Tieoplo Sky

Tieoplo Sky
Tiepolo Clouds

Thursday, February 21, 2019

Thursday, February 21, 2019*

                     ____________Antiphon on 105, Part One_


Sing  
to the 
Lord
and re-
member 
the marvels he has done, hallelujah.
 *John Henry Newman  
          1801-1890 
Episcopal priest, theolo-
gian and poet, he was “a-
mong the founders of the 
Oxford Movement and a 
prolific tractarian.” In 1845 
he became Roman priest 
then a cardinal.  
 Solitude 
There is in stillness oft a magic power 
To calm the breast, when struggling passions lower; 
Touch'd by its influence, in the soul arise 
Diviner feelings, kindred with the skies. 
By this the Arab's kindling thoughts expand, 
When circling skies inclose the desert sand; 
For this the hermit seeks the thickest grove, 
To catch th' inspiring glow of heavenly love. 
It is not solely in the freedom given 
To purify and fix the heart on heaven; 
There is a Spirit singing aye in air, 
That lifts us high above all mortal care. 
No mortal measure swells that mystic sound, 
No mortal minstrel breathes such tones around,— 
The Angels' hymn,—the sovereign harmony 
That guides the rolling orbs along the sky,—  
And hence perchance the tales of saints who view'd 
And heard Angelic choirs in solitude. 
By most unheard,—because the earthly din 
Of toil or mirth has charms their ears to win. 
Alas for man! he knows not of the bliss, 
The heaven that brightens such a life as this. 
                 -Written  1818 Michaelmas (Fall) term

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