Clarel/Part 1/Canto 4
4. Of the Crusaders[edit]
When sighting first the towers afar
Which girt the object of the war
And votive march—the Saviour's Tomb,
What made the redeross knights so shy?
And wherefore did they doff the plume 5
And baldrick, kneel in dust, and sigh?
Hardly it serves to quote Voltaire
And say they were freebooters—hence,
Incapable of awe or sense
Pathetic; no, for man is heir 10
To complex moods; and in that age
Belief devout and bandit rage
Frequent were joined; and e'en today
At shrines on the Calabrian steep—
Not insincere while feelings sway— 15
The brigand halts to adore, to weep.
Grant then the worst—is all romance
Which claims that the crusader's glance
Was blurred by tears?
But if that round 20
Of disillusions which accrue
In this our day, imply a ground
For more concern than Tancred knew,
Thinking, yet not as in despair,
Of Christ who suffered for him there 25
Upon the crag; then, own it true,
Cause graver much than his is ours
At least to check the hilarious heart
Before these memorable towers.
But wherefore this? such theme why start? 30
Because if here in many a place
The rhyme—much like the knight indeed—
Abjure brave ornament, 'twill plead
Just reason, and appeal for grace.