Let all his wiles the tempter try,
You may his utmost powers defy.

6. You must prevail at last, for ye
Are now become God's family:
To God forever give ye praise,
Patient and cheerful all your days.

1. Von Himmel kam der Engel schaar,
Erschien den Hirten offenbar;
Sie sagten ihn: Ein Kindlein zart
Das liegt dort in der Krippen hart.

2. Zu Bethlehem in Davids Stadt,
Wie Micha das verkuendet hat,
Es ist der Herre Jesus Christ
Der euer aller Heiland ist.

3. Des sollt ihr billig froehlich sein,
Dass Gott mit euch ist worden ein;
Er ist gebor'n eu'r Fleisch und Blut,
Eu'r Bruder ist das ewig Gut.

4. Was kann euch thun die Suend' und Tod?
Ihr habt mit euch den wahren Gott.
Lasst zuernen Teufel und die Hoell'
Gott's Sohn ist 'worden eu'r Gesell.

5. Er will und kann euch lassen nicht,
Setz't ihr aus ihn eu'r Zuversicht;
Es moegen euch viel fechten an
Dem sei Trotz, der's nicht lassen kann.

6. Zuletzt muss ihr doch haben recht,
Ihr seid nun 'worden Gott's Geschlecht;
Dess danket Gott in Ewigkeit,
Geduldig, froehlich, alle Zeit.

XXXIII. Erhalt' uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort.
Lord, keep us in Thy Word and Work.

_A Children's Song against the two arch-enemies of Christ
and his Holy Church._

_Melody,_ 1543. _Harmony by_ WM. STERNDALE
BENNETT, 1865.

1. Lord, keep us in thy word and work,
Restrain the murderous Pope and Turk,
Who fain would tear from off thy throne
Christ Jesus, thy beloved Son.

2. Lord Jesus Christ, thy power make known,
For thou art Lord of lords alone.
Shield thy poor Christendom, that we
May evermore sing praise to thee.

3. God, Holy Ghost, our joy thou art,
Give to thy flock on earth one heart.
Stand by us in our latest need,
And us from death to glory lead.

1.Erhalt' uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort
Und steure deine Feinde Mord,
Die Jesum Christum deinen Sohn,
Wollen stuerzen von deinem Thron.

2.Beweis' dein Macht, Herr Jesu Christ,
Der du Herr allen Herren bist;
Beschirm' dein' arme Christenheit,
Dass sie dich lob' in Ewigkeit.

3. Gott heil'ger Geist, du Troester werth,
Gieb' dei'm Volk ein'rlei Sinn' auf Erd'
Steh bei uns in der letzten Noth,
G'leit uns ins Leben aus dem Tod.

XXXIV. Christ, unser Herr, zum Jordan kam.
To Jordan came our Lord the Christ.

_This melody, known also by the title, "Es soll uns Gott
genaedig sein," is supposed to have been taken from a secular
tune of much earlier date._

_Harmony by_ A. HAUPT, 1869.

1. To Jordan came our Lord the Christ,
To do God's pleasure willing,
And there was by Saint John baptized,
All righteousness fulfilling;
There did he consecrate a bath
To wash away transgression,
And quench the bitterness of death
By his own blood and passion;
He would a new life give us.

2. So hear ye all, and well perceive
What God doth call baptism,
And what a Christian should believe
Who error shuns and schism:
That we should water use, the Lord
Declareth it his pleasure;
Not simple water, but the Word
And Spirit without measure;
He is the true Baptizer.

3. To show us this, he hath his word
With signs and symbols given;
On Jordan's banks was plainly heard
The Father's voice from heaven:
"This is my well-beloved Son,
In whom my soul delighteth;
Hear him." Yea, hear him every one
Whom he himself inviteth,
Hear and obey his teaching.

4. In tender manhood Jesus straight
To holy Jordan wendeth;
The Holy Ghost from heaven's gate
In dovelike shape descendeth;
That thus the truth be not denied,
Nor should our faith e'er waver,
That the Three Persons all preside,
At Baptism's holy laver,
And dwell with the believer.

5. Thus Jesus his disciples sent:
Go teach ye every nation,
That lost in sin they must repent;
And flee from condemnation:
He that believes and is baptized,
Obtains a mighty blessing;
A new-born man, no more he dies,
Eternal life possessing,
A joyful heir of heaven.

6. Who in this mercy hath not faith,
Nor aught therein discerneth,
Is yet in sin, condemned to death,
And fire that ever burneth;
His holiness avails him not,
Nor aught which he is doing;
His inborn sin brings all to naught,
And maketh sure his ruin;
Himself he cannot succor.

7. The eye of sense alone is dim,
And nothing sees but water;
Faith sees Christ Jesus, and in him
The lamb ordained for slaughter;
She sees the cleansing fountain red
With the dear blood of Jesus,
Which from the sins inherited
From fallen Adam frees us,
And from our own misdoings.

1. Christ, unser Herr, zum Jordan kam
Nach seines Vaters Willen,
Von Sanct Johann's die Taufe nahm,
Sein Werk und Amt zu ' rfuellen.
Da wollt' er stiften uns ein Bad,
Zu waschen uns von Suenden,
Ersaeufen auch den bittern Tod
Durch sein selbst Blut und Wunden,
Es galt ein neues Leben.

2. So hoert und merket alle wohl,
Was Gott heisst selbst die Taufe,
Und was ein Christen glauben soll,
Zu meiden Ketzer Haufen:
Gott spricht und will, das Wasser sei
Doch nicht allein schlecht Wasser,
Sein heilig's Wort ist auch dabei
Mit reichem Geist ohn' Massen,
Der ist allhie der Taeufer.

3. Solch's hat er uns beweiset klar,
Mit Bildern und mit Worten,
Des Vaters Stimm man offenbar
Daselbst am Jordan hoerte.
Er sprach: das ist mein lieber Sohn,
An dem ich hab' Gefallen,
Den will ich euch befohlen han,
Dass ihr ihn hoeret alle
Und folget seinen Lehren.

