FOOTNOTES:

[120] The Cistertian order was named after the monastery of Citéaux or Cistercium, near Dijon, founded in 1098 by the Benedictine abbot, Robert of Molême.—Ed.

[121] 1837.

... with nicer heed, 1822.

[122] "Bonum est nos hic esse, quia homo vivit purius, cadit rarius, surgit velocius, incedit cautius, quiescit securius, moritur felicius, purgatur citius, praemiatur copiosius."—Bernard. "This sentence," says Dr. Whitaker, "is usually inscribed on some conspicuous part of the Cistertian houses."—W. W. 1822.

[123] 1827.

... desire; 1822.

IV[124]
"DEPLORABLE HIS LOT WHO TILLS THE GROUND"

Published 1835

Deplorable his lot who tills the ground,
 His whole life long tills it, with heartless toil
 Of villain-service, passing with the soil
 To each new Master, like a steer or hound,
 Or like a rooted tree, or stone earth-bound; 5
 But mark how gladly, through their own domains,
 The Monks relax or break these iron chains;
 While Mercy, uttering, through their voice, a sound
 Echoed in Heaven, cries out, "Ye Chiefs, abate
 These legalized oppressions! Man—whose name 10
 And nature God disdained not; Man—whose soul
 Christ died for—cannot forfeit his high claim
 To live and move exempt from all controul
 Which fellow-feeling doth not mitigate!"

FOOTNOTES:

[124] The following note, referring to Sonnets IV., XII., and XIII., appears in the volume of 1835—entitled Yarrow Revisited, and other Poems—immediately after the poem St. Bees—

"The three following Sonnets are an intended addition to the 'Ecclesiastical Sketches,' the first to stand second; and the two that succeed, seventh and eighth, in the second part of the Series. (See the Author's Poems.) They are placed here as having some connection with the foregoing Poem."—Ed.

V
MONKS AND SCHOOLMEN

Record we too, with just and faithful pen,
 That many hooded Cenobites[125] there are,
 Who in their private cells have yet a care
 Of public quiet; unambitious Men,
 Counsellors for the world, of piercing ken; 5
 Whose fervent exhortations from afar
 Move Princes to their duty, peace or war;[126]
 And oft-times in the most forbidding den
 Of solitude, with love of science strong,
 How patiently the yoke of thought they bear! 10
 How subtly glide its finest threads along!
 Spirits that crowd the intellectual sphere[127]
 With mazy boundaries, as the astronomer
 With orb and cycle girds the starry throng.

FOOTNOTES:

[125] Cenobites ([Greek: koinobioi]κοινόβιοι), monks who live in common, as distinguished from hermits or anchorites, who live alone.—Ed.

[126] "Counts, kings, bishops," says F.D. Maurice, "in the fulness of their wealth and barbaric splendour, may be bowing before a monk, who writes them letters from a cell in which he is living upon vegetables and water." (Moral and Metaphysical Philosophy (Edition 1873), vol. i., Mediæval Philosophy, chap. iv. p. 534.)—Ed.

[127] e.g. Anselm (1033-1109); Albertus Magnus (1193-1280); Thomas Aquinas (1226-1274); Duns Scotus (1265-1308).—Ed.

VI
OTHER BENEFITS

And, not in vain embodied to the sight,
 Religion finds even in the stern retreat
 Of feudal sway her own appropriate seat;[128]
 From the collegiate pomps on Windsor's height
 Down to the humbler[129] altar, which the Knight 5
 And his Retainers of the embattled hall
 Seek in domestic oratory small,
 For prayer in stillness, or the chanted rite;
 Then chiefly dear, when foes are planted round,
 Who teach the intrepid guardians of the place— 10
 Hourly exposed to death, with famine worn,
 And suffering under many a perilous wound—[130]
 How sad would be their durance, if forlorn
 Of offices dispensing heavenly grace!

FOOTNOTES:

[128] St. George's Chapel, Windsor, begun by Henry III. and finished by Edward III., rebuilt by Henry VII., and enlarged by Cardinal Wolsey.—Ed.

