen ce n ear !

100

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

day up th e moun tain mpe , an d h is visio nis marve llously br o aden ed. An o the r day’

s

j ourn ey toward the peak r eveals a stil l

mo r e glo r ious pan o rama,

an d when he

r eaches the highest crest an almo st in fin ite

expan se stre tches o n every side . So the

barbar ian caught a co n tracted an d ve ry

partial view of Go d ’

s love an d beauty

his own limitatio n ofvision an d th e an imal

passion s which ove rmaster ed h im dulled

spir itual pe rceptio n . B ut as the race r o se

through coun tless age s, th e con ceptio n of

th e In fin ite became expan ded,an d as the

Spirit grew mo re an d mo r e sublimated, the

r eal characte r of th e De ity, un co lo red by

human prejudice an d passion , became ap

par en t to the mo st royal n atur es. A hin t

ofthis thought is given in th e last stan za

Of the above lin es.

Few po ets have ever thrown in to simple

wo rds a mo re beautiful con ception ofman ’

s

relation to God, o r Go d’

s bro ad love an d

102

sympathy fo r h is childre n , who through

past ages have bee n strugglin g upward

toward the light, than is foun d in these

lin es ofMr . Massey’

s

This human life is n o mere lo okin g-glass,In which G od see s His shadows as you pass.

He did n o t start the pen du lum oft ime ,T o go by law with o n e gre at swin g sublime

,

Re stin g himse lf in lo n e ly joy apartB ut to each pulse Of life his beatin g heart .

An d,as a par en t sen sitive , is stirr ed

By fallin g spar row, o r heart-winged wo rd .

As th e babe ’s life within the mo ther ’

s dimA n d deaf, you dwe ll in G od, a dr eam ofHim.

! e stir , an d put fo rth fe elers which ar e claspedBy airy han ds, an d higher life is graspedA s yet but darkly. Life is in the ro o t,

An d lo okin g heavenward,from th e ladde r-fo o t,

Win gle ss as wo rms, with earthin ess fast boun d,Up which ye moun t but slowly, r oun d o n r oun d,Lo n g climbin g br in gs ye to the Fathe r

’s kn ee ;

! e Open gladsome eyes at last to see

That face oflove ye fe lt so inwardly.

103

In this vast un ive rse ofwo r lds n o waif,No spir it, lo oks to Him but flo ate th safe

No praye r so lowly but is heard o n high ;An d if a so ul Should sigh, an d lift an eye ,

That soul is kept from sin kin g with a sigh .

All life , down to th e wo rm be n eath th eHath spiritual r e latio n ship to G odTh e Life ofLife , the love ofall, in all ;

Lo rd Of th e large an d in fin ite ly small .

In these verses o ur po et gives expr essio n

to th e n ew r eligio n which is takin g po sses

sio n ofthe mo st exalted min ds of our day.

It is all ve ry we ll to say that God is so

much mo r e than the fin est expr essio n of

the divin e in man that we can n o t compr e

hen d Him bu t we can n o t u se this r easo n

able assumptio n to bo lster up the un reaso n

able an d impo ssible o n e that Go d’

s attr ibute s

ar e n o t in alignmen t with th e mo st pe rfect

ideal which haun ts the n oble st brain s of

th e best civilization . The re are certain

e tern al ver ities,the highest an d mo st splen

104

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

through eve ry civilizatio n . It was taught

by ! o ro aster an d Con fucius, by Gautama

an d Pythago ras, by th e pr ophe ts of Israel,an d th e Sto ics of Greece an d Rome ; it

foun d glo r ious expressio n in th e life an d

teachin g of Jesus. Go d, compared with

earth ’

s n oblest man,maybe as the o ce an to

the r ivule t,as th e Himalayas to the an t

moun d ; bu t His n atur e , if He is th e in

carn atio n ofwhat human ity ho lds as high

est, sweetest an d truest,must be all that

the mo st divin e expressio n of man ho od is,

an d in co n ce ivably mo r e than this,in the

e xp r essio n of the divin e attr i bn tes . He

must be the in fin ite r eservo ir of all tho se

virtues which make man ho od divin e ; an d

be in g this, He could n o t do thin gs whi ch

would be abho r r en t to the n oblest man .