4. Auch Gottes Sohn hie selber steht
In seiner zarten Menschheit,
Der heilig' Geist hernieder faehrt
In Taubenbild verkleidet;
Dass wir nicht sollen zweifeln d'ran,
Wenn wir getaufet werden,
All' drei Person getaufet han,
Damit bei uns auf Erden
Zu wohnen sich ergeben.

5. Sein' Juenger heisst der Herre Christ:
Geht hin all' Welt zu lehren,
Dass sie verlor'n in Suenden ist,
Sich soll zur Busse kehren;
Wer glaubet und sich taufen laesst,
Soll dadurch selig werden,
Ein neugeborner Mensch er heisst,
Der nicht mehr konne sterben,
Das Himmelreich soll erben.

6. Wer nicht glaubt dieser grossen G'nad,
Der bleibt in seinen Suenden,
Und ist verdammt zum ew'gen Tod
Tief in der Hoellen Grunde,
Nichts hilst sein' eigen' Heiligkeit,
All' sein Thun ist verloren.
Die Erbsuend' macht's zur Nichtigkeit,
Darin er ist geboren,
Vermag ihm selbst nichts helfen.

7. Das Aug' allein das Wasser seiht,
Wie Menschen Wasser giessen,
Der Glaub' im Geist die Kraft versteht
Des Blutes Jesu Christi,
Und ist fuer ihm ein' rothe Fluth
Von Christus Blut gefaerbet,
Die allen Schaden heilen thut
Von Adam her geerbet,
Auch von uns selbst begangen.

XXXV. Was fuercht'st du, Feind Herodes, sehr?
Why, Herod, unrelenting foe.

_From the Hymn of Coelius Sedelius, of the Fifth Century,
"Herodes hostis impie."_

_Harmony by_ M. PRAETORIUS, 1609.

1. Why, Herod, unrelenting foe,
Doth the Lord's coming move thee so?
He doth no earthly kingdom seek
Who brings his kingdom to the meek.

2. Led by the star, the wise men find
The Light that lightens all mankind;
The threefold presents which they bring
Declare him God, and Man, and King.

3. In Jordan's sacred waters stood
The meek and heavenly Lamb of God,
And he who did no sin, thereby
Cleansed us from all iniquity!

4. And now a miracle was done:
Six waterpots stood there of stone;
Christ spake the word with power divine,
The water reddened into wine.

5. All honor unto Christ be paid,
Pure offspring of the holy maid,
With Father and with Holy Ghost,
Till time in endless time be lost.

1. Was fuercht'st du, Feind Herodes, sehr,
Dass uns gebor'n kommt Christ der Herr?
Er sucht kein sterblich Koenigreich,
Der zu uns bringt sein Himmelreich.

2. Dem Stern die Weisen folgen nach,
Solch' Licht zum rechten Licht sie bracht';
Sie zeigen mit den Gaben drei,
Dies Kind, Gott, Mensch, und Koenig sei.

3. Die Tauf' im Jordan an sich nahm
Das himmelische Gottes Lamm,
Dadurch, der nie kein' Suende that,
Bon Suenden uns gewaschen hat.

4. Ein Wunderwerk da neu geschah;
Sechs steinern' Kruege man da sah
Voll Wasser, das verlor sein Art,
Rother Wein durch sein Wort d'raus ward.

5. Lob, Ehr' und Dank fei dir gesagt,
Christ, gebor'n von der reinen Magd,
Mit Vater und dem heiligen Geist
Von nun an bis in Ewigkeit.

XXXVI. Der du bist drei in Einigkeit.
Thou, who art Three in Unity.

_An imitation from the Gregorian hymn, "O lux
beata trinitas."

_Original Latin Melody. Harmony in_ VON TUCHER, 18--.

1. Thou who art Three in Unity,
True God from all eternity,
The sun is fading from our sight,
Shine thou on us with heavenly light.

2. We praise thee with the dawning day,
To thee at evening also pray,
With our poor song we worship thee
Now, ever and eternally.

3. Let God the Father be adored,
And God the Son, the only Lord,
And equal adoration be,
Eternal Comforter, to thee.

1. Der du bist drei in Einigkeit,
Ein wahrer Gott von Ewigkeit;
Die Sonn' mit dem Tag von uns weicht:
Lass leuchten uns dein goettlich Licht.

2. Des Morgens, Gott, dich loben wir,
Des Abends auch beten fuer dir,
Unser armes Lied ruehmt dich
Jetzt und immer und ewiglich.

Gott Vater, dem sei ewig Ehr,
Gott Sohn der ist der einig' Herr,
Und dem Troester heiligen Geist,
Von nun an bis in Ewigkeit.

This text was converted to ascii format for Project Wittenberg
by Cindy A. Beesley and is in the public domain.  You may
freely distribute, copy or print this text.  Please direct any
comments or suggestions to: Rev. Robert E. Smith of the Walther
Library at Concordia Theological Seminary.
E-mail: CFWLibrary@CRF.CUIS.EDU
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  Etext of The Hymns of Martin Luther

Luther's Little Instruction Book
(The Small Catechism of Martin Luther)
Translation by Robert E. Smith
May 22, 1994
Version 1.1 -- December 22, 1994
PW# 001-003-002Ea

I. The Ten Commandments: The Simple Way a Father Should Present
Them to His Household

A. The First Commandment

You must not have other gods.

Q. What does this mean?

A. We must fear, love, and trust God more than anything else.

B. The Second Commandment

You must not misuse your God's name.

Q. What does this mean?

A. We must fear and love God, so that we will not use His name
to curse, swear, cast a spell, lie or deceive, but will use it to
call upon Him, pray to Him, praise Him and thank Him in all times
of trouble.

