Старо Писанье древним томом...

Старо Писанье древним томом...
Стихших труд, кто нем,
с подсказками Cвятых фантомов...
Темы: Вифлеем;
Райский сад,- подворье предков;
Змей,- ему давить;
Признанный банкрот,- Иуда;
Трубадур,- Давид;
Грех,- изысканная пропасть,
всем не должно впасть...
Унылы мальчики, кто "верит",
всяк иной - "пропащ"...
Но сказкой спой Сказитель певчий -
все мальцы бы тут,
в плену Орфея поученья,
им оно - не суд...



(Хватает одного слова - Homestead,
чтобы понять, кто Сатана-Змей, кто Трубадур...)
[David Preest:
This is the third poem sent to her nephew Ned satirising
orthodox Christian beliefs. The other two are poems 1461 and 1479.
It was sent in a note (L753) written after a Sunday on which Ned
had claimed the ‘Sanctuary privileges’ of not going to church.
Emily’s first draft of the poem was headed Diagnosis of the Bible,
by a boy, so she is presumably putting the words of the poem into
Ned’s mouth. He says:
The Bible was written by ‘faded’ men (= both dead and insipid),
who were given their information by ‘Holy Spectres’ rather than
by the ‘Holy Spirit.’ It should have been given more zip. Eden
could have been the old Homestead. The bad ones, Satan and Judas,
and the good ones such as David could have been given more glamorous
descriptions. Even Sin could have been called ‘a distinguished
Precipice’ for frail humans to fall into. As it is, the Bible says
that the good boy who is saved is one in a thousand, while the
countless ordinary boys are ‘lost.’ The Bible needs a ‘warbling
Teller’ like Orpheus, who reclaimed his wife, Eurydice, from Pluto
by the charm and not the condemnation in his song. In line 13 of
the first draft of this poem Emily wrote ‘Thrilling Teller,’ with
thirteen marginal alternatives to ‘thrilling,’ including her final
choice of ‘warbling’ which came twice. Emily tended to be on the
side of the ‘bad boy,’ as she had shown in poem 1201.]

*****************************************************
The Bible is an antique Volume -- by Emily Dickinson

The Bible is an antique Volume --
Written by faded men
At the suggestion of Holy Spectres --
Subjects -- Bethlehem --
Eden -- the ancient Homestead --
Satan -- the Brigadier --
Judas -- the Great Defaulter --
David -- the Troubador --
Sin -- a distinguished Precipice
Others must resist --
Boys that "believe" are very lonesome --
Other Boys are "lost" --
Had but the Tale a warbling Teller --
All the Boys would come --
Orpheus' Sermon captivated --
It did not condemn --