Heaven is falling—so the scholar said—

By man defiled, by sins and slander shamed;

The consequence of vice, all dire and dread

Are crowned in penance, lit by devil’s flames.

“You must obey and yield, transgress no more !

Now kiss the dust, confess your carnal sin—

You are the flesh that pious souls abhor,

Your body not your own, but theirs to win.”

What pillars have we moved to break the sky?

What sacred laws have heedless actions crossed?

What chains to wear that off the rich shall slide?

Why toll no bells for all their glory lost?

The tyrants’ scepter stands so to proclaim,

That truth and virtue bear a stolen name.