My Boy Tammy (1804-1819)/The Seven days Work

THE SEVEN DAYS WORK.

When the earth was unformed and totally void,
And the depth of the deluge no man can impede:
On the face of the water the Spirit of Might
Did move the creation, but he first formed light.
With the emblems celestial, the Compass & Square
He brought to a level, and form'd all things fair;
With one leg in the centre, while the other mov'd round
Betwixt Pison and Gihon, saying here is thy bonds.

The first was the firmament nam'd in the text,
With a circle inclosed to the utmost complete,
Dividing the waters both firm and sure,
With all the elements transparent and pure.
There's nothing confused that we can behold,
But all things in good order, and shining like gold.
On the mighty waves he formed a plan,
The elements pure, that are useful to man.

With a palace of light glistering like gold,
Which moves in due season to the eastward to rule;
And the second made orb was to borrow her light,
She was called bright luna that rules the long night
There is Saturn and Jupiter, Mercury and Mars,
And Venus the brightest of the five wand'ring stars,
There is seven bright plannets rules over the land.
Upon heaven’s high road, which is useful to man.

He gathered the waters, and the earth appeared dry,
He reared the mountains with their tops to the sky,
When the earth was formed, there sprang forth fine flowers,
When word gave command, there descended fine showers.
To the eastward of Eden he formed a plan,
The pride of the globe, and a lodge to make man.
To the hills of Levanna the word did advance,
And fourth sprung tall cedars and formed a dance.

He fill'd the clear waters with fish by the span,
And caused feather'd fowls to fly over the land.
The largest of fishes that was made under heaven,
Was the great hungry whale that was Jonah's prison
The plume feather'd songsters that rose from their prey
Upon green willow branches they sung the fifth day,
And when that bright Phœbas inclines to the deep,
It was our charming sweet nightingale sung them asleep.

And pregnant Preumphna, that great mother earth,
She fetched her youngsters by two at a birth;
The cattle the pasture, the beasts in the fields,
Come forth all by couples their young ones to yield.
The Lion, the tiger the panther and ounce,
Sprung out from her bowels all truth to pronounce.
All nature was finished, by sea and by land,
But the chiefest creation was the making of man.

A lodge was prepared, deny it who can,
The word was spoke pure, come let us make Man;
We will form his image of the earthly mould
Since he breathes from the breath of a great living soul.
For to know his Creator that formed this plan,
We will give him the secret as soon as he’s man,
He needs no more knowledge his wisdom will shine,
And he'll pass though each lodge with pass-word and sign.

CHORUS.

In the evening tuned harping
So sweetly did play,
And they sung mutual songs
To close the seventh day.
Come join me in chorus,
That we may go on,
All things is got finished,
Come let us make man.

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