An Epistle Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: ABC DEAFG HIHIHIDD JKJKJKLM NANANAOO F PQPRPRSS F DDDDDDTT F FDFDFDUU F FVFVFVWW F XAXAXAYZ Z FDFDFDAA Z UAUAUAZZ Z DDDDDDDD Z A2AA2AA2AAA Z DDDDDDDD F B2DB2DB2DDD F AC2AC2AC2D2D2 F DDDDDDDD F E2F2E2F2E2F2AA F DDDDDDDD D DG2DG2DG2ZZ D ZFZFZFDD D DADADAOO D DADADAZZ D DFDFDFDD F DDDDDDH2H2 F ADADADI2I2 F DDDDDDFF F B2DB2DB2DJ2J2 F DUDUDUK2L2 D DDDDDDAA D DZDZDZZZ D ADADADM2M2 D H2AH2AH2AZZ D DDDDDDFF F DZDZDZAA

From Joshua Ibn Vives of Allorqui to his Former Master Solomon	A
Levi Paul de Santa Maria Bishop of Cartegna Chancellor of	B
Castile and Privy Councillor to King Henry III of Spain	C
	-
In this poem I have done little more than elaborate	D
and versify the account given in Graetz's History of the	E
Jews Vol VIII page of an Epistle actually written	A
in the beginning of the th century by Joshua ben Joseph	F
Ibn Vives to Paulus de Santa Maria E L	G
	-
I	-
	-
Master and Sage greetings and health to thee	H
From thy most meek disciple Deign once more	I
Endure me at thy feet enlighten me	H
As when upon my boyish head of yore	I
Midst the rapt circle gathered round thy knee	H
Thy sacred vials of learning thou didst pour	I
By the large lustre of thy wisdom orbed	D
Be my black doubts illumined and absorbed	D
	-
II	-
	-
Oft I recall that golden time when thou	J
Born for no second station heldst with us	K
The Rabbi's chair who art priest and bishop now	J
And we the youth of Israel curious	K
Hung on thy counsels lifted reverent brow	J
Unto thy sanctity would fain discuss	K
With thee our Talmud problems good and evil	L
Till startled by the risen stars o'er Seville	M
	-
III	-
	-
For on the Synagogue's high pillared porch	N
Thou didst hold session till the sudden sun	A
Beyond day's purple limit dropped his torch	N
Then we as dreamers woke to find outrun	A
Time's rapid sands The flame that may not scorch	N
Our hearts caught from thine eyes thou Shining One	A
I scent not yet sweet lemon groves in flower	O
But I re breathe the peace of that deep hour	O
	-
IV	F
	-
We kissed the sacred borders of thy gown	P
Brow aureoled with thy blessing we went forth	Q
Through the hushed byways of the twilight town	P
Then in all life but one thing seemed of worth	R
To seek find love the Truth She set her crown	P
Upon thy head our Master at thy birth	R
She bade thy lips drop honey fired thine eyes	S
With the unclouded glow of sun steeped skies	S
	-
V	F
	-
Forgive me if I dwell on that which viewed	D
From thy new vantage ground must seem a mist	D
Of error by auroral youth endued	D
With alien lustre Still in me subsist	D
Those reeking vapors faith and gratitude	D
Still lead me to the hand my boy lips kissed	D
For benison and guidance Not in wrath	T
Master but in wise patience point my path	T
	-
VI	F
	-
For I thy servant gather in one sheaf	F
The venomed shafts of slander which thy word	D
Shall shrivel to small dust If haply grief	F
Or momentary pain I deal my Lord	D
Blame not thy servant's zeal nor be thou deaf	F
Unto my soul's blind cry for light Accord	D
Pitying my love if too superb to care	U
For hate soiled name an answer to my prayer	U
	-
VII	F
	-
To me who vine to stone clung close to thee	F
The very base of life appeared to quake	V
When first I knew thee fallen from us to be	F
A tower of strength among our foes to make	V
'Twixt Jew and Jew deep cloven enmity	F
I have wept gall and blood for thy dear sake	V
But now with temperate soul I calmly search	W
Motive and cause that bound thee to the Church	W
	-
VIII	F
	-
Four motives possible therefor I reach	X
Ambition doubt fear or mayhap conviction	A
I hear in turn ascribed thee all and each	X
By ignorant folk who part not truth from fiction	A
But I whom even thyself didst stoop to teach	X
May poise the scales weigh this with that confliction	A
Yea sift the hid grain motive from the dense	Y
Dusty eye blinding chaff of consequence	Z
	-
IX	Z
	-
Ambition first I find no fleck thereof	F
In all thy clean soul What could glory gold	D
Or sated senses lure thy lofty love	F
No purple cloak to shield thee from the cold	D
No jeweled sign to flicker thereabove	F
And dazzle men to homage joys untold	D
Of spiritual treasure grace divine	A
Alone so saidst thou coveting for thine	A
	-
X	Z
	-
I saw thee mount with deprecating air	U
Step after step unto our Jewish throne	A
Of supreme dignity the Rabbi's chair	U
Shrinking from public honors thrust upon	A
Thy meek desert regretting even there	U
The placid habit of thy life foregone	A
Silence obscure vast peace and austere days	Z
Passed in wise contemplation prayer and praise	Z
