Act I: Scene IV
THE CHOIR.All the Choir sing.Let all adore our God; the universeIs full of His magnificence!Let all invoke Him ever:His empire was before the birth of time;Sing, and proclaim His benefactions.
One voice alone.In vain unrighteous violence hath imposedSilence upon the people praising Him:His name shall never perish.Day unto day proclaims His glory and His power:The universe is full of His magnificence:Sing, and proclaim His benefactions.
All the Choir.The universe is full of His magnificence:Sing, and proclaim His benefactions.
One voice alone.He gives to flowers their lovely hues,He brings the fruits to birth and ripens them;To these He portions, with judicious care,The heat of day and coolness of the night:The fields receiving them, returnThe gifts with usury.
Another.He bids the sun to animate His works,And light's the power of His own hands;But still His holy law, His spotless lawIs richest blessing God has given mankind.
Another.O, Mount of Sinai, keep eternallyIn our remembrance the illustrious day,When on thy flaming summit, in a cloud,Densely enveloped, God into the eyeOf mortals caused to shineA beamlet of His glory.O tell me why those lightnings and those flamesThe floods of vapour, rumblings in the air,The trumpetings, and thunder:Came He to overturnThe order of the elements?Came He to shake the earthUpon its old foundations?
Another.He came to witness to the Hebrew childrenHis holy precepts' everlasting light;He came to bid that happy people love HimWith a love eternal.
All the Choir.O law divine, delightful law!O justice, tenderness supreme!What satisfaction, sweetness overflowing,To pledge unto that God our love and faith!
One voice alone.He freed our fathers from a cruel yoke;While in the desert, with delicious foodHe nourished them: He gives to us His law,He gives Himself; and for such benefitsHe orders us to love Him.
The Choir.O justice, tenderness supreme!
The same voice.For them He closed the waters of the sea,And from an arid rock made fountains gush;He gives to us His law, He gives Himself;And for such benefitsHe orders us to love Him.
The Choir.O law divine, delightful law!What satisfaction, sweetness overflowing,To pledge unto that God our love and faith!
Another voice alone.O you, who only know a servile fear,Ingrates, can not a God so good delight you?Is it so difficult unto your hearts,So painful, then, to love Him?The bondsman dreads the tyrant's violence,But love's the portion of a child:You wish that God should load you with His blessings,Without returning Him your love!
All the Choir.O law divine, delightful law!O justice, tenderness supreme!What satisfaction, sweetness overflowing,To pledge unto that God our love and faith!
Words in this poem
- adore v. t.
- To worship with profound reverence; to pay divine honors to; to honor as deity or as divine. [OE. aouren, anouren, adoren, OF. aorer, adorer, F. adorer, fr. L. adorare; ad + orare to speak, pray, os, oris, mouth. In OE. confused with honor, the French pr]
- magnificence n.
- The act of doing what magnificent; the state or quality of being magnificent. Acts xix. 27. [F. magnificence, L. magnificentia. See Magnific.]
- unrighteous a.
- Not righteous; evil; wicked; sinful; as, an unrighteous man. [OE. unrightwise, AS. unrihtwis. See Un- not, and Righteous.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- judicious a.
- Of or relating to a court; judicial. [F. judicieux, fr. L. judicium judgment. See Judicial.]
- usury n.
- A premium or increase paid, or stipulated to be paid, for a loan, as of money; interest. [OE. usurie, usure, F. usure, L. usura use, usury, interest, fr. uti, p. p. usus, to use. See Use, v. t.]
- eternally adv.
- In an eternal manner.
- beamlet n.
- A small beam of light.
- vapour n.
- Any substance in the gaseous, or aëriform, state, the condition of which is ordinarily that of a liquid or solid. [OE. vapour, OF. vapour, vapor, vapeur, F. vapeur, L. vapor; probably for cvapor, and akin to Gr. kvepti to breathe, smell, Russ. kopote fine soot. Cf. Vapid.]
- bondsman n.
- A slave; a villain; a serf; a bondman. [Bond,a.orn.+ man.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act I: Scene IV is in the public domain. This text is taken from Athaliah: A Tragedy, Project Gutenberg ebook #21967, the J. Donkersley translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Jean Racine, Act I: Scene IV, in Athaliah: A Tragedy (1873), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21967, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/racine-athaliah/act-i-scene-iv.html, id L26957.