C. The Third Commandment

You must keep the Sabbath holy.

Q. What does this mean?

A. We must fear and love God, so that we will not look down on
preaching or God's Word, but consider it holy, listen to it
willingly, and learn it.

D. The Fourth Commandment

You must honor your father and mother. [So that things will go
well for you and you will live long on earth].

Q. What does this mean?

A. We must fear and love God, so that we will neither look down
on our parents or superiors nor irritate them, but will honor
them, serve them, obey them, love them and value them.

E. The Fifth Commandment

You must not kill.

Q. What does this mean?

A. We must fear and love God, so that we will neither harm nor
hurt our neighbor's body, but help him and care for him when he is
ill.

F. The Sixth Commandment

You must not commit adultery.

Q. What does this mean?

A. We must fear and love God, so that our words and actions
will be clean and decent and so that everyone will love and honor
their spouses.

G. The Seventh Commandment

You must not steal.

Q. What does this mean?

A. We must fear and love God, so that we will neither take our
neighbor's money or property, nor acquire it by fraud or by
selling him poorly made products, but will help him improve and
protect his property and career.

H. The Eighth Commandment

You must not tell lies about your neighbor.

Q. What does this mean?

A. We must fear and love God, so that we will not deceive by
lying, betraying, slandering or ruining our neighbor's reputation,
but will defend him, say good things about him, and see the best
side of everything he does.

I. The Ninth Commandment

You must not desire your neighbor's house.

Q. What does this mean?

A. We must fear and love God, so that we will not attempt to
trick our neighbor out of his inheritance or house, take it by
pretending to have a right to it, etc. but help him to keep &
improve it.

J. The Tenth Commandment

You must not desire your neighbor's wife, servant, maid, animals
or anything that belongs to him.

Q. What does this mean?

A. We must fear and love God, so that we will not release his
cattle, take his employees from him or seduce his wife, but urge
them to stay and do what they ought to do.

K. The Conclusion to the Commandments

Q. What does God say to us about all these commandments?

A. This is what He says:

``I am the Lord Your God. I am a jealous God. I plague the
grandchildren and great-grandchildren of those who hate me with
their ancestor's sin. But I make whole those who love me for a
thousand generations.''

Q. What does it mean?

A. God threatens to punish everyone who breaks these commandments.
We should be afraid of His anger because of this and not violate
such commandments. But He promises grace and all good things to
those who keep such commandments. Because of this, we, too, should
love Him, trust Him, and willingly do what His commandments
require.

The Creed: The Simple Way a Father Should Present it to His Household

I.  The First Article: On Creation

I believe in God the Almighty Father, Creator of Heaven and Earth.

Q. What does this mean?

A. I believe that God created me, along with all creatures. He gave to
me: body and soul, eyes, ears and all the other parts of my body,
my mind and all my senses and preserves them as well. He gives me
clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and land, wife and
children, fields, animals and all I own. Every day He abundantly
provides everything I need to nourish this body and life. He
protects me against all danger, shields and defends me from all
evil.  He does all this because of His pure, fatherly and divine
goodness and His mercy, not because I've earned it or desrved it.
For all of this, I must thank Him, praise Him, serve Him and obey
Him.  Yes, this is true!

II. The Second Article: On Redemption

And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, Who was conceived by the
Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried, descended to Hell, on the third
day rose again from the dead, ascended to Heaven and sat down at the
right hand of God the Almighty Father. From there He will come to
judge the living and the dead.

Q. What does this mean?

A. I believe that Jesus Christ is truly God, born of the Father in
eternity and also truly man, born of the Virgin Mary. He is my
Lord! He redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, bought and won
me from all sins, death and the authority of the Devil. It did not
cost Him gold or silver, but His holy, precious blood, His innocent
body -- His death! Because of this, I am His very own, will live
under Him in His kingdom and serve Him righteously, innocently and
blessedly forever, just as He is risen from death, lives and reigns
forever. Yes, this is true.

III. The Third Article: On Becoming Holy

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the community
of the saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body,
and an everlasting life. Amen.

Q. What does this mean?

A. I believe that I cannot come to my Lord Jesus Christ by my own
intellegence or power. But the Holy Spirit call me by the Gospel,
enlightened me with His gifts, made me holy and kept me in the true
faith, just as He calls, gathers together, enlightens and makes holy
the whole Church on earth and keeps it with Jesus in the one, true
faith. In this Church, He generously forgives each day every sin
committed by me and by every believer.  On the last day, He will raise
me and all the dead from the grave. He will give eternal life to me
and to all who believe in Christ. Yes, this is true!

The Our Father

The Simple Way a Father Should Present it to His Household

I.  Introduction

Our Father, Who is in Heaven.

Q. What does this mean?

A. In this introduction, God invites us to believe that He is our real
Father and we are His real children, so that we will pray with
trust and complete confidence, in the same way beloved children
approach their beloved Father with their requests.

II. The First Request

May Your name be holy.

Q. What does this mean?

A. Of course, God's name is holy in and of itself, but by this
request, we pray that He will make it holy among us, too.

Q. How does this take place?

A. When God's Word is taught clearly and purely, and when we live holy
lives as God's children based upon it.  Help us, Heavenly Father,
to do this! But anyone who teaches and lives by something other
than God's Word defiles God's name among us. Protect us from this,
Heavenly Father!

III.   The Second Request

Your Kingdom come.

Q. What does this mean?

A. Truly God's Kingdom comes by itself, without our prayer. But we
pray in this request that it come to us as well.

Q. How does this happen?

A. When the Heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that we
believe His holy Word by His grace and live godly lives here in
this age and there in eternal life.

IV. The Third Request

May Your will be accomplished, as it is Heaven, so may it be on Earth.

Q. What does this mean?

A. Truly, God's good and gracious will is accomplished without our
prayer. But we pray in this request that is be accomplished among
us as well.