	-
XI	Z
	-
One less than thou had ne'er known such regret	D
How must thou suffer who so lov'st the shade	D
In Fame's full glare whom one stride more shall set	D
Upon the Papal seat I stand dismayed	D
Familiar with thy fearful soul and yet	D
Half glad perceiving modest worth repaid	D
Even by the Christians Could thy soul deflect	D
No no thrice no Ambition I reject	D
	-
XII	Z
	-
Next doubt Could doubt have swayed thee then I ask	A2
How enters doubt within the soul of man	A
Is it a door that opens or a mask	A2
That falls and Truth's resplendent face we scan	A
Nay 't is a creeping small blind worm whose task	A2
Is gnawing at Faith's base the whole vast plan	A
Rots crumbles eaten inch by inch within	A
And on its ruins falsehood springs and sin	A
	-
XIII	Z
	-
But thee no doubt confused no problems vexed	D
Thy father's faith for thee proved bright and sweet	D
Thou foundst no rite superfluous no text	D
Obscure the path was straight before thy feet	D
Till thy baptismal day thou unperplexed	D
By foreign dogma didst our prayers repeat	D
Honor the God of Israel fast and feast	D
Even as thy people's wont from first to least	D
	-
XIV	F
	-
Yes Doubt I likewise must discard Not sleek	B2
Full faced erect of head men walk when doubt	D
Writhes at their entrails pinched and lean of cheek	B2
With brow pain branded thou hadst strayed about	D
As midst live men a ghost condemned to seek	B2
That soul he may nor live nor die without	D
No doubts the font washed from thee thou didst glide	D
From creed to creed complete sane souled clear eyed	D
	-
XV	F
	-
Thy pardon Master if I dare sustain	A
The thesis thou couldst entertain a fear	C2
I would but rout thine enemies who feign	A
Ignoble impulse prompted thy career	C2
I will but weigh the chances and make plain	A
To Envy's self the monstrous jest appear	C2
Though time place circumstance confirmed in seeming	D2
One word from thee should frustrate all their scheming	D2
	-
XVI	F
	-
Was Israel glad in Seville on the day	D
Thou didst renounce him Then mightst thou indeed	D
Snap finger at whate'er thy slanderers say	D
Lothly must I admit just then the seed	D
Of Jacob chanced upon a grievous way	D
Still from the wounds of that red year we bleed	D
The curse had fallen upon our heads the sword	D
Was whetted for the chosen of the Lord	D
	-
XVII	F
	-
There where we flourished like a fruitful palm	E2
We were uprooted spoiled lopped limb from limb	F2
A bolt undreamed of out of heavens calm	E2
So cracked our doom We were destroyed by him	F2
Whose hand since childhood we had clasped With balm	E2
Our head had been anointed at the brim	F2
Our cup ran over now our day was done	A
Our blood flowed free as water in the sun	A
	-
XVIII	F
	-
Midst the four thousand of our tribe who held	D
Glad homes in Seville never a one was spared	D
Some slaughtered at their hearthstones some expelled	D
To Moorish slavery Cunningly ensnared	D
Baited and trapped were we their fierce monks yelled	D
And thundered from our Synagogues while flared	D
The Cross above the Ark Ah happiest they	D
Who fell unconquered martyrs on that day	D
	-
XIX	D
	-
For some I write it with flushed cheek bowed head	D
Given free choice 'twixt death and shame chose shame	G2
Denied the God who visibly had led	D
Their fathers pillared in a cloud of flame	G2
Bathed in baptismal waters ate the bread	D
Which is their new Lord's body took the name	G2
Marranos the Accursed whom equally	Z
Jew Moor and Christian hate despise and flee	Z
	-
XX	D
	-
Even one no less than an Abarbanel	Z
Prized miserable length of days above	F
Integrity of soul Midst such who fell	Z
Far be it however from my duteous love	F
Master to reckon thee Thine own lips tell	Z
How fear nor torture thy firm will could move	F
How thou midst panic nowise disconcerted	D
By Thomas of Aquinas wast converted	D
	-
XXI	D
	-
Truly I know no more convincing way	D
To read so wise an author than was thine	A
When burning Synagogues changed night to day	D
And red swords underscored each word and line	A
That was a light to read by Who'd gainsay	D
Authority so clearly stamped divine	A
On this side death and torture flame and slaughter	O
On that a harmless wafer and clean water	O
	-
XXII	D
	-
Thou couldst not fear extinction for our race	D
Though Christian sword and fire from town to town	A
Flash double bladed lightning to efface	D
Israel's image though we bleed burn drown	A
Through Christendom 't is but a scanty space	D
Still are the Asian hills and plains our own	A
Still are we lords in Syria still are free	Z
Nor doomed to be abolished utterly	Z
	-
XXIII	D
	-