If at an y po in t throughout the cycle o f

etern ity, He shoul d draw the dead lin e

acro ss which eve n th e weakest of the chil

dren He has called in to an ete rn al existen ce

106

might n o t fly from darkn ess an d pain in to

the light, pur ity an d love of a be tter life,

He would be guilty ofa cr ime so abho r r e n t

to an exalted an d human e earthly par en t

that the paren t himse lf would rathe r die

than co n demn his offsprin g to such a fate .

Th e supreme truth, that G od must be

be tte r than th e b est man in stead of wo r se

than th e mo st crue l savage , is th e keyn o te

Of th e n ew evan ge l which o u r n in e te en th

cen tury prophe ts an d mystics have given

th e childre n Of m en . That is the thought

which Whittie r , who . in th e true st sen se ,

was a mystic, so fo rcibly put in the fo llow

in g lin e s

I dar e n o t fix with me te an d bo un dThe love an d power ofG o d .

at

I se e th e wr o n g that r o un d m e lies,

I fe e l th e guilt W ithinI hear , with gr o an an d travail-cr ies,Th e wo r ld co nfe ss its sin .

107

! e t,in th e madden in g maze ofthin gs,

An d to ssed by sto rm an d flo o d,

T o o n e fixed tru st my spir it clin gsI kn ow that G od is go odat at as as ax!

I kn ow n o t wher e His islan ds liftThe ir fr o n ded palms in air

I o nly kn ow I can n o t dr iftBeyo n d His love an d car e .

This same tho ught is furthe r impr e ssive ly

taught in th e e x quiste little alle go r ical

po em,The Two An ge ls, in which Whit

tie r give s vo ice to th e con ceptio n of Go d

which is th e burde n of th e so n g of th e

great po e ts ofo u r t im e

G o d called th e n eare st an ge ls wh o dwe ll with Himabove ;

The ten derest o n e was Pity, the deare st o n e was

Love .

! Ar ise,

! He said, my an ge ls ! A wail Of wo e an d

sin

Steals thro ugh th e gate s ofheave n , an d sadden s all

within .

108

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

Two unve iled faces fu ll ofjoy lo oked upward to thethro n e ,

Four white win gs fo lded at the feet of Him who

sat ther eo n

An d de epe r than th e soun ds of seas, mo r e so ft thanfallin g flake

,

Amidst th e hush Of win g an d so n g the V o iceEtern al spake

Welcome , my an ge ls ! ye have br ought a ho lier

joy to heaven ;Hen ce fo rth its swe etest so ng shall be the son g ofSin

fo rgiven

In o n e of his last po ems, Ten n yso n , while

th e light of th e o the r wo r ld was silve r in g

his br ow, thus expressed this same con

ceptio n

Doubt n o lo n ger that th e Highest is the wise st an dth e be st ,

Let n o t all that sadden s n atur e blight thy hope or

break thy r e st,

110

Ne ithe r mo urn if human cre eds be lowe r than thehear t’s de sire !

Thro ugh th e gates that bar the distan ce comes a

gleam ofwhat is highe r .

Wait till death has flun g them Ope n , whe n th e man

will make the Make rDark n o mo re with human hatr eds in the glare of

deathless fire

The idea of th e Ete rn al Go odn ess, in

varyin g phr ase o logy, has be en pr e se n ted

by almo st all the gr eat po e ts an d prophets

of ou r own time . Gerald Massey,in on e

of h is te rse sen ten ce s,says ! Any God

who deman ds the wo r ship offear is un

wo r thy the service of love .

!

The n ew

r eligio n go e s o u t in love to all life . It

bin ds up the bruise s of him who has fallen

by the wayside . It exten ds the han d to

the sin kin g . It calls aloud fo r j ustice fo rth e weak an d oppressed . It den oun ces

tyran n y, in justice an d whatso ever lowers

man ho od o r degrades womanh o od . It de

1 1 1

man ds that th e r ights of th e child an d

tho se of th e mo the r be sacredly an d in v io l

ably kept. It whispers hope an d love to

the despair in g . It gives vo ice to th e wo rds

which come from above in the mo st exalted

son gs of o u r time . It teache s th e . kin ship

of man to God in such a way that the Old

t ime n ightmare disappears. An d as the

child,with Open arms an d joyous cry,

ru shes to me e t th e loved par en t, so do

earth’

s children go to th e Father above fo r

that sustain in g powe r an d ho ly peace

which through all past time sages have

drawn fr om th e In fin ite . This thought is

beautifully se t fo rth by Mr . Massey in the

fo llowin g lin es

There is n o pathway Man hath ever trod,By faith o r seekin g sight, bu t e n ds in G od.