[129] 1837.

... humble ... 1822.

[130] 1827.

... doubtful wound, 1822.

VII
CONTINUED

And what melodious sounds at times prevail!
 And, ever and anon, how bright a gleam
 Pours on the surface of the turbid Stream!
 What heartfelt fragrance mingles with the gale
 That swells the bosom of our passing sail! 5
 For where, but on this River's margin, blow
 Those flowers of chivalry, to bind the brow
 Of hardihood with wreaths that shall not fail?—
 Fair Court of Edward! wonder of the world![131]
 I see a matchless blazonry unfurled 10
 Of wisdom, magnanimity, and love;
 And meekness tempering honourable pride;
 The lamb is couching by the lion's side,
 And near the flame-eyed eagle sits the dove.

FOOTNOTES:

[131] Edward the Third (1336-1360). See The Wonderful Deeds of Edward the Third, by Robert of Avesbury; and Longman's History of Edward the Third.—Ed.

VIII
CRUSADERS

Furl we the sails, and pass with tardy oars
 Through these bright regions, casting many a glance
 Upon the dream-like issues—the romance[132]
 Of many-coloured life that[133] Fortune pours
 Round the Crusaders, till on distant shores 5
 Their labours end; or they return to lie,
 The vow performed, in cross-legged effigy,
 Devoutly stretched upon their chancel floors.
 Am I deceived? Or is their requiem chanted
 By voices never mute when Heaven unties 10
 Her inmost, softest, tenderest harmonies;
 Requiem which Earth takes up with voice undaunted,
 When she would tell how Brave, and Good, and Wise,[134]
 For their high guerdon not in vain have panted!

FOOTNOTES:

[132] 1845.

Nor can Imagination quit the shores
 Of these bright scenes without a farewell glance
 Given to those dream-like Issues—that Romance 1822.

Given to the dream-like Issues—that Romance 1837.

[133] 1837.

... which ... 1822.

[134] 1837.

... Good, and Brave, and Wise, 1822

IX
"AS FAITH THUS SANCTIFIED THE WARRIOR'S CREST"

Composed 1842.—Published 1845

As faith thus sanctified the warrior's crest
 While from the Papal Unity there came,
 What feebler means had fail'd to give, one aim
 Diffused thro' all the regions of the West;
 So does her Unity its power attest 5
 By works of Art, that shed, on the outward frame
 Of worship, glory and grace, which who shall blame
 That ever looked to heaven for final rest?
 Hail countless Temples! that so well befit
 Your ministry; that, as ye rise and take 10
 Form spirit and character from holy writ,
 Give to devotion, wheresoe'er awake,
 Pinions of high and higher sweep, and make
 The unconverted soul with awe submit.[135]

FOOTNOTES:

[135] In a letter to Professor Henry Reed, Philadelphia, September 4, 1842, Wordsworth writes: "To the second part of the Series" (the "Ecclesiastical Sonnets") "I have also added two, in order to do more justice to the Papal Church for the services which she did actually render to Christianity and humanity in the Middle Ages."—Ed.

X
"WHERE LONG AND DEEPLY HATH BEEN FIXED THE ROOT"

Composed 1842.—Published 1845

Where long and deeply hath been fixed the root
 In the blest soil of gospel truth, the Tree,
 (Blighted or scathed tho' many branches be,
 Put forth to wither, many a hopeful shoot)
 Can never cease to bear celestial fruit. 5
 Witness the Church that oft-times, with effect
 Dear to the saints, strives earnestly to eject[136]
 Her bane, her vital energies recruit.
 Lamenting, do not hopelessly repine
 When such good work is doomed to be undone,[137] 10
 The conquests lost that were so hardly won:—
 All promises vouchsafed by Heaven will shine[138]
 In light confirmed while years their course shall run,
 Confirmed alike in[139] progress and decline.

FOOTNOTES:

[136] 1845.

