Editors

Darkness surrounds us; seeking, we are lostOn Snowdon's wilds, amid Brigantian coves,Or where the solitary shepherd rovesAlong the plain of Sarum, by the ghostOf Time and shadows of Tradition, crost;And where the boatman of the Western IslesSlackens his course, to mark those holy pilesWhich yet survive on bleak Iona's coast.Nor these, nor monuments of eldest name,Nor Taliesin's … [Read more...] about Ecclesiastical Sonnets – Part I. – V – Uncertainty, By: William Wordsworth

That heresies should strike (if truth be scannedPresumptuously) their roots both wide and deep,Is natural as dreams to feverish sleep.Lo! Discord at the altar dares to standUplifting toward high Heaven her fiery brand,A cherished Priestess of the new-baptized!But chastisement shall follow peace despised.The Pictish cloud darkens the enervate landBy Rome abandoned; vain are … [Read more...] about Ecclesiastical Sonnets – Part I. – IX – Dissensions, By: William Wordsworth

Mercy and Love have met thee on thy road,Thou wretched Outcast, from the gift of fireAnd food cut off by sacerdotal ire,From every sympathy that Man bestowed!Yet shall it claim our reverence, that to God,Ancient of days! that to the eternal Sire,These jealous Ministers of law aspire,As to the one sole fount whence wisdom flowed,Justice, and order. Tremblingly escaped,As if with … [Read more...] about Ecclesiastical Sonnets – Part I. – IV – Druidical Excommunication, By: William Wordsworth

Screams round the Arch-druid's brow the seamew whiteAs Menai's foam; and toward the mystic ringWhere Augurs stand, the Future questioning,Slowly the cormorant aims her heavy flight,Portending ruin to each baleful rite,That, in the lapse of ages, hath crept o'erDiluvian truths, and patriarchal lore.Haughty the Bard: can these meek doctrines blightHis transports? wither his … [Read more...] about Ecclesiastical Sonnets – Part I. – III – Trepidation Of The Druids, By: William Wordsworth