smooth thy brow:
Thy son, despite his folly, shall not sink:
He knows not what he says, yet shall not drink
With sobs the salt foam of the swelling waters;
But be, when passion passeth, good as thou,
Nor perish like Heaven's
children
with man's daughters.
Byron
_Noah_. Must we not leave all life to such? Begone!
_Japh._ Not I.
_Noah_. Then die
With them!
How darest thou look on that prophetic sky,
And seek to save what all things now condemn,
In overwhelming unison 760
With just Jehovah's wrath!
_Japh._ Can rage and justice join in the same path?
_Noah_. Blasphemer! darest thou murmur even now!
_Raph._ Patriarch, be still a father!
smooth thy brow:
Thy son, despite his folly, shall not sink:
He knows not what he says, yet shall not drink
With sobs the salt foam of the swelling waters;
But be, when passion passeth, good as thou,
Nor perish like Heaven's
children
with man's daughters.
_Aho._ The tempest cometh; heaven and earth unite 770
For the annihilation of all life.
Unequal is the strife
Between our strength and the Eternal Might!
_Sam._ But ours is with thee; we will bear ye far
To some untroubled star,
Where thou, and Anah, shalt partake our lot:
And if thou dost not weep for thy lost earth,
Our forfeit Heaven shall also be forgot.
_Anah_. Oh! my dear father's tents, my place of birth,
And mountains, land, and woods! when ye are not, 780
Who shall dry up my tears?
_Aza._ Thy spirit-lord.
Fear not; though we are shut from Heaven,
Yet much is ours, whence we can not be driven.
_Raph._ Rebel! thy words are wicked, as thy deeds
Shall henceforth be but weak: the flaming sword,
Which chased the first-born out of Paradise,
Still flashes in the angelic hands.