Blighted and scathed tho' many branches be,
 Can never cease to bear and ripen fruit
 Worthy of Heaven. This law is absolute.
 Behold the Church that often with effect
 Dear to the Saints doth labouring to eject C.

[137] 1845.

{The Church not seldom surely with effect}
 {Dear to the Saints doth labour to eject}
 Her bane, her vital energy recruit.
 So Providence ordains and why repine
 If this good work is doomed to be undone, C.

[138] 1845.

Trust that the promises vouchsafed will shine C.

[139] 1845.

... thro' ... C.

XI
TRANSUBSTANTIATION

Enough! for see, with dim association
 The tapers burn; the odorous incense feeds
 A greedy flame; the pompous mass proceeds;
 The Priest bestows the appointed consecration;
 And, while the Host is raised, its elevation 5
 An awe and supernatural horror breeds;
 And all the people bow their heads, like reeds
 To a soft breeze, in lowly adoration.
 This Valdo brooks[140] not.[141] On the banks of Rhone
 He taught, till persecution chased him thence, 10
 To adore the Invisible, and Him alone.
 Nor are[142] his Followers loth to seek defence,
 'Mid woods and wilds, on Nature's craggy throne,
 From rites that trample upon soul and sense.

FOOTNOTES:

[140] 1837.

... brook'd ... 1822.

[141] Peter Waldo (or Valdo), a rich merchant of Lyons (1160 or 1170), becoming religious, dedicated himself to poverty and almsgiving. Disciples gathered round him; and they were called the poor men of Lyons—a modest, frugal, and industrious order. They were reformers before the Reformation. Peter Waldo exposed the corruption of the clergy, had the four gospels translated for the people, and maintained the rights of the laity to read them to the masses. He was condemned by the Lateran Council in 1179.—Ed.

[142] 1837.

... were ... 1822.

XII
THE VAUDOIS

Published 1835

But whence came they who for the Saviour Lord
 Have long borne witness as the Scriptures teach?—
 Ages ere Valdo raised his voice to preach
 In Gallic ears the unadulterate Word,
 Their fugitive Progenitors explored 5
 Subalpine vales, in quest of safe retreats
 Where that pure Church survives, though summer heats
 Open a passage to the Romish sword,
 Far as it dares to follow. Herbs self-sown,
 And fruitage gathered from the chesnut wood, 10
 Nourish the sufferers then; and mists, that brood
 O'er chasms with new-fallen obstacles bestrown,
 Protect them; and the eternal snow that daunts
 Aliens, is God's good winter for their haunts.

XIII
"PRAISED BE THE RIVERS, FROM THEIR MOUNTAIN SPRINGS"

Published 1835

Praised be the Rivers, from their mountain springs
 Shouting to Freedom, "Plant thy banners here!"[143]
 To harassed Piety, "Dismiss thy fear,
 "And in our caverns smooth thy ruffled wings!"
 Nor be unthanked their final lingerings— 5
 Silent, but not to high-souled Passion's ear—
 'Mid reedy fens wide-spread and marshes drear,
 Their own creation. Such glad welcomings
 As Po was heard to give where Venice rose
 Hailed from aloft those Heirs of truth divine[144] 10
 Who near his fountains sought obscure repose,
 Yet came[145] prepared as glorious lights to shine,
 Should that be needed for their sacred Charge;
 Blest Prisoners They, whose spirits were[146] at large!

FOOTNOTES:

[143] See the story of the rebuilding of Rome after its plunder by the Gauls.—Ed.

[144] 1837.

... their tardiest lingerings
 'Mid reedy fens wide-spread and marshes drear,
 Their own creation, till their long career
 End in the sea engulphed. Such welcomings
 As came from mighty Po when Venice rose,
 Greeted those simple Heirs of truth divine 1835.

[145] 1837.

Yet were ... 1835.

[146] 1840.

... are ... 1835.