One sole conclusion hence at last I find	D
Thou whom ambition doubt nor fear could swerve	F
Perforce hast been persuaded through the mind	D
Proved tested the new dogmas found them serve	F
Thy spirit's needs left flesh and sense behind	D
Accepted without shrinking or reserve	F
The trans substantial bread and wine the Christ	D
At whose shrine thine own kin were sacrificed	D
	-
XXIV	F
	-
Here then the moment comes when I crave light	D
All's dark to me Master if I be blind	D
Thou shalt unseal my lids and bless with sight	D
Or groping in the shadows I shall find	D
Whether within me or without dwell night	D
Oh cast upon my doubt bewildered mind	D
One ray from thy clear heaven of sun bright faith	H2
Grieving not wroth at what thy servant saith	H2
	-
XXV	F
	-
Where are the signs fulfilled whereby all men	A
Should know the Christ Where is the wide winged peace	D
Shielding the lamb within the lion's den	A
The freedom broadening with the wars that cease	D
Do foes clasp hands in brotherhood again	A
Where is the promised garden of increase	D
When like a rose the wilderness should bloom	I2
Earth is a battlefield and Spain a tomb	I2
	-
XXVI	F
	-
Our God of Sabaoth is an awful God	D
Of lightnings and of vengeance Christians say	D
Earth trembled nations perished at his nod	D
His Law has yielded to a milder sway	D
Theirs is the God of Love whose feet have trod	D
Our common earth draw near to him and pray	D
Meek faced dove eyed pure browed the Lord of life	F
Know him and kneel else at your throat the knife	F
	-
XXVII	F
	-
This is the God of Love whose altars reek	B2
With human blood who teaches men to hate	D
Torture past words or sins we may not speak	B2
Wrought by his priests behind the convent grate	D
Are his priests false or are his doctrines weak	B2
That none obeys him State at war with state	D
Church against church yea Pope at feud with Pope	J2
In these tossed seas what anchorage for hope	J2
	-
XXVIII	F
	-
Not only for the sheep without the fold	D
Is the knife whetted who refuse to share	U
Blessings the shepherd wise doth not withhold	D
Even from the least among his flock but there	U
Midmost the pale dissensions manifold	D
Lamb flaying lamb fierce sheep that rend and tear	U
Master if thou to thy pride's goal should come	K2
Where wouldst thou throne at Avignon or Rome	L2
	-
XXIX	D
	-
I handle burning questions good my lord	D
Such as may kindle fagots well I wis	D
Your Gospel not denies our older Word	D
But in a way completes and betters this	D
The Law of Love shall supersede the sword	D
So runs the promise but the facts I miss	D
Already needs this wretched generation	A
A voice divine a new third revelation	A
	-
XXX	D
	-
Two Popes and their adherents fulminate	D
Ban against ban and to the nether hell	Z
Condemn each other while the nations wait	D
Their Christ to thunder forth from Heaven and tell	Z
Who is his rightful Vicar reinstate	D
His throne the hideous discord to dispel	Z
Where shall I seek master while such things be	Z
Celestial truth revealed certainty	Z
	-
XXXI	D
	-
Not miracles I doubt for how dare man	A
Chief miracle of life's mystery say HE KNOWS	D
How may he closely secret causes scan	A
Who learns not whence he comes nor where he goes	D
Like one who walks in sleep a doubtful span	A
He gropes through all his days till Death unclose	D
His cheated eyes and in one blinding gleam	M2
Wakes to discern the substance from the dream	M2
	-
XXXII	D
	-
I say not therefore I deny the birth	H2
The Virgin's motherhood the resurrection	A
Who know not how mine own soul came to earth	H2
Nor what shall follow death Man's imperfection	A
May bound not even in thought the height and girth	H2
Of God's omnipotence neath his direction	A
We may approach his essence but that He	Z
Should dwarf Himself to us it cannot be	Z
	-
XXXIII	D
	-
The God who balances the clouds who spread	D
The sky above us like a molten glass	D
The God who shut the sea with doors who laid	D
The corner stone of earth who caused the grass	D
Spring forth upon the wilderness and made	D
The darkness scatter and the night to pass	D
That He should clothe Himself with flesh and move	F
Midst worms a worm this sun moon stars disprove	F
	-
XXXIV	F
	-
Help me O thou who wast my boyhood's guide	D
I bend my exile weary feet to thee	Z
Teach me the indivisible to divide	D
Show me how three are one and One is three	Z
How Christ to save all men was crucified	D
Yet I and mine are damned eternally	Z
Instruct me Sage why Virtue starves alone	A
While falsehood step by step ascends the throne	A

Emma Lazarus

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