But thou shalt do as do the gods
In their cloudless periods;
For of this lore be thou sure,—­
Though thou forget, the gods, secure,
Forget never their command,
But make the statute of this land. 
As they lead, so follow all,
Ever have done, ever shall. 
Warning to the blind and deaf,
’T is written on the iron leaf,
Who drinks of Cupid’s nectar cup
Loveth downward, and not up;
He who loves, of gods or men,
Shall not by the same be loved again;
His sweetheart’s idolatry
Falls, in turn, a new degree. 
When a god is once beguiled
By beauty of a mortal child
And by her radiant youth delighted,
He is not fooled, but warily knoweth
His love shall never be requited. 
And thus the wise Immortal doeth,—­
’T is his study and delight
To bless that creature day and night;
From all evils to defend her;
In her lap to pour all splendor;
To ransack earth for riches rare,
And fetch her stars to deck her hair: 
He mixes music with her thoughts,
And saddens her with heavenly doubts: 
All grace, all good his great heart knows,
Profuse in love, the king bestows,
Saying, ’Hearken!  Earth, Sea, Air! 
This monument of my despair
Build I to the All-Good, All-Fair. 
Not for a private good,
But I, from my beatitude,
Albeit scorned as none was scorned,
Adorn her as was none adorned. 
I make this maiden an ensample
To Nature, through her kingdoms ample,
Whereby to model newer races,
Statelier forms and fairer faces;
To carry man to new degrees
Of power and of comeliness. 
These presents be the hostages
Which I pawn for my release. 
See to thyself, O Universe! 
Thou art better, and not worse.’—­
And the god, having given all,
Is freed forever from his thrall.

THE VISIT

Askest, ‘How long thou shalt stay?’
Devastator of the day! 
Know, each substance and relation,
Thorough nature’s operation,
Hath its unit, bound and metre;
And every new compound
Is some product and repeater,—­
Product of the earlier found. 
But the unit of the visit,
The encounter of the wise,—­
Say, what other metre is it
Than the meeting of the eyes? 
Nature poureth into nature
Through the channels of that feature,
Riding on the ray of sight,
Fleeter far than whirlwinds go,
Or for service, or delight,
Hearts to hearts their meaning show,
Sum their long experience,
And import intelligence. 
Single look has drained the breast;
Single moment years confessed. 
The duration of a glance
Is the term of convenance,
And, though thy rede be church or state,
Frugal multiples of that. 
Speeding Saturn cannot halt;
Linger,—­thou shalt rue the fault: 
If Love his moment overstay,
Hatred’s swift repulsions play.

URIEL