Q. How does this happen?

A. When God destroys and interferes with every evil will and all evil
advice, which will not allow God's Kingdom to come, such as the
Devil's will, the world's will and will of our bodily desires. It
also happens when God strengthens us by faith and by His Word and
keeps living by them faithfully until the end of our lives.  This
is His will, good and full of grace.

V.  The Fourth Request

Give us our daily bread today.

Q. What does this mean?

A. Truly, God gives daily bread to evil people, even without our
prayer. But we pray in this request that He will help us realize
this and receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.

Q. What does ``Daily Bread'' mean?

A. Everything that nourishes our body and meets its needs, such as:
Food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, yard, fields, cattle, money,
possessions, a devout spouse, devout children, devout employees,
devout and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace,
health, discipline, honor, good friends, faithful neighbors and
other things like these.

VI. The Fifth Request

And forgive our guilt, as we forgive those guilty of sinning against
us.

Q. What does this mean?

A. We pray in this request that our Heavenly Father will neither pay
attention to our sins nor refuse requests such as these because of our
sins and because we are neither worthy nor deserve the things for
which we pray. Yet He wants to give them all to us by His grace,
because many times each day we sin and truly deserve only punishment.
Because God does this, we will, of course, want to forgive from our
hearts and willingly do good to those who sin against us.

VII.   The Sixth Request

And lead us not into temptation.

Q. What does this mean?

A. God tempts no one, of course, but we pray in this request that God
will protect us and save us, so that the Devil, the world and our
bodily desires will neither deceive us nor seduce us into heresy,
despair or other serious shame or vice, and so that we will win and
be victorious in the end, even if they attack us.

VIII.  The Seventh Request

But set us free from the Evil One.

Q. What does this mean?

A. We pray in this request, as a summary, that our Father in Heaven
will save us from every kind of evil that threatens body, soul,
property and honor. We pray that when at last our final hour has
come, He will grant us a blessed death, and, in His grace, bring us
to Himself from this valley of tears.

IX. Amen.

Q. What does this mean?

A. That I should be certain that such prayers are acceptable to the
Father in Heaven and will be granted, that He Himself has commanded
us to pray in this way and that He promises to answer us. Amen.
Amen. This means: Yes, yes it will happen this way.

The Sacrament of Holy Baptism:

The Simple Way a Father Should Present it to His Household

I.   Q. What is Baptism?
A. Baptism is not just plain water, but it is water contained
within God's command and united with God's Word.

Q. Which Word of God is this?

A. The one which our Lord Christ spoke in the last chapter of
Matthew:
``Go into all the world, teaching all heathen nations, and
baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and of the
Holy Spirit.''

II.  Q. What does Baptism give? What good is it?

A. It gives the forgiveness of sins, redeems from death and the
Devil, gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, just
as God's words and promises declare.

Q. What are these words and promises of God?

A. Our Lord Christ spoke one of them in the last chapter of Mark:
``Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; but whoever
does not believe will be damned.''

III. Q. How can water do such great things?

A. Water doesn't make these things happen, of course. It is God's
Word, which is with and in the water. Because, without God's
Word, the water is plain water and not baptism. But with God's
Word it is a Baptism, a grace-filled water of life, a bath of
new birth in the Holy Spirit, as St. Paul said to Titus in the
third chapter:
``Through this bath of rebirth and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
which He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ, our
Savior, that we, justified by the same grace are made heirs
according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful
saying.''

IV.  Q. What is the meaning of such a water Baptism?

A. It means that the old Adam in us should be drowned by daily
sorrow and repentance, and die with all sins and evil lusts,
and, in turn, a new person daily come forth and rise from
death again. He will live forever before God in righteousness
and purity.

Q. Where is this written?

A. St. Paul says to the Romans in chapter six:
``We are buried with Christ through Baptism into death, so
that, in the same way Christ is risen from the dead by the
glory of the Father, thus also must we walk in a new life.''

How One Should Teach the Uneducated to Confess

I.   Q.   What is confession?
A.   Confession has two parts:

First, a person admits his sin

Second, a person receives absolution or forgiveness from the
confessor, as if from God Himself, without doubting it, but
believing firmly that his sins are forgiven by God in Heaven
through it.

II.  Q. Which sins should people confess?

A. When speaking to God, we should plead guilty to all sins, even
those we don't know about, just as we do in the ``Our
Father,'' but when speaking to the confessor, only the sins we
know about, which we know about and feel in our hearts.

Q. Which are these?

A. Consider here your place in life according to the Ten
Commandments.  Are you a father?  A mother? A son? A daughter?
A husband? A wife? A servant? Are you disobedient, unfaithful
or lazy? Have you hurt anyone with your words or actions? Have
you stolen, neglected your duty, let things go or injured
someone?

The Sacrament of the Altar:

The Simple Way a Father Should Present it to his Household

I.   Q. What is the Sacrament of the Altar?

A. It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ under
bread and wine for us Christians to eat and to drink,
established by Christ Himself.

II.  Q. Where is that written?

A. The holy apostles Matthew, Mark and Luke and St. Paul
write this:

``Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the night on which He was
betrayed, took bread, gave thanks, broke it, gave it to His
disciples and said: ``Take! Eat! This is My body, which is
given for you. Do this to remember Me!'' In the same way He
also took the cup after supper, gave thanks, gave it to
them, and said: ``Take and drink from it, all of you! This
cup is the New Testament in my blood, which is shed for you
to forgive sins. This do, as often as you drink it, to
remember Me!''

III. Q. What good does this eating and drinking do?

A. These words tell us: ``Given for you'' and ``Shed for you to
forgive sins.'' Namely, that the forgiveness of sins, life and
salvation are given to us through these words in the
sacrament. Because, where sins are forgiven, there is life and
salvation as well.