! e t’tis in vain ye lo ok Withou t to fin d

The in n e r secre ts ofthe Ete rn al min d,Or me e t th e ! in g o n His ex tern al thro n e .

B ut when ye kn ee l at hear t, an d feel so lon e ,

112

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

Pre ss Cr it icism s of Civ ilizat io n’s

In fe r n o .

I t is a tru thful an d graphic de lin eation ofthe con di t ion of the pe ople inthe so cia l un de rtow . M r . F lowe r has a keen an d pro fo un d sympathy withthe diflicultie s that the po o r are labo rin g un de r , an d h e describes what hehas se en with his own e yes in te rms that chill o n e ’

s blood . He do es n o thesitate to cal l thin gs by the ir righ t n ames , an d po in ts o u t th e magn itude of

the pe ril, showin g that n o pal liative me asures wi ll satisfy peo p le—Daily

Her ald , B oston .

I t is a stro n g appeal to th e Chris tian civi lization of the times to arisean d chan ge th e curren t of human m ise ry which in these mode rn times is

drivin g W i th such resistless fo rce .—Chzeag o Dazly In ter

-Ocean .

A bo o k which sho u ld be read and studied by all. Mr . F lowe r’s h ighen thusiasm , th e artistic impu lse W t h has guided his pen , to ge the r with h isin timate kn ow ledge gain e d by pe rso n al in vestigatio n ofthe matte r, make hisbo ok mo st admirable .

—B oston Tzmes.

I t is n o t o n ly th e reco rd made ofdisco ve ries durin g a period of systematic slumm in g, but i t is also a philo soph ical view of the dan ge rs of th e co n

ditio n s which h e discusses .—C/zzeag o Tzmes.

T he wo rk is a master ly prese n tatio n of social co n ditio n s aroun d us.

T hese make a vast problem , an d i t is by such e arn e st thin ke rs as Mr .

Flower that they wi l l be so lved .—Chzeag o Her ald .

A tho ughtfu l wo rk by a tho ughtfu l man , an d sho uld tu rn th e min ds of

man y wh o are n ow ign o ran t o r care less to th e co n dition of the co un tlessthousan ds wh o l ive in th e social ce llar .

! No o n e can read th e bo o k witho ut fe e lin g that the autho r ’

s diagn o sis of the case is true an d give s each o n ehis own pe rso n al respo n sib ility.

—Cou r ier J ou r n al , Lou isvzlle , ! y .

T his wo rk has created a decided sen sation througho ut the coun try, andhas raised co n side rable co n tro ve rsy be twe e n the autho r an d o the r write rso n the o n e han d , an d so cie ty ’s leade rs o n th e o the r . I t is a fresh presen tat io n from pe rso n al Obse rv atio n of th e facts of po verty, destitutio n , squalo r ,an d Oppresswn that exists in eve ry large city in the wo rld—B u r lmg tonHawkeye , B u r lzng ton , Iowa .

Some ty, as i t is n ow co n stituted , is n o thin g le ss than a sle epin g vo lcan o .

Wh o dares to say how so o n th e upheava l wi l l com e , o r whe the r it can beevaded by the adoptio n o f prompt m easures o f r e lie f ! Ce r ta in ly the co n

ditio n of th e lowe r socia l strata cal ls fo r imme diate actio n o n th e par t oftho se who se safe ty is at stake . M r . F lowe r has accompl ished a great wo rk,in se ttin g fo rth th e exact truth ofth e matte r , witho ut any efi o rt at palliatio n .

I t will be we ll in de ed fo r the pro sperous classes o f the commun ity ifthey arewarn ed in time —B oston B eacon .

What gen eral B o o th has do n e fo r Lo n do n an d Mr . Jacobs Ri is fo r New

! o rk , Mr . Flowe r has do n e fo r cul tured B o sto n . He is a pro fessio n al man

of le tte rs, an d te lls his sto ry with the skill an d knack of hi s craft .—Dazly

Con stitu tion , A tlan ta , Ga .

A powerful ly written bo ok , presen ting facts which o ught to move themost sluggish sou l to reso lve an d actio n . Its who le le sso n , sad as it is, is o n ethat n eeds to be learn ed ; an d we wi l l n o t de tract from its comp le ten ess bypresen tin g it in fragmen ts ; bu t we desir e to call special a tt e n tio n to the

au tho r’s expo sitio n of the facts, co n ce rn in g which the re has been so muchscepticism , that th e r ich are growin g riche r an d the po o r po o re r . I f the reis an y lin ge rin g be lie f o r hope in th e min d ofan ybody t hat h is statemen t is amere partisan bugabo o , as it has some times been styled , M r . F lowe r ’

s

bo ok will se ttle th e matter .—Dazly Fr ee P r ess , Detr ozt , M zclz.

