Open for me the gates of delight, The gates of the garden of man's desire; Where spirits touch'd by heavenly fire Have planted the trees of life.-- Their branches in beauty are spread, Their fruit divine To the nations is given for bread, And crush'd into wine. To thee, O man, the sun his truth hath given, The moon hath whisper'd in love her silvery dreams; Night hath unlockt the starry heaven, The sea the trust of his streams: And the rapture of woodland spring Is stay'd in its flying; And Death cannot sting Its beauty undying. Fear and Pity disentwine Their aching beams in colours fine; Pain and woe forgo their might. After darkness thy leaping sight, After dumbness thy dancing sound, After fainting thy heavenly flight, After sorrow thy pleasure crown'd: O enter the garden of thy delight, Thy solace is found. X To us, O Queen of sinless grace, Now at our prayer unveil thy face: Awake again thy beauty free; Return and make our Graces three. And with our thronging strength to the ends of the earth Thy myriad-voicèd loveliness go forth, To lead o'er all the world's wide ways God's everlasting praise, And every heart inspire With the joy of man in the beauty of Love's desire. 19 A HYMN OF NATURE AN ODE WRITTEN FOR MUSIC _The music composed by Sir Hubert Parry, performed at the Gloucester Festival, 1898_ I Power eternal, power unknown, uncreate: Force of force, fate of fate. Beauty and light are thy seeing, Wisdom and right thy decreeing, Life of life is thy being. In the smile of thine infinite starry gleam, Without beginning or end, Measure or number, Beyond time and space, Without foe or friend, In the void of thy formless embrace, All things pass as a dream Of thine unbroken slumber. II Gloom and the night are thine: On the face of thy mirror darkness and terror, The smoke of thy blood, the frost of thy breath. In silence and woful awe Thy harrying angels of death Destroy whate'er thou makest-- Makest, destroyest, destroyest and makest. Thy gems of life thou dost squander, Their virginal beauty givest to plunder, Doomest to uttermost regions of age-long ice To starve and expire: Consumest with glance of fire, Or back to confusion shakest With earthquake, elemental storm and thunder. III In ways of beauty and peace Fair desire, companion of man, Leadeth the children of earth.