Shall welcome thee again, and all thy hosts,
Whereof thou first in glory as in woe—
In brightness as in darkness erst—shalt shine.
Take, Lucifer, thy place. This day art thou
Redeemed to archangelic state. Bright child
Of morning, once again thou shinest fair
O’er all the starry ornaments of light.
The highest and the humblest I of all
The beings Thou hast made, Eternal Lord!
Behold they come, the Legions of the lost,
Transformed already by the bare behest
Of God our maker to the purest form
Of seraph brightness.
His be all the praise!
And ours submissive thanks. When evil had done
Its worst, then God most blessed us and forgave.
Oh, He hath triumphed over all the world,
In mercy, over death and earth and hell!
All God hath made are saved. Heaven is complete.
Hither with me!
But where are those I love?
Yon happy troop!
Ah! blest ones, come to me!
Loves of my heart, on earth; and soul in Heaven!
Are ye all here, too, with me?
All!
It is Heaven.
Come, let us join our souls into the song
Of glory, which the Saved all sing, to God.
Father of goodness,
Son of love,
Spirit of comfort,
Be with us!
God who hast made us,
God who hast saved,
God who hast judged us,
Thee we praise.
Heaven our spirits,
Hallow our hearts;
Let us have God-light
Endlessly.
Ours is the wide world,
Heaven on Heaven;
What have we done, Lord,
Worthy this?
Oh! we have loved Thee;
That alone
Maketh our glory,
Duty, meed.
Oh! we have loved Thee!
Love we will,
Ever, and every
Soul of us.
God of the saved,
God of the tried,
God of the lost ones,
Be with all!
Let us he near Thee
Ever and aye;
Oh! let us love Thee
Infinite!
So, soul and song, begin and end in Heaven,
Your birth-place and your everlasting home.
Time there hath been when only God was all:
And it shall be again. The hour is named,
When seraph, cherub, angel, saint man, fiend,
Made pure, and unbelieveably uplift
Above their present state—drawn up to God,
Like dew into the air—shall be all Heaven;
And all souls shall be in God, and shall be God,
And nothing but God, be.
Let all be God’s.
World without end, and I am God alone;
The Aye, the Infinite, the Whole, the One.
I only was—nor matter else, nor mind,
The self-contained Perfection unconfined.
I only am—in might and mercy one;
I live in all things and am closed in none.
I only shall be—when the worlds have done,
My boundless Being will be but begun.
L’Envoi
Read this, world! He who writes is dead to thee,
But still lives in these leaves. He spake inspired:
Night and day, thought came unhelped, undesired,
Like blood to his heart. The course of study he
Went through was of the soul-rack. The degree
He took was high: it was wise wretchedness.
He suffered perfectly, and gained no less
A prize than, in his own torn heart, to see
A few bright seeds: he sowed them—hoped them truth.
The autumn of that seed is in these pages.
God was with him, and bade old Time, to the youth,
Unclench his heart, and teach the book of ages.
Peace to thee, world!—farewell! May God the Power,
And God the Love—and God the Grace, be ours!
Colophon
Festus
was published in 1839 by
Philip James Bailey.
This ebook was transcribed and produced for
Standard Ebooks
by
Emma Sweeney,
and is based on digital scans from
various sources.
The cover page is adapted from
Lucifer,
a painting completed in 1890 by
Franz Stuck.
The cover and title pages feature the
League Spartan and Sorts Mill Goudy
typefaces created in 2014 and 2009 by
The League of Moveable Type.
The first edition of this ebook was released on
October 20, 2023, 4:33 p.m.
You can check for updates to this ebook, view its revision history, or download it for different ereading systems at
standardebooks.org/ebooks/philip-james-bailey/festus.
The volunteer-driven Standard Ebooks project relies on readers like you to submit typos, corrections, and other improvements. Anyone can contribute at standardebooks.org.
Uncopyright
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May you find forgiveness for yourself and forgive others.
May you share freely, never taking more than you give.
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