An Anthology of Czechoslovak Literature/In the Catacombs

In the Catacombs

THE judgment-day shall come, the hour of reckoning.

Ah, the good shepherd then shall crush the tigers,
And from the wolves drag forth their evil hearts.
The husbandman upon his threshing-floor
Shall sunder wheat from chaff. Earth, sinful garden,
Shall quake with dread, having not hills enough
To hide her guiltiness, nor waters enough
To cleanse away her shame. The spotless lamb
Hath heralded its advent, even as
The bridegroom of our souls his marriage-feast.

Jesus, the lanterns of our hearts are kindled,
And the flame lights the gloom unto Thy path.
O come, O come, and guide us from our exile
Unto the promised land to deathless feasts.
Unto Thy glory and Thy godly sway,
Where chant the angels and the seraphim,
And where the martyrs dwell in exaltation
Amid the holiness of Thine apostles.

Thrice blessed are the ones who dared to shed
Their blood for exaltation of Thy name.
Them didst thou spare the other pangs of life,
Didst turn temptation from them, and the snares
Which the base world doth garnish for the body.
O, holy judge, succour Thy suppliants,
Open to us the portals from this life,
Whereon we beat in tearful throes of yearning.

Why didst thou not commit our lives to us,
Why set thy ban on casting them aside,
When they are burdens? Why are they a stronghold,
Whence by its will the soul may not depart?

O grant Thou that the world may shatter this dungeon
And in its rage destroy the stronghold’s ramparts
Before thy judgment-day is come. The day
Is near, but greater is our longing. Grant
That we become the blood-stained witnesses
Unto Thy words, Thy truth, as Thine exemplar,
Grant unto us, O Lord, a martyr’s crown,
The which more swiftly leads unto Thy glory.

O grant it soon, grant it betimes, O Lord,
Ere Thine annunciation be fulfilled,
Ere come destruction’s day. Neither the day
Is certain, nor the hour,-only Thy words
We have, O Lord.
Behold our woe, vouchsafe
To us the boon of them whose bodies here
Sleep biding resurrection.
Or enjoin
Angels to trumpet forth the judgment-day
And, wielding Thy sword of sovereignty, ascend
Thy throne, for we are pining with desire,
And this, our life, has now become a torment.
The Poison from Judaea (1906)

This work is a translation and has a separate copyright status to the applicable copyright protections of the original content.

Original:

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1930.

The longest-living author of this work died in 1942, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 82 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.

Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse

Translation:

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1930.

The longest-living author of this work died in 1970, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 54 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.

Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse