Old Stuff

Belloc: Ballade of Illegal Ornaments

"...the controversy was ended by His Lordship, who wrote to the Incumbent ordering him to remove from the Church all Illegal Ornaments at once, and especially a Female Figure with a Child."

I

When that the Eternal deigned to look
  On us poor folk to make us free
He chose a Maiden, whom He took
  From Nazareth in Galilee;
  Since when the Islands of the Sea,
The Field, the City, and the Wild
  Proclaim aloud triumphantly
A Female Figure with a Child.
  

II

These Mysteries profoundly shook
  The Reverend Doctor Leigh, D.D.,
Who therefore stuck into a Nook
  (or Niche) of his Incumbency
  An Image filled with majesty
To represent the Undefiled,
  The Universal Mother--She--
A Female Figure with a Child.

III

His Bishop, having read a book
  Which proved as plain as plain could be
That all the Mutts had been mistook
  Who talked about a Trinity
  Wrote off at once to Doctor Leigh
In manner very far from mild,
  And said: "Remove them instantly!
A Female Figure with a Child!"

Envoi

Prince Jesus, in mine Agony,
  Permit me, broken and defiled,
Through blurred and glazing eyes to see
  A Female Figure with a Child.

Posted by billw at September 6, 2002 10:29 PM | TrackBack