I am the spirit of the place, Could make the mountain bow And quiver to his cavern'd baseAnd what with me wouldst Thou? Voice of the Third Spirit. In the blue depth of the waters, And the sea-snake hath life, Came the sound of thy spells : FOURTH SPIRIT. Where the slumbering earthquake Lies pillow'd on fire, And the lakes of bitumen Rise boilingly higher; Where the roots of the Andes Strike deep in the earth, As their summits to heaven I have quitted my birthplace, FIFTH SPIRIT. I am the Rider of the wind, The hurricane I left behind Is yet with lightning warm; The fleet I met sail'd well, and yet SIXTH SPIRIT. My dwelling is the shadow of the night, SEVENTH SPIRIT. The star which rules thy destiny The menace of the universe; And thou! beneath its influence born- What wouldst thou, Child of Clay! with me? ΙΙΟ 120 130 The SEVEN SPIRITS. Earth, ocean, air, night, mountains, winds, thy star, What wouldst thou with us, son of mortals-say? First Spirit. Of what--of whom—and why? Man. Of that which is within me: read it there ; Ye know it, and I cannot utter it. Spirit. We can but give thee that which we possess: Ask of us subjects, sovereignty, the power O'er earth, the whole, or portion, or a sign Which shall control the elements, whereof We are the dominators: each and all, These shall be thine. Man. Oblivion, self-oblivion Can ye not wring from out the hidden realms Spirit. It is not in our essence, in our skill; Man. Will death bestow it on me? Spirit. We are immortal, and do not forget! We are eternal; and to us the past Is, as the future, present. Art thou answer'd? 140 150 Man. Ye mock me-but the power which brought ye here Hath made you mine. Slaves, scoff not at my will! The mind, the spirit, the Promethean spark, The lightning of my being, is as bright, Pervading, and far-darting as your own, And shall not yield to yours, though coop'd in clay! Spirit. We answer as we answer'd; our reply Man. Why say ye so? Spirit. If, as thou say'st, thine essence be as ours, 160 We have replied in telling thee, the thing Mortals call death hath nought to do with us. Man. I then have call'd ye from your realms in vain; Ye cannot, or ye will not, aid me. Spirit. Say; What we possess we offer; it is thine: Bethink ere thou dismiss us, ask again— Kingdom, and sway, and strength, and length of days— Man. Accursed! what have I to do with days? They are too long already. Hence-begone! 170 Spirit. Yet pause: being here, our will would do thee service; Bethink thee, is there then no other gift Which we can make not worthless in thine eyes? Man. No, none: yet stay-one moment, ere we part— I would behold ye face to face. I hear Your voices, sweet and melancholy sounds, The steady aspect of a clear large star; But nothing more. Approach me as ye are, Spirit. We have no forms beyond the elements 180 Of which we are the mind and principle: Man. I have no choice; there is no form on earth Who is most powerful of ye, take such aspect Seventh Spirit (appearing in the shape of a beautiful female figure). Behold! Man. O God! if it be thus, and thou Art not a madness and a mockery, I yet might be most happy. I will clasp thee, And we again will be— 190 [The figure vanishes. My heart is crush'd. [MANFRED falls senseless. A voice is heard in the Incantation which follows. And the glow-worm in the grass, And the wisp on the morass; In the shadow of the hill, With a power and with a sign. Though thy slumber may be deep, There are shades which will not vanish, Thou canst never be alone: Thou art wrapt as with a shroud, Though thou seest me not pass by, And a magic voice and verse 200 210 220 |