IV.  Q. How can physical eating and drinking do such great things?

A. Of course, eating and drinking do not do these things. These
words, written here, do them: ``given for you'' and ``shed for
you to forgive sins.'' These words, along with physical eating
and drinking are the important part of the sacrament. Anyone
who believes these words has what they say and what they
record, namely, the forgiveness of sins.

V.   Q. Who, then, receives such a sacrament in a worthy way?

A. Of course, fasting and other physical preparations are
excellent disciplines for the body. But anyone who believes
these words, ``Given for you,'' and ``Shed for you to forgive
sins,'' is really worthy and well prepared.  But whoever
doubts or does not believe these words is not worthy and is
unprepared, because the words, ``for you'' demand a heart that
fully believes.

How a Father Should Teach His Household
to Conduct Morning and Evening Devotions.

Morning Devotions

As soon as you get out of bed in the morning, you should bless
yourself with the sign of the Holy Cross and say:

May the will of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be
done! Amen.

Then, kneeling or standing, say the creed and pray the Lord's
Prayer. If you wish, you may then pray this little prayer as well:

My Heavenly Father, I thank You, through Jesus Christ, Your
beloved Son, that You kept me safe from all evil and danger last
night. Save me, I pray, today as well, from every evil and sin, so
that all I do and the way that I live will please you. I put
myself in your care, body and soul and all that I have. Let Your
holy Angels be with me, so that the evil enemy will not gain power
over me. Amen.


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  OVER THE BRAZIER
  BY ROBERT GRAVES

  LONDON -- THE POETRY
  BOOKSHOP, 35 DEVONSHIRE
  ST., THEOBALDS RD. W.C.1

_Poetry by the Same Author_

  FAIRIES AND FUSILIERS
  (William Heinemann 1917)

  COUNTRY SENTIMENT
  (Martin Secker: 1920)

  First Printed 1916
  Second Impression 1917
  Reprinted 1920

FOREWORD TO NEW EDITION

When these poems, written between the ages of fourteen and twenty,
first appeared, I was serving in France and had no leisure for getting
the final proofs altogether as I wanted them. The same year, but too
late, I decided on several alterations in the text, including the
suppression of two small poems inexcusable even as early work. These
amendations appear in this new edition, but I have left the bulk of the
book as it stood.

      +Robert Graves.+

  Harlech,
  North Wales.

    THE POET IN THE NURSERY

    The youngest poet down the shelves was fumbling
      In a dim library, just behind the chair
    From which the ancient poet was mum-mumbling
      A song about some Lovers at a Fair,
    Pulling his long white beard and gently grumbling
      That rhymes were beastly things and never there.

    And as I groped, the whole time I was thinking
      About the tragic poem I'd been writing--
    An old man's life of beer and whisky drinking,
      His years of kidnapping and wicked fighting;
    And how at last, into a fever sinking,
      Remorsefully he died, his bedclothes biting.

    But suddenly I saw the bright green cover
      Of a thin pretty book right down below;
    I snatched it up and turned the pages over,
      To find it full of poetry, and so
    Put it down my neck with quick hands like a lover
      And turned to watch if the old man saw it go.

    The book was full of funny muddling mazes
      Each rounded off into a lovely song,
    And most extraordinary and monstrous phrases
      Knotted with rhymes like a slave-driver's thong,
    And metre twisting like a chain of daisies
      With great big splendid words a sentence long.

    I took the book to bed with me and gloated,
      Learning the lines that seemed to sound most grand,
    So soon the pretty emerald green was coated
      With jam and greasy marks from my hot hand,
    While round the nursery for long months there floated
      Wonderful words no one could understand.

PART I.--Poems Mostly Written at Charterhouse--1910-1914

    STAR-TALK

    "Are you awake, Gemelli,
      This frosty night?"
    "We'll be awake till reveillé,
      Which is Sunrise," say the Gemelli,
    "It's no good trying to go to sleep:
    If there's wine to be got we'll drink it deep,
      But sleep is gone to to-night,
      But sleep is gone for to-night."

    "Are you cold too, poor Pleiads,
      This frosty night?"
    "Yes, and so are the Hyads:
    See us cuddle and hug," say the Pleiads,
    "All six in a ring: it keeps us warm:
    We huddle together like birds in a storm:
      It's bitter weather to-night,
      It's bitter weather to-night."

    "What do you hunt, Orion,
      This starry night?"
    "The Ram, the Bull and the Lion,
    And the Great Bear," says Orion,
    "With my starry quiver and beautiful belt
    I am trying to find a good thick pelt
      To warm my shoulders to-night,
      To warm my shoulders to-night."

    "Did you hear that, Great She-bear,
      This frosty night?"
    "Yes, he's talking of stripping _me_ bare
      Of my own big fur," says the She-bear,
    "I'm afraid of the man and his terrible arrow:
    The thought of it chills my bones to the marrow,
      And the frost so cruel to-night!
      And the frost so cruel to-night!"

    "How is your trade, Aquarius,
      This frosty night?"
    "Complaints is many and various
    And my feet are cold," says Aquarius,
    "There's Venus objects to Dolphin-scales,
    And Mars to Crab-spawn found in my pails,
      And the pump has frozen to-night,
      And the pump has frozen to-night."

    THE DYING KNIGHT AND THE FAUNS

    Through the dreams of yesternight
    My blood brother great in fight
    I saw lying, slowly dying
    Where the weary woods were sighing
    With the rustle of the birches,
    With the quiver of the larches....
    Woodland fauns with hairy haunches
    Grin in wonder through the branches
    Woodland fauns that know no fear.
    Wondering, they wander near
    Munching mushrooms red as coral,
    Bunches, too, of rue and sorrel;
    Wonder at his radiant fairness,
    At his dinted, shattered harness,
    With uncouth and bestial sounds,
    Knowing nought of war or wounds:
    But the crimson life-blood oozes
    And make roses of the daisies,
    Persian carpets of the mosses--
    Softly now his spirit passes
    As the bee forsakes the lily,
    As the berry leaves the holly;
    But the fauns still think him living,
    And with bay leaves they are weaving
    Crowns to deck him. Well they may!
    He was worthy of the Bay.

