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قراءة كتاب The Song of the Exile—A Canadian Epic
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اللغة: English
الصفحة رقم: 8
To duty, whatso'er the pain it bring.
The soldier must obey the bugle call;
The wife must weep, and pray he may not fall.
While war is arbiter—but must it be
Forever arbiter? Will not the day
Of lasting peace dawn ever? Will not ye,
Ye Christian nations, raise your voice, and stay
The march of war throughout the universe;
And rid you of its agony and curse?
Forever arbiter? Will not the day
Of lasting peace dawn ever? Will not ye,
Ye Christian nations, raise your voice, and stay
The march of war throughout the universe;
And rid you of its agony and curse?
XXXVIII.
It lies not in your pow'r to order those,
The nations still uncivilized, to cease
From war, and, if they make themselves your foes,
Ye must resist; yet can ye order peace
Among yourselves. And, sure, ye Christian lands
Would wash the blood of war from off your hands!
The nations still uncivilized, to cease
From war, and, if they make themselves your foes,
Ye must resist; yet can ye order peace
Among yourselves. And, sure, ye Christian lands
Would wash the blood of war from off your hands!
XXXIX.
Slow, slow, the march of Christianity,
Yet sure—more sure because its march is slow;
And settled now in peace and amity
Are issues which, but fifty years ago,
Had been the cause of bloodshed and of strife,
And cost each country many a noble life.
Yet sure—more sure because its march is slow;
And settled now in peace and amity
Are issues which, but fifty years ago,
Had been the cause of bloodshed and of strife,
And cost each country many a noble life.
Then let the infidel or atheist,
Or him who doubts if ever God can be,
And questions the existence of a Christ,
Mark well the fruits of Christianity,
And say what other power has ever wrought
The good that Christianity has brought
Or him who doubts if ever God can be,
And questions the existence of a Christ,
Mark well the fruits of Christianity,
And say what other power has ever wrought
The good that Christianity has brought
XLI.
No myth or vain delusion can achieve
What love of Christ has done; no mockery
Can bring the troubled comfort, or relieve
The broken heart; nor can idolatry
Inspire our hearts with love and charity:
These follow only Christianity.
What love of Christ has done; no mockery
Can bring the troubled comfort, or relieve
The broken heart; nor can idolatry
Inspire our hearts with love and charity:
These follow only Christianity.
XLII.
I pause before a simple monument,
And read inscribed thereon the noble names
Montcalm and Wolfe. Their enmity is spent,
And each from French and English justly claims
An equal reverence. This humble stone
Stands emblematic of their union.
And read inscribed thereon the noble names
Montcalm and Wolfe. Their enmity is spent,
And each from French and English justly claims
An equal reverence. This humble stone
Stands emblematic of their union.
And are the nations so united now,
In Canada, that nothing comes between
To break the bond, or disannul the vow
Of friendship and of fealty to our Queen?
Do they not rather live each wide apart
From other, bound in name but not in heart?
In Canada, that nothing comes between
To break the bond, or disannul the vow
Of friendship and of fealty to our Queen?
Do they not rather live each wide apart
From other, bound in name but not in heart?
XLIV.
Well nigh a century and thirty years
Have run their course since Canada became
An English colony; and yet appears,
Within her shores, a unity in name,
And name alone, between those races who
Should live as one, but still exist as two.
Have run their course since Canada became
An English colony; and yet appears,
Within her shores, a unity in name,
And name alone, between those races who
Should live as one, but still exist as two.
XLV.
What boots it that an oath of loyalty
To Britain's Queen is taken by the French,
If they but wait the opportunity
To give that man support who seeks to wrench
This vast Dominion from the British Crown,
And tear our noble red-cross banner down?
To Britain's Queen is taken by the French,
If they but wait the opportunity
To give that man support who seeks to wrench
This vast Dominion from the British Crown,
And tear our noble red-cross banner down?
And why call that an English colony
In which a foreign tongue predominates?
And how will he preserve his loyalty
To England, who the name of England hates?
Too generous have been your governors,
Too lightly exercised their given powers.
In which a foreign tongue predominates?
And how will he preserve his loyalty
To England, who the name of England hates?
Too generous have been your governors,
Too lightly exercised their given powers.
XLVII.
Ere this, if England had asserted all
The rights that conquest gave, here might have been
A colony which we could truly call
A British land. Nor should we now have seen,
In Canada, two nations side by side
Upgrowing, by affection's bond untied.
The rights that conquest gave, here might have been
A colony which we could truly call
A British land. Nor should we now have seen,
In Canada, two nations side by side
Upgrowing, by affection's bond untied.
XLVIII.
"A nation self-divided cannot stand."
All history has proved this adage true.
And, Canada, if thou would'st be a land
Of might and power, thou must surely do
As other lands have done; it cannot be
That thou wilt else secure prosperity.
All history has proved this adage true.
And, Canada, if thou would'st be a land
Of might and power, thou must surely do
As other lands have done; it cannot be
That thou wilt else secure prosperity.
Let not incipient rebellion grow
To actual revolt, but trample down
Its very sign, and with a mighty blow,
Crush all who rise disloyal to the Crown.
Do this, but this alone will not suffice;
A sterner duty yet before thee lies.
To actual revolt, but trample down
Its very sign, and with a mighty blow,
Crush all who rise disloyal to the Crown.
Do this, but this alone will not suffice;
A sterner duty yet before thee lies.
L.
Send forth the edict that the English tongue,
And it alone, shall be official here,
And teach the language everywhere among
The French in all the counties far and near.
Thus, and thus only, canst thou hope to see
Thy future self preserved in unity.
And it alone, shall be official here,
And teach the language everywhere among
The French in all the counties far and near.
Thus, and thus only, canst thou hope to see
Thy future self preserved in unity.
LI.
But what are these to me? A passing thought,
An evanescent stirring of the brain,
Which, for a time, forgetfulness has brought,
And temporary soothing of my pain.
But as I turn away, anew I feel
The burning sore which time can never heal.
An evanescent stirring of the brain,
Which, for a time, forgetfulness has brought,
And temporary soothing of my pain.
But as I turn away, anew I feel
The burning sore which time can never heal.