He literally un caps the pit , the he l l o n earth ; an d if there are!the

pleasure s ofsin fo r a seaso n ,! i t wi ll be se en that the seaso n is n o t a lo n g

o n e . Th e au tho r depicts th e sce n es h e has wi tn e ssed , an d has th e mo ralpurpo se—th e passio n fo r a be tter estate—which , e n l iven in g h is pages, makesth e boo k as who lesome as it is in citin g to practical en deavo r .—C/zr z'stianLeader , B oston .

In this bo ok th e great social problem ofth e day is laid be fo re the readerin all its impo rtan ce , its in cre asin g dan ge rs are po in ted o u t , an d practicalremedies suggested in a way that is as in te restin g as tho ughtfu l . W e are

g lad to se e the fashio n able extravagan ces an d vices of th e class that assumesfo r itse lf the ti tle of so cie ty treated with th e co n demn atio n they de serve .

I t is a wo rk that has l o n g been n eeded, an d we are su re it will g o far towardthe e n d it looks fo rward to so ho pe fu l ly .—N assu a L i ter ary M ag azin e ,

j uolzs/zea’ oy sen ior class of P r in ceton Un wer szty .

A vo lume of remarkable in terest and power, an d mer its th e car eful at

te n tio n ofall studen ts ofsocial prob lems—B oston Dazly Tr aveller .

ii i .

T h e New T im e 1 A Ple a fo r th e Un io n

o f th e Mo ral Fo rce s fo r Practical Pro g

re ss .

Th is n ew wo rk,by the autho r of C ivilizatio n ’

s In fern o , !deals with practical metho ds fo r th e r e fo rm o f specific so cialevi ls , wh ich are capab le of vast dim in utio n an d ofu l timate

abo l itio n . Th e wr ite r do es n o t bin d to ge the r a me re bun dleof so cial speculatio n s, that wo u l d se em to man y to have o n lya remo te an d abstract re le van ce to e ve ryday l ife . He dealswith facts within eve ry o n e ’

s kn owledge .

T he Tab le of Co n ten ts, briefly ske tch ed,gives perhaps th e

ve ry best idea of its practical aims, bo th immediate an d u lti.mate

‘

I . UNION FOR PRACT ICA L Pao canss.—The widespread de sire fo r the

imio n ofall wh o wish to he lp the wo r ld o nward . Is it practical ! Some

thi n gs which have be en accomplished .

I I . T i-i sv H ave FA LLEN m 'ro THE W i n n pan ss .

—!Olive Schre in e r ’s

V isio n s ofH e ll, ! an d i ts appl icatio n to pre se n t co n ditio n s The o ut-Ofwo rk , home less o n es in o ur m idst—Mo ral o bliqu ity in th e yo un g—Educatio n , justice an d freedom th e remedies Some suggestive hin ts .

I I I . Js sus o n Ca se in—Th e o ppo rtun ity o fth e Church—T he rise o fth e spirit ofCmsar—T he spi rit an d teachin gs of Jesus—Th e ho pe of therepub lic How each on e mav hasten a brighte r day.

IV . T HE NEW T iME. The heart-hun ge r of our time Th e wo rk befo re us—The e levatio n an d eman cipatio n of human ity thro ugh educatio nan d justice -Cryin g evi ls an d gre at re fo rms which deman d th e atten tio n oftho ughtful peo ple—Th e duty an d respo n sibil i ty of th e in dividual Some

he lpfu l i llustratio n s—T he starvin g an d she lte r less Chriss at o ur do o rFun damen tal an d pal liative remedie s Le t the n ext step be evo lu tio n ary.

V . T HEN DAW NED A LIGHT m T HE Eas t —A Sugge stive lesso nfrom the histo ry of th e Civilizatio n of two tho usan d years ago

—Socie ty inRome un de r the Caesars Th e hectic flush of death I n te l lectual train in gwitho u t mo ral cu lture —An age ofar tificiality Civi lizatio n in Palestin eT he rise ofa gre at , seren e so u l in the midst of a so ciety pe rmeated by can tan d h po crisy T he three great redemptive words, Faith , H o pe an d Lo ve ;the ir i n fluen ce two tho usan d years ago

—Pre sen t co n d itio n s Our dutyT h e presen t n o time fo r idlen ess o r pessimism—The dawn is purplin g theeast .