XIV
WALDENSES[147]

Those had given[148] earliest notice, as the lark
 Springs from the ground the morn to gratulate;
 Or[149] rather rose the day to antedate,
 By striking out a solitary spark, 4
 When all the world with midnight gloom was dark.—
 Then followed the Waldensian bands, whom Hate[150]
 In vain endeavours[151] to exterminate,
 Whom[152] Obloquy pursues with hideous bark:[153]
 But they desist not;—and the sacred fire,[154]
 Rekindled thus, from dens and savage woods 10
 Moves, handed on with never-ceasing care,
 Through courts, through camps, o'er limitary floods;
 Nor lacks this sea-girt Isle a timely share
 Of the new Flame, not suffered to expire.

FOOTNOTES:

[147] The followers of Peter Waldo afterwards became a separate community, and multiplied in the valleys of Dauphiné and Piedmont. They suffered persecutions in 1332, 1400, and 1478, but these only drove them into fresh districts in Europe. Francis I. of France ordered them to be extirpated from Piedmont in 1541, and many were massacred. In 1560 the Duke of Savoy renewed the persecution at the instance of the Papal See. Charles Emmanuel II., in 1655, continued it.—Ed.

[148] 1845.

These who gave ... 1822.

These had given ... 1840.

[149] 1840.

Who ... 1822.

[150] 1845.

These Harbingers of good, whom bitter hate 1822.

At length come those Waldensian bands, whom Hate 1840.

[151] 1840.

... endeavoured ... 1822

[152] 1840.

Fell ... 1822

[153] The list of foul names bestowed upon those poor creatures is long and curious:—and, as is, alas! too natural, most of the opprobrious appellations are drawn from circumstances into which they were forced by their persecutors, who even consolidated their miseries into one reproachful term, calling them Patarenians, or Paturins, from pati, to suffer.

Dwellers with wolves, she names them, for the pine
 And green oak are their covert; as the gloom
 Of night oft foils their enemy's design,
 She calls them Riders on the flying broom;
 Sorcerers, whose frame and aspect have become
 One and the same through practices malign.—W. W. 1822.

[154] 1827.

Meanwhile the unextinguishable fire, 1822

XV
ARCHBISHOP CHICHELY TO HENRY V.

"What beast in wilderness or cultured field
 "The lively beauty of the leopard shows?
 "What flower in meadow-ground or garden grows
 "That to the towering lily doth not yield?
 "Let both meet only on thy royal shield! 5
 "Go forth, great King! claim what thy birth bestows;
 "Conquer the Gallic lily which thy foes
 "Dare to usurp;—thou hast a sword to wield,
 "And Heaven will crown the right."—The mitred Sire
 Thus spake—and lo! a Fleet, for Gaul addrest, 10
 Ploughs her bold course across the wondering seas;[155]
 For, sooth to say, ambition, in the breast
 Of youthful heroes, is no sullen fire,
 But one that leaps to meet the fanning breeze.

FOOTNOTES:

[155] Henry Chichele, Archbishop of Canterbury in 1414, persuaded Henry V. to carry on war with France, and helped to raise money for the purpose. Henry crossed to Harfleur, Chichele accompanying him, with an army of 30,000, and won the battle of Agincourt.—Ed.

XVI
WARS OF YORK AND LANCASTER

Thus is the storm abated by the craft
 Of a shrewd Counsellor, eager to protect
 The Church, whose power hath recently been checked,
 Whose monstrous riches threatened. So the shaft
 Of victory mounts high, and blood is quaffed 5
 In fields that rival Cressy and Poictiers—[156]
 Pride to be washed away by bitter tears!
 For deep as Hell itself, the avenging draught[157]
 Of civil slaughter. Yet, while temporal power
 Is by these shocks exhausted, spiritual truth 10
 Maintains the else endangered gift of life;
 Proceeds from infancy to lusty youth;
 And, under cover of this[158] woeful strife,
 Gathers unblighted strength from hour to hour.

FOOTNOTES:

[156] e.g. the battles of St. Albans, Wakefield, Mortimer's Cross, Towton, Barnet, Tewkesbury, Bosworth.—Ed.

[157] 1827.

