Basileus: Prologue

Prologue

The Argument

Apostrophe to Nebuchadnezzar [ii] – Reflection upon the same – Petition to the Spirit of Truth – The theme laid out in brief

O Head of gold [iii]! whose Babylonian might
Subdued the nations, at whose outstretched hand
Innumerable minions, scarlet-clad [iv],
O’erswept earth’s mighty kingdoms, riding forth
Conquering and to conquer, till the world
Came trembling forth to stoop before your throne,
Entreating mercy; nor, O gracious king,
Were they rejected; thus your kingdom grew
And far excelled all others that had been
Or yet would be, as Bashan’s mighty oak [v]
Excels the flowers of the field – free grace,
Administered in royal wisdom, worked
Together with unswayed dominion
And made the tree no human hand could fell [vi]
A haven for all creatures of the earth, –
Fair haven! splendor as had not been seen
Since cherubs barred the gates of Paradise [vii]
Against mankind decked Babylon the Great;
Unconquerable city! This you made
A garden fit for gods [viii], your sovereign sway
Adorned in splendor fitted for a king.
Tell me, O King, what wisdom did you learn
When in the flush of splendor and mad pride
The kingdom and the glory and the might,
Aye! even human reason fled from you,
And driven out you made your home with beasts?
At this he started: from his furrowed brow
The color fled, and he was grim and pale,
His lips long-frozen in a sickly smile
Bespeaking sorrow mixed with wisdom; thus,
For some long moments bitter memories,
Breaking upon the floodgate of his lips
As waters rise against a weakened dam
And cannot overflow it, till at once,
Resistance overcome, they thunder forth,
So suddenly his thoughts gave way to speech: [ix]
‘Why do you call me king? Those seven years
I crept upon the earth, wet with the dew,
My food the grass, my hair my covering
(Grown thick as eagles’ plumage), as the ox,
Walking in ways marked out for me, no more
A ruler of my own base passions than
I ever had been over other men, –
I was then what I was, and I am now
No more, no less a king than I was then.
What wisdom? – here he flung his arm across
The city’s wide expanse – One man is born
To conquer nations, one to gather crusts
Until he find no more and fade away,
Alone, unloved – Are they then different? No,
Each one according to his nature lives
And dies; as are the cattle, so is man,
Except that cattle will not mock themselves,
And madly clamor, “I have done this thing.”
All are corrupt, and so will all admit
Of one another, but in each man’s heart,
He is the one exception. I have learned
But this: that man who madly goes astray
Can never thereby frustrate God’s design.
Each thinks he is a king, but so to think
Does not make him a king. There is but One
Who reigns in earth and heaven, whose sure will
Cannot be hindered: to the Lord on high
Belongs the Kingdom; he alone is King,
And sets men up or takes down as he will.’
He spoke and he was still; and at his word
Warriors and mighty men, high kings of old,
Heroes, and names of great renown, fond tales
Of romance and high passion, daring deeds,
Illustrious acts, fierce wars, wise statesmanship,
Beauty that launched a thousand ships, dark wrath
That burned a hundred towers, histories
Of all things great, high, noble, lofty, good,
Were shattered as one dashes on a rock
A crystal mirror, but there still gleam forth
Flashes of glory, traces darting out
Of what was once both whole and fair, but now
Can only tell the glory that once was
In broken fragments.
Thus earth’s broken kings
Give broken witness to the King of kings;
And thus must I, whose nature is to sing
Of what is good, now turn my theme to him. [x]
Spirit of Truth! [xi] who speak not of yourself,
But open blinded eyes to see the King, [xii]
Anoint my heart that I may know all things, [xiii]
Anoint my pen to pour forth what I know
In floods that heal the nations, take hot coals
From off the sacred altar, touch my lips,
That I, mere man, mere sinful man, undone
Before the presence of the King of kings,
In blood-bought purity may take the theme
That burning seraphs, veiled before your throne,
Scarce dare to speak, as meek and worshipful
They thunder your thrice-holy. [xiv] Theme too high,
Too high for dust of dust! but dust once touched
By grace and glory, how can it not sing?
O take these broken offerings, Most High,
These broken shards that, broken though they be,
Reflect in broken rays unbroken Light,
The glory of the King above all kings!
The Most High spoke: and at his mighty Word
The worlds sprang into being and were good; [xv]
The kingdom was his own, his workmanship,
He reigned, and all was light, until the Foe,
In serpentine deception, sowed the lie
And darkness came.
But darkness was a lie,
And could not reign. In righteousness and wrath
The Most High thundered judgment from his throne,
Still ruling o’er the world, though marred by sin,
Still ruling o’er the lying treachery
That worked his will: [xvi] for in the ages past
The Most High covenanted with the Word
To give to him an everlasting throne,
A Kingdom of Redemption, [xvii] to outshine
The kingdom of creation, as the sun
Outshines the moon; rejoicing at his word,
The Eternal Son took on himself the task
To recreate, repair, restore, renew
The rebel broken by his treachery,
Display the riches of his glorious grace, [xvii]
And win an everlasting Kingdom. Fierce
And furious was the warfare of the Foe,
And of that war, and of the promised King,
And of the victory so hardly won
Long ages after, this is now the tale.

[i] Greek: “King”
[ii] An “apostrophe” is an address made to an object or a person who is incapable of answering. In this instance, the proposed answer is formulated on the basis of Nebuchadnezzar’s decree as given in Daniel chapter four. The author is here dialoguing with an account left by Nebuchadnezzar as if he were dialoguing with him in person.
[iii] In Daniel chapter two, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream of a statue with a head of gold, which Daniel interpreted for him as King Nebuchadnezzar himself, the ruler of the highest and most glorious of the world empires of history.
[iv] Cf. Nahum 2:3, where the Babylonians prophesied to destroy Nineveh are described as “valiant men in scarlet”.
[v] Cf. Isaiah 2:13
[vi] Cf. Daniel 4:10-12
[vii] Cf. Genesis 3:24
[viii] The hanging gardens which Nebuchadnezzar built for his wife are considered one of the seven wonders of the world.
[ix] The basic premise of the following monologue is adapted from Daniel chapter four.
[x] All of us have been so designed that we must worship that which appears to us most beautiful. When our eyes have been opened to see the glory of Christ, we cannot but worship him.
[xi] It has been conventional to begin epic poetry with an invocation to a Muse, a Greek divinity of the Arts supposed to have power to assist the poet to sing; in this case, the author, having touched upon a theme too high for such superstition, is moved instead to petition the Spirit of God who delights to open hearts to embrace the knowledge of the King who is to be the poem’s protagonist.
[xii] Cf. John 16:13
[xiii] As the Spirit is said to do in 1 John 2:20
[xiv] The preceding has been adapted from the account of the prophet Isaiah’s commission, recorded in Isaiah chapter six.
[xv] Cf. Genesis 1:1; John 1:1
[xvi] Cf. Acts 4:26-28
[xvii] Cf. Psalm 2:7-8
[xvii] Cf. Ephesians 1:3-7; Ephesians 2:4-7

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