BOOK THE NINTH.
337
The buttress trembles, and the guarded wall,
Guarded in vain, submits. Him heathens erst 435
Had deified, and bowed the suppliant knee
To Plutus. Nor are now his votaries few,
Tho' he the Blessed Teacher of mankind
Hath said, that easier thro the needle's eye
Shall the huge cable pass, than the rich man 440
Enter the gates of Heaven. "Ye cannot serve
Your God, and worship Mammon."
"Missioned Maid!
So spake the Angel, "know that these, whose hands
Round each white furnace ply the unceasing toil,
Were Mammon's slaves on earth. They did not spare 445
To wring from Poverty the hard-earn'd mite;
They robb'd the orphan's pittance; they could see
Want's asking eye unmoved; and therefore these,
Ranged round the furnace, still must persevere
In Mammon's service; scorch'd by these fierce fires, 450
And frequent deluged by th' o'erboiling ore:
Yet still so framed, that oft to quench their thirst
Guarded in vain, submits. Him heathens erst 435
Had deified, and bowed the suppliant knee
To Plutus. Nor are now his votaries few,
Tho' he the Blessed Teacher of mankind
Hath said, that easier thro the needle's eye
Shall the huge cable pass, than the rich man 440
Enter the gates of Heaven. "Ye cannot serve
Your God, and worship Mammon."
"Missioned Maid!
So spake the Angel, "know that these, whose hands
Round each white furnace ply the unceasing toil,
Were Mammon's slaves on earth. They did not spare 445
To wring from Poverty the hard-earn'd mite;
They robb'd the orphan's pittance; they could see
Want's asking eye unmoved; and therefore these,
Ranged round the furnace, still must persevere
In Mammon's service; scorch'd by these fierce fires, 450
And frequent deluged by th' o'erboiling ore:
Yet still so framed, that oft to quench their thirst
"Unquenchable