But mark the dire effect in coming years!
 Deep, deep as hell itself, the future draught 1822.

[158] 1827.

... that ... 1822.

XVII
WICLIFFE

Once more the Church is seized with sudden fear,
 And at her call is Wicliffe disinhumed:
 Yea, his dry bones to ashes are consumed
 And flung into the brook that travels near; 4
 Forthwith, that ancient Voice which Streams can hear
 Thus speaks (that Voice which walks upon the wind,
 Though seldom heard by busy human kind)—
 "As thou these ashes, little Brook! wilt bear
 "Into the Avon, Avon to the tide
 "Of Severn, Severn to the narrow seas, 10
 "Into main Ocean they, this deed accurst
 "An emblem yields to friends and enemies
 "How the bold Teacher's Doctrine, sanctified
 "By truth, shall spread, throughout the world dispersed."[159]

FOOTNOTES:

[159] The Council of Constance condemned Wicliffe as a heretic, and issued an order that his remains should be exhumed, and burnt. "Accordingly, by order of the Bishop of Lincoln, as Diocesan of Lutterworth, his grave, which was in the chancel of the church, was opened, forty years after his death; the bones were taken out and burnt to ashes, and the ashes thrown into a neighbouring brook called the Swift." (Southey's Book of the Church, vol. i. p. 384.) "Thus this brook," says Fuller, "hath conveyed his ashes into Avon, Avon into Severn, Severn into the narrow seas, they into the main ocean; and thus the ashes of Wicliffe are the emblem of his doctrine, which now is dispersed all the world over." (The Church History of Britain from the Birth of Christ until the year MDCXLVIII. endeavoured, book iv. p. 424.) In the note to the 11th Sonnet of Part I., Wordsworth acknowledges his obligations to Fuller in connection with this Sonnet on Wicliffe.

See Charles Lamb's comment on this passage of Fuller's, Prose Works (1876), vol. iv. p. 277.—Ed.

XVIII
CORRUPTIONS OF THE HIGHER CLERGY

"Woe to you, Prelates! rioting in ease
 "And cumbrous wealth—the shame of your estate;
 "You, on whose progress dazzling trains await
 "Of pompous horses; whom vain titles please;
 "Who will be served by others on their knees, 5
 "Yet will yourselves to God no service pay;
 "Pastors who neither take nor point the way
 "To Heaven; for, either lost in vanities
 "Ye have no skill to teach, or if ye know
 "And speak the word ——" Alas! of fearful things
 'Tis the most fearful when the people's eye 11
 Abuse hath cleared from vain imaginings;
 And taught the general voice to prophesy
 Of Justice armed, and Pride to be laid low.

XIX
ABUSE OF MONASTIC POWER

And what is Penance with her knotted thong;
 Mortification with the shirt of hair,
 Wan cheek, and knees indúrated with prayer,
 Vigils, and fastings rigorous as long;
 If cloistered Avarice scruple not to wrong 5
 The pious, humble, useful Secular,[160]
 And rob[161] the people of his daily care,
 Scorning that world whose blindness makes her strong?
 Inversion strange! that, unto One who lives[162]
 For self, and struggles with himself alone, 10
 The amplest share of heavenly favour gives;
 That to a Monk allots, both in the esteem
 Of God and man, place higher than to him[163]
 Who on the good of others builds his own!

FOOTNOTES:

[160] The secular clergy are the priests of the Roman church, who belong to no special religious order, but have the charge of parishes, and so live in the world (seculum). The regular clergy are the monks belonging to one or other of the monastic orders, and are subject to its rules (regulæ).—Ed.

[161] 1827.

And robs ... 1822.

[162] 1827.

Scorning their wants because her arm is strong?
 Inversion strange! that to a Monk, who lives 1822.

[163] 1845.

And hath allotted, in the world's esteem,
 To such a higher station than to him 1822.

That to a Monk allots, in the esteem
 Of God and Man, place higher than to him 1827.

XX
MONASTIC VOLUPTUOUSNESS