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Then listen to the perilous tale again,
And, with an eager and suspended soul,
Woo terror to delight us; .... but to hear
The roaring of the raging elements,
To know all human strength, all human skill,
Avail not; to look around, and only see
The mountain wave incumbent, with its weight
Of bursting waters, o'er the reeling bark, ....
O God, this is indeed a dreadful thing !
And he who hath endured the horror once,
Of such an hour, doth never hear the storm
Howl round his home, but he remembers it,
Southey.And thinks upon the suffering mariner!
And, with an eager and suspended soul,
Woo terror to delight us; .... but to hear
The roaring of the raging elements,
To know all human strength, all human skill,
Avail not; to look around, and only see
The mountain wave incumbent, with its weight
Of bursting waters, o'er the reeling bark, ....
O God, this is indeed a dreadful thing !
And he who hath endured the horror once,
Of such an hour, doth never hear the storm
Howl round his home, but he remembers it,
Southey.And thinks upon the suffering mariner!
Man, in whatever state he may be considered, as well as in every period and vicissitude of life, experiences in religion an efficacious antidote against the ills which oppress him, a shield that blunts the darts of his enemies, and an asylum into which they can never enter. In every event of fortune it excites in his soul a sublimity of ideas, by pointing out to him the just Judge, who as an attentive spectator of his conflicts, is about to reward him with his inestimable approbation. Religion, also, in the darkest tempest appears to man as the Iris of peace, and dissipating the dark and angry storm, restores the wishedfor calm, and brings him to the port of safety.
Other men's sins we ever bear in mind;
None sees the fardel of his faults behind.
Herrick. 1648
None sees the fardel of his faults behind.
Herrick. 1648