    WILLAREE

    On the rough mountain wind
      That blows so free
    Rides a little storm-sprite
      Whose name is Willaree.

    The fleecy cloudlets are not his,
      No shepherd is he,
    For he drives the shaggy thunderclouds
      Over land and sea.

    His home is on the mountain-top
      Where I love to be,
    Amid grey rocks and brambles
      And the red rowan-tree.

    He whistles down the chimney,
      He whistles to me,
    And I send greeting back to him
      Whistling cheerily.

    The great elms are battling,
      Waves are on the sea,
    Loud roars the mountain-wind--
      God rest you, Willaree!

    THE FACE OF THE HEAVENS

    Little winds in a hurry,
      Great winds over the sky,
    Clouds sleek or furry,
      Storms that rage and die,

    The whole cycle of weather
      From calm to hurricane
    Of four gales wroth together,
      Thunder, lightning, rain,

    The burning sun, snowing,
      Hailstones pattering down,
    Blue skies and red skies showing,
      Skies with a black frown,

    By these signs and wonders
      You may tell God's mood:
    He shines, rains, thunders,
      But all His works are good.

    JOLLY YELLOW MOON

    Oh, now has faded from the West
      A sunset red as wine,
    And beast and bird are hushed to rest
      When the jolly yellow moon doth shine.

    Come comrades, roam we round the mead
      Where couch the sleeping kine;
    The breath of night blows soft indeed,
      And the jolly yellow moon doth shine.

    And step we slowly, friend with friend,
      Let arm with arm entwine.
    And voice with voice together blend,
      For the jolly yellow moon doth shine.

    Whether we loudly sing or soft,
      The tune goes wondrous fine;
    Our chorus sure will float aloft
      Where the jolly yellow moon doth shine.

    YOUTH AND FOLLY

("_Life is a very awful thing! You young fellows are too busy being
jolly to realize the folly of your lives._"

      --_A Charterhouse Sermon_)

    In Chapel often when I bawl
    The hymns, to show I'm musical,
    With bright eye and cheery voice
    Bidding Christian folk rejoice,
    Shame be it said, I've not a thought
    Of the One Being whom I ought
    To worship: with unwitting roar
    Other godheads I adore.
    I celebrate the Gods of Mirth
    And Love and Youth and Springing Earth,
    Bacchus, beautiful, divine,
    Gulping down his heady wine,
    Dear Pan piping in his hollow,
    Fiery-headed King Apollo
    And rugged Atlas all aloof
    Holding up the purple roof.
    I have often felt and sung,
    "It's a good thing to be young:
    Though the preacher says it's folly,
    Is it foolish to be jolly?"
    I have often prayed in fear,
    "Let me never grow austere;
    Let me never think, I pray,
    Too much about Judgment Day;
    Never, never feel in Spring,
    'Life's a very awful thing!'"
    Then I realize and start
    And curse my arrogant young heart,
    Bind it over to confess
    Its horrible ungodliness,
    Set myself penances, and sigh
    That I was born in sin, and try
    To find the whole world vanity.

    GHOST MUSIC

    Gloomy and bare the organ-loft,
    Bent-backed and blind the organist.
    From rafters looming shadowy,
    From the pipes' tuneful company,
    Drifted together drowsily,
    Innumerable, formless, dim,
    The ghosts of long-dead melodies,
    Of anthems, stately, thunderous,
    Of Kyries shrill and tremulous:
    In melancholy drowsy-sweet
    They huddled there in harmony,
    Like bats at noontide rafter-hung.

    FREE VERSE

    I now delight,
    In spite
    Of the might
    And the right
    Of classic tradition,
    In writing
    And reciting
    Straight ahead,
    Without let or omission,
    Just any little rhyme
    In any little time
    That runs in my head:
    Because, I've said,
    My rhymes no longer shall stand arrayed
    Like Prussian soldiers on parade
    That march,
    Stiff as starch,
    Foot to foot,
    Boot to boot,
    Blade to blade,
    Button to button,
    Cheeks and chops and chins like mutton.
    No! No!
    My rhymes must go
    Turn 'ee, twist 'ee,
    Twinkling, frosty,
    Will-o'-the-wisp-like, misty,
    Rhymes I will make
    Like Keats and Blake
    And Christina Rossetti,
    With run and ripple and shake.
    How petty
    To take
    A merry little rhyme
    In a jolly little time
    And poke it,
    And choke it,
    Change it, arrange it,
    Straight-lace it, deface it,
    Pleat it with pleats,
    Sheet it with sheets
    Of empty conceits,
    And chop and chew,
    And hack and hew,
    And weld it into a uniform stanza,
    And evolve a neat,
    Complacent, complete,
    Academic extravaganza!

    IN THE WILDERNESS

    Christ of his gentleness
    Thirsting and hungering
    Walked in the wilderness;
    Soft words of grace He spoke
    Unto lost desert-folk
    That listened wondering.
    He heard the bitterns call
    From ruined palace-wall,
    Answered them brotherly.
    He held communion
    With the she-pelican
    Of lonely piety.
    Basilisk, cockatrice,
    Flocked to His homilies,
    With mail of dread device,
    With monstrous barbéd stings,
    With eager dragon-eyes;
    Great rats on leather wings
    And poor blind broken things,
    Foul in their miseries.
    And ever with Him went,
    Of all His wanderings
    Comrade, with ragged coat,
    Gaunt ribs--poor innocent--
    Bleeding foot, burning throat,
    The guileless old scape-goat;
    For forty nights and days
    Followed in Jesus' ways,
    Sure guard behind Him kept,
    Tears like a lover wept.

    OH, AND OH!