Form and metre
Act I: Scene IV is 85 lines in 14 stanzas. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic pentameter.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| THE CHOIR. | 3 | ·/˘ |
| All the Choir sing. | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Let all adore our God; the universe | 10 | ··˘//··/˘· |
| Is full of His magnificence! | 8 | ····˘/˘˘ |
| Let all invoke Him ever: | 7 | ··˘/·/˘ |
| His empire was before the birth of time; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Sing, and proclaim His benefactions. | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| One voice alone. | 4 | ··˘/ |
| In vain unrighteous violence hath imposed | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Silence upon the people praising Him: | 10 | /˘···/˘/˘· |
| His name shall never perish. | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Day unto day proclaims His glory and His power: | 12 | ····˘/·/˘··/ |
| The universe is full of His magnificence: | 12 | ·/˘·····˘/˘˘ |
| Sing, and proclaim His benefactions. | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| All the Choir. | 4 | ··/˘ |
| The universe is full of His magnificence: | 12 | ·/˘·····˘/˘˘ |
| Sing, and proclaim His benefactions. | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| One voice alone. | 4 | ··˘/ |
| He gives to flowers their lovely hues, | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| He brings the fruits to birth and ripens them; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| To these He portions, with judicious care, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| The heat of day and coolness of the night: | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The fields receiving them, return | 8 | ··˘/˘·˘/ |
| The gifts with usury. | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Another. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| He bids the sun to animate His works, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And light's the power of His own hands; | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| But still His holy law, His spotless law | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Is richest blessing God has given mankind. | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/// |
| Another. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| O, Mount of Sinai, keep eternally | 10 | ···/··˘/˘˘ |
| In our remembrance the illustrious day, | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| When on thy flaming summit, in a cloud, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Densely enveloped, God into the eye | 10 | /˘˘/˘····· |
| Of mortals caused to shine | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| A beamlet of His glory. | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| O tell me why those lightnings and those flames | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The floods of vapour, rumblings in the air, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| The trumpetings, and thunder: | 7 | ·/˘˘·/˘ |
| Came He to overturn | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The order of the elements? | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| Came He to shake the earth | 6 | ······ |
| Upon its old foundations? | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Another. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| He came to witness to the Hebrew children | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/˘ |
| His holy precepts' everlasting light; | 10 | ·/˘/··˘/˘· |
| He came to bid that happy people love Him | 11 | ·····/˘/˘·· |
| With a love eternal. | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| All the Choir. | 4 | ··/˘ |
| O law divine, delightful law! | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| O justice, tenderness supreme! | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘˘/ |
| What satisfaction, sweetness overflowing, | 11 | ··˘/˘/˘/˘·˘ |
| To pledge unto that God our love and faith! | 10 | ······/··· |
| One voice alone. | 4 | ··˘/ |
| He freed our fathers from a cruel yoke; | 10 | ··//˘··/˘· |
| While in the desert, with delicious food | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| He nourished them: He gives to us His law, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| He gives Himself; and for such benefits | 10 | ··˘/···/˘˘ |
| He orders us to love Him. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| The Choir. | 3 | ·/˘ |
| O justice, tenderness supreme! | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘˘/ |
| The same voice. | 3 | ··· |
| For them He closed the waters of the sea, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And from an arid rock made fountains gush; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| He gives to us His law, He gives Himself; | 10 | ········˘/ |
| And for such benefits | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| He orders us to love Him. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| The Choir. | 3 | ·/˘ |
| O law divine, delightful law! | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| What satisfaction, sweetness overflowing, | 11 | ··˘/˘/˘/˘·˘ |
| To pledge unto that God our love and faith! | 10 | ······/··· |
| Another voice alone. | 6 | ˘/˘·˘/ |
| O you, who only know a servile fear, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Ingrates, can not a God so good delight you? | 11 | ········˘/· |
| Is it so difficult unto your hearts, | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| So painful, then, to love Him? | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| The bondsman dreads the tyrant's violence, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘˘ |
| But love's the portion of a child: | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| You wish that God should load you with His blessings, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Without returning Him your love! | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| All the Choir. | 4 | ··/˘ |
| O law divine, delightful law! | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| O justice, tenderness supreme! | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘˘/ |
| What satisfaction, sweetness overflowing, | 11 | ··˘/˘/˘/˘·˘ |
| To pledge unto that God our love and faith! | 10 | ······/··· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.