CANTO THE SIXTH.
“ WHEN
ROME’s Imperial Eagle soar’d away,
Steering her flight against the rising ray,
Wing’d by great CONSTANTINE, to seek the soil
From whence the Warrior loos’d his fatal prow,
Who With LAVINIA pledg’d his second vow,
Near the dark HELLESPONT she clos’d his toil.
II.
“ Two hundred circles of the Sun and more,
Had seen his aiery on his native shore,
Safe in his mighty wings extended shade,
On fair EUROPA’s verge : there many a hand,
From year to year, the rod of Empire spann’d,
Ere time to me the sign of rule convey’d.
III.
“ JUSTINIAN I was call’d ‑--The legal code,
Warm’d by humanity and love to God,
My hand reform’d ; with long assiduous care
Its rigors I relax’d, or nerv’d anew
Its too indulgent laws, till SATAN drew
Around my heedless steps his fatal snare.
IV.
“ The close connexion of the Pow’r divine
With frail humanity on DAVID’s line,
Stagger’d my faith, till AGABITUS came,
And purg’d the film terrene that dimm'd my sight :
Now I behold in Heav’n’s meridian light,
Things far beyond a mortal’s feeble aim.
V.
“ My heart I gave to Heav’n, kind Heav’n inspir’d
Noble designs, and all my bosom fir’d
With hope to mitigate those ills that wait
On social life ; while, with sagacious care,
Great BELISARIUS kept the storm of war
Aloof, and left me time to cure the State.
VI.
“ This your first question solves ; but ere I tell
The state of those that here in transport dwell,
A short digression claims the foremost place,
To shew the guilt of these contending Bands
That rend th’ Imperial sign with bloody hands,
Which GUELPHS oppose, and GHIBELLINES disgrace.
VII.
“ From that dread moment when young PALLAS fell,
It seem’d like young AURORA to dispel
The shades of Night, and lift its sacred head,
Hovering above proud ALBA’s regal tow’rs,
Till full three hundred Suns had run their course,
Then, when the three bold brethren fell, it fled.
VIII.
“ What glories in the field it won, you know,
From the rapt SABINE to LUCRETIA’s woe ;
While seven successive Kings its flag unfurl’d
Against the neighb’ring tribes : and how the GAUL
And GREEK beheld their bloody banner fall,
Before the future Mistress of the world.
IX.
“ TORQUATUS, QUINTUS, long on earth renown’d ;
The FABIAN and the DECIAN name shall sound,
In the full Pæans of the Blest above :
Under that dreadful ensign, waving high,
Thro’ the dark natives of a burning Sky
They mow’d their way, where Po’s deep waters move.
X.
“ When that proud standard led the long array,
The bloody fields beneath the setting day
Planted with trophies, show’d the mighty hand
Of SCIPIO, where it rag’d : while sunward led,
Great POMPEY’s bands the sign of battle spread ;
A name yet mournful to thy native land.
XI.
“ But, ere the nations rested yet from blood,
Ere heav’nly Peace her radiant aspect shew’d,
And on the ransom’d clime serenely smil’d ;
Great JULIUS by the vote of ROME arose,
The VAR, the RHINE, his early triumphs knows,
The RHONE, the SEINE, and ESAR’s utmost wild.
XII.
“ From sad RAVENNA, thro’ the ROMAN Sky
So swift his Eagles flew, the Poet’s eye
The lightning of their course could hardly scan ;
He struck MASSILIA, and he conquer’d SPAIN,
Then on his smoking path return’d again,
And back like thunder to DURAZZO ran.
XIII.
“ Thence, without respite, on the foe he flew,
And o’er the mountains of THESSALIA drew
His cohorts, like the flying rock of Heav’n
When POMPEY’s angry clarion call’d afar---
Old NILE ! you wept the victim of the war,
By unrelenting fate to slaughter giv’n.
XIV.
“ Soon to ANTANDROS on the winds he pass’d,
Where HECTOR’s tomb o’erlooks the wat’ry waste,
And thence o’er Egypt his destroying hand
Stretch’d, like an angry God ; his conqu’ring host
With fiery‑footed rage the
Desart cross’d,
And pour’d destruction on
NUMIDIA’s band.
XV.
“ Again the welkin rung with new
alarms,
The vengeful brood of POMPEY
calls to arms ;
Sad theme of sorrow in the
depths of Hell,
Where sullen CASSIUS, in
alternate lay,
With BRUTUS chants OCTAVIAN’s
mighty sway,
And Demons listen while their
doom they tell.