    Oh, and oh!
    The world's a muddle,
    The clouds are untidy,
    Moon lopsidey,
    Shining in a puddle.
    Down dirty streets in stench and smoke
    The pale townsfolk
    Crawl and kiss and cuddle,
    In doorways hug and huddle;
    Loutish he
    And sluttish she
    In loathsome love together press
    And unbelievable ugliness.
    These spiders spin a loathly woof!
    I walk aloof,
    Head burning and heart snarling,
    Tread feverish quick;
    My love is sick;
    Far away lives my darling.

    CHERRY-TIME

    Cherries of the night are riper
      Than the cherries pluckt at noon:
    Gather to your fairy piper
      When he pipes his magic tune:
            Merry, merry,
            Take a cherry,
            Mine are sounder,
            Mine are rounder,
            Mine are sweeter
            For the eater
            Under the moon.
      And you'll be fairies soon.

    In the cherry pluckt at night,
      With the dew of summer swelling,
    There's a juice of pure delight,
      Cool, dark, sweet, divinely smelling.
            Merry, merry,
            Take a cherry,
            Mine are sounder,
            Mine are rounder,
            Mine are sweeter
            For the eater
            In the moonlight.
      And you'll be fairies quite.

    When I sound the fairy call,
      Gather here in silent meeting,
    Chin to knee on the orchard wall,
      Cooled with dew and cherries eating.
            Merry, merry,
            Take a cherry,
            Mine are sounder,
            Mine are rounder,
            Mine are sweeter
            For the eater
            When the dews fall.
      And you'll be fairies all.

PART II.--Poems Written Before La Bassée--1915

    THE SHADOW OF DEATH

    Here's an end to my art!
      I must die and I know it,
    With battle murder at my heart--
      Sad death for a poet!

    Oh my songs never sung,
      And my plays to darkness blown!
    I am still so young, so young,
      And life was my own.

    Some bad fairy stole
      The baby I nursed:
    Was this my pretty little soul,
      This changeling accursed?

    To fight and kill is wrong--
      To stay at home wronger:
    Oh soul, little play and song,
      I may father no longer!

    Here's an end to my art!
      I must die and I know it,
    With battle murder at my heart--
      Sad death for a poet!

    THE MORNING BEFORE THE BATTLE

    To-day, the fight: my end is very soon,
      And sealed the warrant limiting my hours:
    I knew it walking yesterday at noon
      Down a deserted garden full of flowers.
    ... Carelessly sang, pinned roses on my breast,
      Reached for a cherry-bunch--and then, then, Death
    Blew through the garden from the North and East
      And blighted every beauty with chill breath.

    I looked, and ah, my wraith before me stood,
      His head all battered in by violent blows:
    The fruit between my lips to clotted blood
      Was transubstantiate, and the pale rose
    Smelt sickly, till it seemed through a swift tear-flood
      That dead men blossomed in the garden-close.

    LIMBO

    After a week spent under raining skies,
      In horror, mud and sleeplessness, a week
    Of bursting shells, of blood and hideous cries
      And the ever-watchful sniper: where the reek
    Of death offends the living ... but poor dead
      Can't sleep, must lie awake with the horrid sound
    That roars and whirs and rattles overhead
      All day, all night, and jars and tears the ground;
    When rats run, big as kittens: to and fro
      They dart, and scuffle with their horrid fare,
    And then one night relief comes, and we go
      Miles back into the sunny cornland where
    Babies like tickling, and where tall white horses
    Draw the plough leisurely in quiet courses.

    THE TRENCHES

    (_Heard in the Ranks_)

    Scratches in the dirt?
    No, that sounds much too nice.
    Oh, far too nice.
    Seams, rather, of a Greyback Shirt,
    And we're the little lice
    Wriggling about in them a week or two,
    Till one day, suddenly, from the blue
    Something bloody and big will come
    Like--watch this fingernail and thumb!--
    Squash! and he needs no twice.

    (+Nursery Memories+)

    I.--THE FIRST FUNERAL

(_The first corpse I saw was on the German wires, and couldn't be
buried_)

    The whole field was so smelly;
      We smelt the poor dog first:
    His horrid swollen belly
      Looked just like going burst.

    His fur was most untidy;
      He hadn't any eyes.
    It happened on Good Friday
      And there was lots of flies.

    And then I felt the coldest
      I'd ever felt, and sick,
    But Rose, 'cause she's the oldest,
      Dared poke him with her stick.

    He felt quite soft and horrid:
      The flies buzzed round his head
    And settled on his forehead:
      Rose whispered: "That dog's dead.

    "You bury all dead people,
      When they're quite really dead,
    Round churches with a steeple:
      Let's bury this," Rose said.

    "And let's put mint all round it
      To hide the nasty smell."
    I went to look and found it--
      Lots, growing near the well.

    We poked him through the clover
      Into a hole, and then
    We threw brown earth right over
      And said: "Poor dog, Amen!"

    (+Nursery Memories+)

    II.--THE ADVENTURE

(_Suggested by the claim of a machine-gun team to have annihilated an
enemy wire party: no bodies were found however_)

    To-day I killed a tiger near my shack
    Among the trees: at least, it must have been,
    Because his hide was yellow, striped with black,
            And his eyes were green.

    I crept up close and slung a pointed stone
    With all my might: I must have hit his head,
    For there he died without a twitch or groan,
            And he lay there dead.

    I expect that he'd escaped from a Wild Beast Show
    By pulling down his cage with an angry tear;
    He'd killed and wounded all the people--so
            He was hiding there.

    I brought my brother up as quick's I could
    But there was nothing left when he did come:
    The tiger's mate was watching in the wood
            And she'd dragged him home.

    But, anyhow, I killed him by the shack,
    'Cause--listen!--when we hunted in the wood
    My brother found my pointed stone all black
            With the clotted blood.

