Page:The poems of Emma Lazarus volume 1.djvu/119

Rh And have it weighed with tho precision cool And the nice logic of a reasoning mind. This spiritual Father judged his crime As the mad mischief of a reckless boy, That called for strict, immediate punishment. But Tannhäuser, who felt himself a man, Though base, yet fallen through passions and rare gifts Of an exuberant nature rankly rich, And knew his weary head was growing gray With a life s terrible experience, Found his old sense of proper worth revive; But modestly he ended : &quot; Yet I felt, O holy Father, in the church, this morn, A strange security, a peace serene, As though e en yet the Lord regarded me With merciful compassion ; yea, as though Even so vile a worm as I might work Mine own salvation, through repentant prayers.&quot; &quot; Presumptuous man, it is no easy task To expiate such sin ; a space of prayer That deprecates the anger of the Lord, A pilgrimage through pleasant summer lands, May not atone for years of impious lust ; Thy heart hath lied to thee in offering hope.&quot; &quot; Is there no hope on earth ? &quot; the pilgrim sighed. &quot;None through thy penance,&quot; said the saintly man. &quot; Yet there may be through mediation, help. There is a man who by a blameless life