Excerpt from Holy Mountains: Modern Pilgrimages to the Mountains of the Bible; Retold From the Narratives of Travellers and Explorers 1. Mountains. "The everlasting hills!" how calm they rise, Bold witnesses to an Almighty Hand! We gaze with longing heart and eager eyes, And feel as if short pathway might suffice From those pure regions to the heavenly land. At early dawn, when the first rays of light Play like a rose-wreath on the peaks of snow; And late when half the valley seems in night, Yet still around each pale majestic height The sun's last smile has left a crimson glow; - Then the heart longs, it calls for wings to fly, - Above all lower scenes of earth to soar, Where yonder golden clouds arrested lie, Where granite cliffs and glaciers gleam on high As with reflected light from Heaven's own door. Whence this strange spell, by thoughtful souls confest Ever in shadow of the mountains found? 'Tis the deep voice within our human breast, Which bids us seek a refuge and a rest Above, beyond what meets us here around! Ever to men of God the hills were dear, Since on the slopes of Ararat the dove Plucked the wet olive-pledge of hope and cheer; Or Israel stood entranced in silent fear, While God on Sinai thundered from above... And once on Hermon was a vision given Sublime as that which Israel feared to view, When the transfigured Lord of earth and heaven, Mortality's dim curtain lifted, riven, Revealed His glory to His chosen few. On mountain heights of Galilee He prayed While others slept, and all beneath was still; From Olivet's recess of awful shade Thrice was that agonized petition made, "O that this cup might pass, if such Thy will!..". About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.