    (+Nursery Memories+)

    III.--I HATE THE MOON

(_After a moonlight patrol near the Brickstacks_)

    I hate the Moon, though it makes most people glad,
      And they giggle and talk of silvery beams--you know!
    But _she_ says the look of the Moon drives people mad,
      And that's the thing that always frightens me so.

    I hate it worst when it's cruel and round and bright,
      And you can't make out the marks on its stupid face,
    Except when you shut your eyelashes, and all night
      The sky looks green, and the world's a horrible place.

    I like the stars, and especially the Big Bear
      And the W star, and one like a diamond ring,
    But I _hate_ the Moon and its horrible stony stare,
      And I know one day it'll do me some dreadful thing.

    BIG WORDS

    "I've whined of coming death, but now, no more!
    It's weak and most ungracious. For, say I,
    Though still a boy if years are counted, why!
    I've lived those years from roof to cellar-floor,
    And feel, like grey-beards touching their fourscore,
    Ready, so soon as the need comes, to die:
        And I'm satisfied.
    For winning confidence in those quiet days
    Of peace, poised sickly on the precipice side
    Of Lliwedd crag by Snowdon, and in war
    Finding it firmlier with me than before;
    Winning a faith in the wisdom of God's ways
    That once I lost, finding it justified
    Even in this chaos; winning love that stays
    And warms the heart like wine at Easter-tide;
        Having earlier tried
    False loves in plenty; oh! my cup of praise
    Brims over, and I know I'll feel small sorrow,
    Confess no sins and make no weak delays
    If death ends all and I must die to-morrow."

    But on the firestep, waiting to attack,
    He cursed, prayed, sweated, wished the proud words back.

    THE DEAD FOX HUNTER

    We found the little captain at the head;
      His men lay well aligned.
    We touched his hand--stone-cold--and he was dead,
      And they, all dead behind,
    Had never reached their goal, but they died well;
    They charged in line, and in the same line fell.

    The well-known rosy colours of his face
      Were almost lost in grey.
    We saw that, dying and in hopeless case,
      For others' sake that day
    He'd smothered all rebellious groans: in death
    His fingers were tight clenched between his teeth.

    For those who live uprightly and die true
      Heaven has no bars or locks,
    And serves all taste.... Or what's for him to do
      Up there, but hunt the fox?
    Angelic choirs? No, Justice must provide
    For one who rode straight and at hunting died.

    So if Heaven had no Hunt before he came,
      Why, it must find one now:
    If any shirk and doubt they know the game,
      There's one to teach them how:
    And the whole host of Seraphim complete
    Must jog in scarlet to his opening Meet.

    IT'S A QUEER TIME

    It's hard to know if you're alive or dead
    When steel and fire go roaring through your head.

    One moment you'll be crouching at your gun
    Traversing, mowing heaps down half in fun:
    The next, you choke and clutch at your right breast
    No time to think--leave all--and off you go ...
    To Treasure Island where the Spice winds blow,
    To lovely groves of mango, quince and lime--
    Breathe no goodbye, but ho, for the Red West!
            It's a queer time.

    You're charging madly at them yelling "Fag!"
    When somehow something gives and your feet drag.
    You fall and strike your head; yet feel no pain
    And find ... you're digging tunnels through the hay
    In the Big Barn, 'cause it's a rainy day.
    Oh springy hay, and lovely beams to climb!
    You're back in the old sailor suit again.
            It's a queer time.

    Or you'll be dozing safe in your dug-out--
    A great roar--the trench shakes and falls about--
    You're struggling, gasping, struggling, then ... hullo!
    Elsie comes tripping gaily down the trench,
    Hanky to nose--that lyddite makes a stench--
    Getting her pinafore all over grime.
    Funny! because she died ten years ago!
            It's a queer time.

    The trouble is, things happen much too quick;
    Up jump the Bosches, rifles thump and click,
    You stagger, and the whole scene fades away:
    Even good Christians don't like passing straight
    From Tipperary or their Hymn of Hate
    To Alleluiah-chanting, and the chime
    Of golden harps ... and ... I'm not well to-day ...
            It's a queer time.

    1915

    I've watched the Seasons passing slow, so slow
    In the fields between La Bassée and Bethune;
    Primroses and the first warm day of Spring,
    Red poppy floods of June,
    August, and yellowing Autumn, so
    To Winter nights knee-deep in mud or snow,
    And you've been everything,

    Dear, you've been everything that I most lack
    In these soul-deadening trenches--pictures, books,
    Music, the quiet of an English wood,
    Beautiful comrade-looks,
    The narrow, bouldered mountain-track,
    The broad, full-bosomed ocean, green and black,
    And Peace, and all that's good.

    OVER THE BRAZIER

    What life to lead and where to go
      After the War, after the War?
      We'd often talked this way before
    But I still see the brazier glow
    That April night, still feel the smoke
    And stifling pungency of burning coke.

    I'd thought: "A cottage in the hills,
      North Wales, a cottage full of books,
      Pictures and brass and cosy nooks
    And comfortable broad window-sills,
    Flowers in the garden, walls all white,
    I'd live there peacefully, and dream and write."

    But Willy said "No, Home's no good
      Old England's quite a hopeless place
      I've lost all feeling for my race:
    But France has given me heart and blood
    Enough to last me all my life
    I'm off to Canada with my wee wife.

    "Come with us, Mac, old thing," but Mac
      Drawled: "No, a Coral Isle for me,
      A warm green jewel in the South Sea.
    There's merit in a lumber shack
    And labour is a grand thing ... but
    Give me my hot beach and my cocoanut."

    So then we built and stocked for Willy
      A log-hut, and for Mac a calm
      Rockabye cradle on a palm--
    Idyllic dwellings--but this silly
    Mad War has now wrecked both, and what
    Better hopes has my little cottage got?

    July, 1915.

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES

Minor punctuation and printer errors repaired.

Italic text is denoted by _underscores_ and small capitals by =plus
signs=.