Spirits in bondage; a cycle of lyricsby Clive Staples LewisPrologue As of old Phoenician men, to the Tin Isles sailingStraight against the sunset and the edges of the earth,Chaunted loud above the storm and the strange sea's wailing,Legends of their people and the land that gave them birth—Sang aloud to Baal-Peor, sang unto the horned maiden,Sang how they should come again with the Brethon treasure laden,Sang of all the pride and glory of their hardy enterprise,How they found the outer islands, where the unknown stars arise;And the rowers down below, rowing hard as they could row,Toiling at the stroke and feather through the wet and weary weather,Even they forgot their burden in the measure of a song,And the merchants and the masters and the bondsmen all together,Dreaming of the wondrous islands, brought the gallant ship along;So in mighty deeps alone on the chainless breezes blownIn my coracle of verses I will sing of lands unknown,Flying from the scarlet city where a Lord that knows no pity,Mocks the broken people praying round his iron throne,Sing about the Hidden Country fresh and full of quiet green.Sailing over seas uncharted to a port that none has seen.We are delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive Classic Library collection. Many of the books in our collection have been out of print for decades, and therefore have not been accessible to the general public. The aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature, and our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades. The contents of the vast majority of titles in the Classic Library have been scanned from the original works. To ensure a high quality product, each title has been meticulously hand curated by our staff. Our philosophy has been guided by a desire to provide the reader with a book that is as close as possible to ownership of the original work. We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic work, and that for you it becomes an enriching experience.
