Page:The Works of Lord Byron (ed. Coleridge, Prothero) - Volume 2.djvu/319

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CANTO III.]
CHILDE HAROLD’S PILGRIMAGE.
283

Which stung his foes to wrath, which grew from fear[1][2]
And doomed him to the zealot's ready Hell,
Which answers to all doubts so eloquently well.


CVIII.

Yet, peace be with their ashes,—for by them,
If merited, the penalty is paid;
It is not ours to judge,—far less condemn;
The hour must come when such things shall be made
Known unto all,—or hope and dread allayed
By slumber, on one pillow, in the dust,[3]
Which, thus much we are sure, must lie decayed;
And when it shall revive, as is our trust,[4]
'Twill be to be forgiven—or suffer what is just.


  1. Which stung his swarming foes with rage and fear.—[MS.]
  2. [The first three volumes of Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, contrary to the author's expectation, did not escape criticism and remonstrance. The Rev. David Chetsum (in 1772 and (enlarged) 1778) published An Examination of, etc., and Henry Edward Davis, in 1778, Remarks on the memorable Fifteenth and Sixteenth Chapters. Gibbon replied by a Vindication, issued in 1779. Another adversary was Archdeacon George Travis, who, in his Letter, defended the authenticity of the text on "Three Heavenly Witnesses" (1 John v. 7), which Gibbon was at pains to deny (ch. xxxvii. note 120). Among other critics and assailants were Joseph Milner, Joseph Priestley, and Richard Watson afterwards Bishop of Llandaff. (For Porson's estimate of Gibbon, see preface to Letters to Mr. Archdeacon Travis, etc., 1790.)]
  3. In sleep upon one pillow——.—[MS.]
  4. [There is no reason to suppose that this is to be taken ironically. He is not certain whether the "secrets of all hearts shall be revealed," or whether all secrets shall be kept in the silence of universal slumber; but he looks to the possibility of a judgment to come. He is speaking for