A wandering mass of shapeless flame,A pathless Comet, and a curse,
The menace of the Universe;
Still rolling on with innate force,120
Without a sphere, without a course,
A bright deformity on high,
The monster of the upper sky!
And Thou! beneath its influence born—
Thou worm! whom I obey and scorn—
Forced by a Power (which is not thine,
And lent thee but to make thee mine)
For this brief moment to descend,
Where these weak Spirits round thee bend
And parley with a thing like thee—130
What would'st thou, Child of Clay! with me?112
The Seven Spirits.
Earth—ocean—air—night—mountains—winds—thy Star,
Are at thy beck and bidding, Child of Clay!
Before thee at thy quest their Spirits are—
What would'st thou with us, Son of mortals—say?
Man. Forgetfulness——
First Spirit. Of what—of whom—and why?
Man. Of that which is within me; read it there— Ye know it—and I cannot utter it.
Spirit. We can but give thee that which we possess: Ask of us subjects, sovereignty, the power140 O'er earth—the whole, or portion—or a sign Which shall control the elements, whereof We are the dominators,—each and all, These shall be thine.
Man. Oblivion—self-oblivion! Can ye not wring from out the hidden realms Ye offer so profusely—what I ask?
Spirit. It is not in our essence, in our skill; But—thou may'st die.
Man. Will Death bestow it on me?
Spirit. We are immortal, and do not forget; We are eternal; and to us the past150 Is, as the future, present. Art thou answered?
Man. Ye mock me—but the Power which brought ye here Hath made you mine. Slaves, scoff not at my will! The Mind—the Spirit—the Promethean spark,at The lightning of my being, is as bright, Pervading, and far darting as your own, And shall not yield to yours, though cooped in clay! Answer, or I will teach you what I am.au
Spirit. We answer—as we answered; our reply Is even in thine own words.
Man. Why say ye so?160
Spirit. If, as thou say'st, thine essence be as ours, We have replied in telling thee, the thing Mortals call death hath nought to do with us.
Man. I then have called ye from your realms in vain; Ye cannot, or ye will not, aid me.
Spirit. Say—113 What we possess we offer; it is thine: Bethink ere thou dismiss us; ask again; Kingdom, and sway, and strength, and length of days—
Man. Accurséd! what have I to do with days? They are too long already.—Hence—begone!170
Spirit. Yet pause: being here, our will would do thee service; Bethink thee, is there then no other gift Which we can make not worthless in thine eyes?
Man. No, none: yet stay—one moment, ere we part, I would behold ye face to face. I hear Your voices, sweet and melancholy sounds, As Music on the waters;114 and I see The steady aspect of a clear large Star; But nothing more. Approach me as ye are, Or one—or all—in your accustomed forms.180
Spirit. We have no forms, beyond the elements Of which we are the mind and principle: But choose a form—in that we will appear.
Man. I have no choice; there is no form on earth Hideous or beautiful to me. Let him, Who is most powerful of ye, take such aspect As unto him may seem most fitting—Come!
Seventh Spirit (appearing in the shape of a beautiful female figure).115 Behold!
Man. Oh God! if it be thus, and thou116 Art not a madness and a mockery, I yet might be most happy. I will clasp thee,190 And we again will be—— The figure vanishes. My heart is crushed! Manfred falls senseless.
(A voice is heard in the Incantation which follows.)117
When the Moon is on the wave,
And the glow-worm in the grass,
And the meteor on the grave,
And the wisp on the morass;118 When the falling stars are shooting, And the answered owls are hooting, And the silent leaves are still In the shadow of the hill, Shall my soul be upon thine,200 With a power and with a sign.
Though thy slumber may be deep,
Yet thy Spirit shall not sleep;
There are shades which will not vanish,
There are thoughts thou canst not banish;
By a Power to thee unknown,
Thou canst never be alone;
Thou art wrapt as with a shroud,
Thou art gathered in a cloud;
And for ever shalt thou dwell210
In the spirit of this spell.
Though thou seest me not pass by,
Thou shalt feel me with thine eye
As a thing that, though unseen,
Must be near thee, and hath been;
And when in that secret dread
Thou hast turned around thy head,
Thou shalt marvel I am not
As thy shadow on the spot,
And the power which thou dost feel220