Han d s o m e C lo t h ! P r ic e ,

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

Hun dreds oftho usan ds must be reached by in dividual pe rsuasio n . Much o fth e literature that is to do this ye t remain s to be wr itten , but i f the write r s ofit shall mode l themse l ve s o n th e l ibe rality , to le ran ce an d true Christian itywhich ch aracte rizes M r . F lowe r ’ s wo rk , the e n d in view may n o t be so veryfar offafte r all .—B a z

’

l)l Item , Philade lphia, Pa .

T he in spiratio n ofa n ew so cial o rde r se ems to have sudden ly assumed thepro po rtio n s ofa co n tagio n . Pro phe ts are sprin gin g up all o ve r th e lan d , an dn ew bo oks from eve ry quarter of the glo be . Th e re al impo r t of G o d’ s lo vefo r th e wo rld se ems to be dawn in g upo n th e m in d of thin ke rs fo r th e firsttime in social histo ry , an d re fo rme rs are j ! In t begin n in g to catch th e in spiratio n o f the Christ-life . T he se bo o ks are by n o mean s acco rdarit as ye t , but

they are sufi cie n tly harmo n io us in design to impre ss the stude n t wi th th efact that th e kin gdom o f heave n is abo u t to begin o n ear th . A lmo st allmo de rn write rs o n so cial co n ditio n s are so imbu ed with th e al truist ic spiritthat altru ism se ems to be the Elias ofth e n ew e ra .

S o promin e n t in de e d is this Spir it in th e abo ve wo rk that o n e almo stfee ls that its au tho r is th e Jo hn th e B apti st o f th e t ime abou t which h epro phesie s, an d that h e sho u ld a t o n ce deman d bap tism at h is han ds—thatis, a baptism ofh is sp irit . W e can n o t have to o many such bo o ks as this at

th is t im e . I t was n o t written fo r the sake o fth e bo ok n o r its autho r , but ofhuman ity . It is a plain ye t e arn e st an d V ig o ro us pre se n tatio n ofsome ofo urso cial co n ditio n s, with sugge sti o n s, n o t a few o fwhich are e n tire ly practicalan d fu l l ofprom ise . I t has l ittle of th e vi sio n ary an d specu lative in i t an dpro po se s immediate actio n u p o n practical gro un ds fo r th e pur o se of theearl ie st po ssible re lie f an d so lut io n ofo ur tro uble s va n g elzst ,St . Lo u is , Mo .

Like whatever M r . F lowe r writes, the bo o k has to do with ap r actical ,immediate mean s ofhe l pin g human ity in th e thro e s of its upward struggle .

Human ity as a mass o f co urse co n tain s th e le ave n in g l ump o f spir itual itywhich wil l u lt imate ly express i tse lf as a matte r o f co u rse in the ve ry refo rms

we so much de sire . Eq ual ly of co urse do the co n scio usly-spi r itual wo rke rsassist in this pro cess—th is fo rms o n e ofth e pleasures as we l l as du t ie s of th een lighte n ed state .

An d it is just such an in flu en ce as this Un io n fo r Practical Pro gre ss thatse ts emo tio n s an d mo vemen ts wo rkin g which n e ed almo st but a to uch toOve rspread th e sky W ith a blaze of glo ry—th e g lo ry o f awake n ed human ity.

I t is in calculabl e , th e go o d to be accomplished by co n ce rted plan s , o rgan izedin in dividual places bu t all W ith o n e ce n tral purpo se an d an imated by o n ece n tral de sire . T he n ame ofthe o rgan izat io n is a go o d o n e to o , appeal in g toeve ryo n e , eve rywhe re . P r actzcal progress is what we n e ed , an d aid towardthat e n d can n o t fail of e age r appreciatio n . T h e mo veme n t by its n atureappeal s to th e higher facu ltie s, aro uses an d puts them in wo rki n g o rde ran d by this mean s a nyt/zzn g may be accomplished .