XVI.
“ HIS deeds MUTINA with PERUSIA
know,
And CLEOPATRA’s sunk in deepest
woe,
Who fled the venom’d aspic’s
rage in vain ;
To the red Sea his conqu’ring
Eagle flew,
Till Peace recall’d the golden
age anew,
And JANUS clos’d his jarring
valves again.
XVII.
“ But all th’ Imperial Ensign’s
spreading fame
(Past and to come) had sunk
before the claim
Of the third Owner of the
sov’reign pow’r,
Had he but seiz’d the fair
occasion giv’n,
To ’venge the slighted dignity
of Heav’n,
When the MESSIAH bled on
JORDAN’s shore.
XVIII.
“ But heav’nly Justice, tho’ in
torpor deep
In dark VESPASIAN’s breast
seem’d to sleep,
Like lightning darted on the
purer Mind
Of TITUS, when, by holy wrath
inspir’d,
From SALEM’s factious rebels he
requir’d
The debt of vengeance by his God
enjoin’d.
XIX.
“ When with envenom’d tooth the
ALPINE snake,
Stealing insidious from his
native brake,
The holy Vestal on her shrine
assail’d ;
My Eagle, rousing at the GALLIC
cry,
With lighting on his pinions
swept the Sky,
And the fell reptile to his den
repell’d.
XX.
“ Hence may your judgment on the
feuds decide,
That waste my old dominion far
and wide ;
But who can tell who most our
peace destroys ?
He who displays the lilied flag
afar,
Or with th’ Imperial Sign
provokes the war ;
My bleeding country each in turn
destroys.
XXI.
“ False GHIBELLINE ! the sacred
symbol yield,
That leads your legions to the
bloody field ;
Or with more noble arts adorn
your name :
Just in the cause in which you
should display
That sacred Ensign in the eye of
Day,
ASTREA’s cause and HER’s should
be the same.
XXII.
“ Shall ANJOU’s pride th’
Imperial Eagle dare ?---
A nobler Savage in a bloodier
war
Has felt his talons and forsook
the field :
The Son has often mourn’d the
Father’s crime ;
Heav’n will not circumvent his
flight sublime,
In partial favour to the lilied
shield.
XXIII.
“ This
little world that kindles in the trace
Of PHOEBE’s
Ear, and wheels his burning race
Nearer his
throne, contains within its bound
Those Souls
refin’d, who, by the gen’ral flame
Of honour,
fir’d to win a deathless name,
Fill’d with
incessant toil their mortal round.
XXIV.
“ Their
ardent eyes were fix’d on Fame alone,
With poor
ambition to this lower zone,
Their
aspirations took their humble flight :
Thrice happy
! if, to further Heav’n’s design,
Their days
were spent, and then a brighter Sign,
Had giv’n a
fairer lot of Love and Light.
XXV.
“ But to
compare our virtues with our gains,
Is one glad
task of these Cærulean plains,
So well
adjusted by the heav’nly scale ;
New
transport from the contemplation flows,
’Till with
intenser flame the Spirit glows,
O’er which
nor doubt nor envy can prevail.
XXVI.
“ As
diff’rent notes in harmony conspire,
So in
gradation due, our heav’nly choir,
A general
symphony of transport swell :
See ROMEO’s
Spirit where it moves along,
And sheds
new glory on the chosen throng ;
He, for his
gen’rous toils, untimely fell.
XXVII.
“ But soon
RAIMONDO’s province paid the fine,
For his
base treatment of the Man divine ;
For their
proud Lord the people much endur’d.
Ill fares
the Man whom envy leads astray ;
His four
fair Daughters shar’d Imperial sway :
A poor and
lonely Sage their crowns secur’d.
XXVIII.
“ Base
sycophants employ’d their usual art,
And
RAYMOND’s Soul, by slander’s rankling dart
Empoison’d,
found the baleful venom spread :
He call’d
him to refund his hoarded gain ;
With calm
integrity the hoary Swain
The spring‑tide
of the public wealth display’d.
XXIX.
“ Thence
worn with years and poverty he stray’d,
And thro’ ungrateful
nations begg’d his bread,
In deep
tranquillity, to Heav’n resign’d.
O had the
world but known that noble Soul,
That o’er
Earth’s dim face benighted stole,
New praise
his former praise had left behind !”
END OF THE SIXTH CANTO.