Upon this day, the five-and-twentieth day Of the month Caslan, was the Temple here Profaned by strangers, by Antiochus And thee, his instrument. Upon this day Shall it be cleansed. Thou, who didst lend thyself

Unto this profanation, canst not be

A witness of these solemn services. There can be nothing clean where thou art present.

The people put to death Callisthenes, Who burned the Temple gates; and if they find thee

Will surely slay thee. I will spare thy life To punish thee the longer. Thou shalt wander

Among strange nations. Thou, that hast

cast out

So many from their native land, shalt perish

In a strange land. Thou, that hast left so

many

Unburied, shalt have none to mourn for thee,

Nor any solemn funerals at all,

together, They take fire out of them, and light the lamps

In the great candlestick. They spread the veils,

And set the loaves of shewbread on the table.

The incense burns; the well-remembered odor

Comes wafted unto me, and takes me back To other days. I see myself among them As I was then; and the old superstition Creeps over me again! A childish fancy!

And hark! they sing with citherns and with cymbals,

And all the people fall upon their faces,
Praying and worshipping!
-I will away
Into the East, to meet Antiochus
Upon his homeward journey, crowned with
triumph.

Alas! to-day I would give everything

hence!

That had the slightest tone of comfort in it!

Antiochus! Antiochus ! Alas,

How canst thou help it, Philip? Oh the pain!

Stab after stab. Thou hast no shield against

This unseen weapon. God of Israel,
Since all the other gods abandon me,
Help me. I will release the Holy City,
Garnish with goodly gifts the Holy Temple.
Thy people, whom I judged to be un-
worthy

To be so much as buried, shall be equal
Unto the citizens of Antioch.

I will become a Jew, and will declare
Through all the world that is inhabited
The power of God!

Into what tribulation am I come! Alas! I now remember all the evil

Unto my son, Antiochus Eupator;
And unto the good Jews, my citizens,
In all my towns, say that their dying
monarch

Wisheth them joy, prosperity, and health.
I who, puffed up with pride and arro-
gance,

Thought all the kingdoms of the earth mine own,

If I would but outstretch my hand and take them,

Meet face to face a greater potentate, King Death- Epiphanes - the Illustrious! [Dies.

C

Similamente operando all' artista Ch' a l'abito dell' arte e man che trema. DANTE, Par. xiii. st. 77. The relation of Michael Angelo to Mr. Longfellow's life and work is dwelt on in the biographical sketch prefixed to this edition.

The notes at the end of this volume point out some of the more interesting indications of the manner in which the authorities used were made to contribute to the realism of the poem. It was the poet's intention at one time to insert in the poem translations of some of the sonnets and other verses of Michael Angelo, and to this he refers in his Dedication when he says —

Flowers of song have thrust
Their roots among the loose disjointed stones.

These translations with one exception he withdrew and published instead in the volume entitled Kéramos and other Poems; they may be found in their place among the Translations in this edition. Another intimation of the connection of his poetry with this study appears in the poem Vittoria Colonna, written in 1877, and published in Flight the Fifth of Birds of Passage.

Michael Angelo was found in the poet's desk after his death, and while in one or two instances some doubt arose as to Mr. Longfellow's final choice of alternative scenes, it was reasonably clear what his latest decision was as to the sequence and form of the poem.

The reader who is interested in the poet's development of the theme and in his several experiments will find the material at his hand in the poem as printed and annotated in vol. vi. of the Riverside edition.