In such a cause we kn ow o f n o o n e who do es mo re valian t wo rk thanMr . F lowe r . Co n vin ced of its !

righte o usn e ss, ! h e wil l pursue i t to itsu ln mate pe rso n a lly, an d aro use in h o stsofo the rs bo th de sire an d de te rmin atio n to do likewise . Such wo rk is ofin e stimable value — an d in this co nn ecti o n eve ryo n e sho uld r ealize that ever y pe rso n is he lpin g his fe l low if h ebut l ive o n the highe st plan e of which h e is co n scio u s, also s trivin g co n

it

d

an tly to ge t sti ll highe r by he l pin g to raise o the rs - B oston lclcas , Bo sto n ,ass .

LessonsLearnedfromOther Lives.A B OO ! OF S HORT B IOG RA PHIES , W RIT T EN

FOR ! OUNG PEOP LE.

CONTENTS.—I. THE PH ILOSOPHER, Se n eca an d Epicte tus.

II . T HE W ARRIOR MA ID, Jo an of A rc. III . THE

STAT ESMAN , He n ry C lay. IV. T HE ACTOR, EdwinB o o th , Jo seph Je ffe rso n . V. THE FORT , Jo hn HowardPayn e , W il l iam Cu l le n B ryan t , Edgar A l lan Po e , A l iceCary, Phoebe Cary, J. G . W h i t t ie r , VI . THE SCIENT IST ,A lfred Russe l W a l lace . VII . THE MAN ! -SIDEDG EN IUS, Victo r Hugo .

PRES S COM M ENT S .

high ly in te re stin g an d in structive wo rk —Da ily Te leg r apn , Ha r t

fo rd , Con n .

A readable an d he lpfu l bo ok . Mr . Flowe r is an earn e st , tho ughtfu l ,radical , compact wri ter . Man y wh o glad! read the se ske tches Wi ll be maden oble r an d brave r the reby .

—Eclu catzon , o ston , M ass .

T his is a de lightfu l bo ok to read . I t is written with exquisite taste an dten de rn e ss. I t efilo re sce s with a lite rary aroma. T h e autho r has s o ught afair an d favo red fie ld i n which to fin d me n tal rumin atio n . His e ffo rt i s an

idyl ofl i l e ’

s faire t fo rm s an d figure s He is a yo un g , brill ian t wr ite r . Th ebo ok sparkle s with lite !

ary jewe ls —C/zr zstzan Lead er , Czn czn n atz, 0 .

An adm irabl e co llectio n of br ie f bio graphical ske tches , e ach teachin g bysome an ecdo te o r illustrat io n th e prom in e n t characte ri st ic o f th e life un de rco n side ratio n Amo n g tho se se lect ed we n o te Jo an o f Arc, H e n ry C lay ,Jo e Jeffe rso n , B ryan t , Po e , Wh ittie r , A R. W al lace . an d V icto r H ugo Th eske tche s are br igh t ly written an d th e sal ie n t po in ts in e ach l ife we ll bro ughto ut . Man y o f th e be s t po ems of th e po e ts n am ed are give n —Til e b tates,N ew Or le a n s , L a .

B . 0 . F lowe r , edito r ofT HE ARENA , has given to biographical l ite rature o n e of the mo st charm in g boo ks i t has e ve r be e n o ur go o d fo rtun e tore ad . T h e bo ok i n qu e st io n is e n t it led Le sso n s Learn e d from O the rLive s .

! I t i s writte n in a de lightfu lly e asy style , an d m an yo fth e lives are

ofperso n al frien ds ofth e autho r .—! ve ry S atu r day , Elg zn , I ll .

Th e Are n a Publ ishin g Compan y , of B o sto n ,has rece n tlv issued an at

tracti ve vo lum e e n t itled Le sso n s Learn ed from Othe r Live s M r . B . 0 .F lowe r , th e we l l-kn own edito r ofT HE ARENA , has g ive n u s un de r this n am e

a n umbe r ofb i i e t histo rie tte s illustrative of di ffe re n t phase s of characte r .

Mr Flown mo de stly dedicates h is wo rk mo re e specially to th e yo u n g ; butth e adm irab le style , th e te rsen e ss , an d ke e n an alysis of the .e ch . racte r

ske tch e s wi l l recomm e n d them to all classe s of re ade rs . B iography sho u ldb e e special ly in te re stin g but n o t e ve ry o n e has th e ability to re n de r i t soM r F lowe r has th is happy facu lty to an un u sual exte n t . H i s e ssays are

e ual to h is e dito rials , an d mo re can n o t be said—Rocky Al o u n tazn Da l lyews , Den ve r , Co l .