Scripture Verse

Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. Isaiah 2:4

Introduction

Words: John A. Sy­monds, 1880. The text be­low is a cento from his po­em A Vis­ta, in New and Old (Bos­ton, Mas­sa­chu­setts: James R. Os­good, 1880), page 225, start­ing with stan­za 4.

Music: Tru­ro, from Psal­mo­dia Ev­an­ge­li­ca, by Tho­mas Will­iams, 1789 (🔊 pdf nwc).

portrait
John Symonds (1840–1893)

Lyrics

These things shall be! a loft­ier race
Than e’er the world hath known shall rise,
With flame of free­dom in their souls
And light of know­ledge in their eyes.

They shall be gen­tle, brave, and strong
To spill no drop of blood, but dare
All that may plant man’s lord­ship firm
On earth, and fire, and sea, and air.

Nation with na­tion, land with land,
Inarmed shall live as com­rades free;
In ev­ery heart and brain shall throb
The pulse of one fra­ter­ni­ty.

Man shall love man with heart as pure
And fer­vent as the young-eyed joys
Who chant their hea­ven­ly songs be­fore
God’s face with un­di­scord­ant noise.

New arts shall bloom of loft­ier mould,
And might­ier mu­sic thrill the skies,
And ev­ery life shall be a song,
When all the earth is pa­ra­dise.

There shall be no more sin, nor shame,
Though pain and pas­sion may not die;
For man shall be at one with God
In bonds of firm ne­ces­si­ty.