Questions & Answers
' Neath Sol's fierce rays, Barbaric brays Rouse patriotic blood; But holier still The conscience-thrill, Braving the deeper flood.
Oh tell me, man of sacred lore, Where dwells the Being you adore? And where, oh man of thought profound, Where can the Eternal One be found? Throughout the realms of boundless space We seek in vain His dwelling-place. He dwells where'er the beams of light Have pierced the primal gloom of night; Beyond the planet's feeble ray, Beyond the comet's devious way; Where'er, amid the realms afar, Shines light of sun or twinkling star.
Breaking through the clouds of darkness, Black with error, doubt and fear; Lighting up each sombre shadow, With a radiance soft and clear; Filling every heart with gladness, That its holy power feels, Comes the Christian Science Gospel; Sin it kills and grief it heals. Christlike in its benedictions, Godlike in its strength sublime, Conquering every subtle slander, With a meekness all divine,— May it go across the ocean, And be known in every land, Till our sisters and our brothers, All united in one band, Raise to Heaven their glad hosanas, For a world from sin set free; And to God, the Heavenly Father, Then subdued will all things be.
If in the light of Life above, There is no night to shut out love, Then June is nearest Heaven's ray, With shortest night and longest day.
Far back, in galleries olden, A Roman Emperor stood, And, looking upon the nations, Proclaimed that the highest good Was to be at one with Nature,— A part of the Life sublime, A note in the spheral music Of the everlasting chime. The world has gained in splendor Since Antoninus slept, And over its primal darkness Has the light of Science crept; Religion has raised her banners; And within the homes of men, Have art and affection gathered The trophies of sword and pen.
Father , I scarcely dare to pray, So clear I see, now it is done, That I have wasted half my day, And left my work but just begun; So clear I see that things I thought Were right or harmless were a sin; So clear I see that I have sought. Unconscious, selfish aims to win.
Whence are thy wooings, gentle June? Thou hast a Naiad's charm; Thy breezes scent the rose's breath; Old Time gives thee his palm. The lark's shrill song doth wake the dawn; The eve-bird's forest flute Gives back some maiden melody, Too pure for aught so mute.
If even thee, the righteous and the holy, These did forsake, What wonder human hearts, loving as lowly, Do sometimes break? All stand far off in the dark hour of trial, Just before sleep. 'Neath the lips' smile we feel the soul's denial, And turn and weep.
A melody is the Soul of a man, A melody is the Soul of a woman; None like another, in cadence or time, Trillings of sweetness and measure sublime Flow on forever. Harmony is the soul of mankind, Carols of sweetness and richness combined, Pure exultation, and strains but half-glad, Straying from keynotes expressing the sad, Flow on together.
The Easter Praises may falter, And die with the Easter Day; The blossoms that brighten the altar In sweetness may fade away. But after the silence and fading, There lingers, untold and unpriced.