The sole true Something\u2014This! In Limbo\u2019s Den
\nIt frightens Ghosts, as here Ghosts frighten men.
\nThence crossed unseized\u2014and shall some fated hour
\nBe pulverised by Demogorgon\u2019s power
\nAnd given as poison to annihilate souls\u2014
\nEven now it shrinks them\u2014they shrink in as Moles
\n(Nature\u2019s mute monks, live mandrakes of the ground)
\nCreep back from Light\u2014then listen for its sound;\u2014
\nSee but to dread, and dread they know not why\u2014
\nThe natural alien of their negative eye.<\/p>\n
\u2019Tis a strange place, this Limbo!\u2014not a Place,
\nYet name it so;\u2014where Time and weary Space
\nFettered from flight, with night-mare sense of fleeing,
\nStrive for their last crepuscular half-being;\u2014
\nLank Space, and scytheless Time with branny hands
\nBarren and soundless as the measuring sands,
\nNot marked by flit of Shades,\u2014unmeaning they
\nAs moonlight on the dial of the day!
\nBut that is lovely\u2014looks like Human Time,\u2014
\nAn Old Man with a steady look sublime,
\nThat stops his earthly task to watch the skies;
\nBut he is blind\u2014a Statue hath such eyes;\u2014
\nYet having moonward turned his face by chance,
\nGazes the orb with moon-like countenance,
\nWith scant white hairs, with foretop bald and high,
\nHe gazes still,\u2014his eyeless face all eye;\u2014
\nAs \u2019twere an organ full of silent sight,
\nHis whole face seemeth to rejoice in light!
\nLip touching lip, all moveless, bust and limb\u2014
\nHe seems to gaze at that which seems to gaze on him!
\nNo such sweet sights doth Limbo den immure,
\nWalled round, and made a spirit-jail secure,
\nBy the mere horror of blank Naught-at-all,
\nWhose circumambience doth these ghosts enthral.
\nA lurid thought is growthless, dull Privation,
\nYet that is but a Purgatory curse;
\nHell knows a fear far worse,
\nA fear\u2014a future state;\u2014\u2019tis positive Negation!<\/p>\n
STC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The sole true Something\u2014This! In Limbo\u2019s Den It frightens Ghosts, as here Ghosts frighten men. Thence crossed unseized\u2014and shall some fated hour Be pulverised by Demogorgon\u2019s power And given as… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bars.ac.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bars.ac.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bars.ac.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bars.ac.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bars.ac.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.bars.ac.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.bars.ac.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1\/revisions\/5"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bars.ac.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bars.ac.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bars.ac.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}