"Could I but grasp the forked lightning's spear,
And thrust it deep into the guilty heart
Of him who dares his fellow thus outrage,
'Twould do him justice. The impious wretch
That lives beneath the vertic rays of light,
And having eyes, sees not his brother's right
To life and liberty, and happiness;
And him deprives of these by brutal force,
Than this, severer punishment deserves.
And he that aids or wilfully abets,
By priestly cant or lying tongue, this vile
And God-provoking sin of slavery,
Deserves perdition's deepest, darkest plunge."
"Thou God of truth, in mercy grant that light
May pierce the error-shrouded minds of men,
As barbed spears the hearts of them who fall
A sacrifice in war's unholy strife:
That man no more oppress, nor brutalize,
Nor wrong his fellow man; but feel his woe,
And low estate, and haste to his relief,
And pour into his wounds, that long have bled,
The healing oil of mutual sympathy;
And aid, and love, that each from other needs,
And all demand, as Nature's God ordains."