HYMN TO JUSTICE. By Charles Morse. "I demand on behalf of Justice that, having been shown to have reality and not to deceive those who truly possess her, she may now have appearance restored to her; and thus obtain the crown of victory which is hers also."— Plato : The Republic, II, 444.
I. F^AUGHTER of sovran Zeus, the Lord of All, -^^^ Astraea, who didst know a mortal throne What time the Ages ran their golden zone, Of thee I sing! O, that we might recall Those happy days when Earth, unvexed by brawl Of lust and strife, sang to the stars Sweet lauds of peace, and knew not wars; When men wrought not for self alone But rather for the common good, All welded in one brotherhood! Thrice happy days, ere thou wast driven By Mammon's ruthless horde from Earth to Heaven II. Spirit of Justice, not all desolate Didst thou leave Earth, thy whilom pleasant home! For as a star, set in the ambient dome, Thou beaconest to those that on thee wait For light to thread the path of Duty straight. And as the scent of some rare flow'r Haunts its abode for many an hour After its leaves to nothingness have come, So what thou taughtest Man on Earth Within his laws is shadowed forth Through all the avenues of Time, — A spur and talisman of deeds sublime!
