No More Learning

One of the captives promised then to build
A temple on the mountain looking down
Upon the city of the King of Kings.
Loaded with chains, the prisoners were dragged
Along the streets and up the mountain track,
And there they toiled with grim and angry eyes,
Cutting a building in the solid rock.
"'Tis but a cavern! " said the King of Kings.
"We found a lion's lair," the captive said,
"And fashioned it into your monument.
Enter, O King of Kings, and see the work
Your slaves have built for you! " The conqueror
And captive entered. To a royal throne
The King of Kings was led, that he might view
The temple; and the builder flung himself
Face downwards at his feet. Then, suddenly,
The throne began to sink below the floor.
"Where are we going? " said the King of Kings.
"Down the deep pit into the inner hall! "
The captive said. A sound like thunder rang
Above them, and the King of Kings exclaimed:
"What noise was that? " "The block of stone
That covers in this pit," the captive said,
"Has fallen in its place!
" The King of Kings
Groped in the darkness, and with trembling voice
He asked: "Is there no way out of this pit? "
"Surely," the captive said, "the King of Kings,
Whose hands are swift like lightning, and whose feet
Tread down all nations, can find out a way? "
"There is no light, no sound, no breath of air! "
Cried out the King of Kings. "Why is it dark
And cold within the temple to my fame? "
"Because," the captive said, "it is your tomb! "


_Jean Chouan_

The work of pacifying Brittany
Was going on; and children, women, men,
Fled from the revolutionary troops
In wild disorder. Over a bare plain
And up a hill, swept by the guns of France,
They ran, and reached the shelter of a wood.
There they re-formed--the peasant royalists.
And then Jean Chouan, who was leading them,
Cried: "Is there any missing? " "No," they said,
Counting their numbers. "Scatter along the wood! "
Jean Chouan cried again. The women caught
Their babies to their breasts, and the old men
Tottered beside the children. Panic, fear
Possessed the broken, flying peasantry.
Only Jean Chouan stayed behind to watch
The movements of the enemy.