ere is no cure for this evil, but by the giving of greater force to
the good hand. The righteous cause must be strengthened with might to
resist the wicked, to defend the helpless, to punish all cruelty and
unfairness, to uphold the right everywhere, and to enforce justice
with unconquerable arms. Oh, that the host of Heaven might be called,
arrayed, and sent to mingle in the wars of men, to make the good
victorious, to destroy all evil, and to make the will of the King
prevail!

"We would shake down the thrones of tyrants, and loose the bands of
the oppressed. We would hold the cruel and violent with the bit of
fear, and drive the greedy and fierce-minded men with the whip of
terror. We would stand guard, with weapons drawn, about the innocent,
the gentle, the kind, and keep the peace of God with the sword of the
angels!"

As he spoke, his hands were lifted to the hilt of his long blade, and
he raised it above him, straight and shining, throwing sparkles of
light around it, like the spray from the sharp prow of a moving ship.
Bright flames of heavenly ardour leaped in the eyes of the listening
angels; a martial air passed over their faces as if they longed for
the call to war.

But no silver trumpet blared from the battlements of the City of God;
no crimson flag was unfurled on those high, secret walls; no thrilling
drum-beat echoed over the smooth meadow. Only the sound of the brook
of Brighthopes was heard tinkling and murmuring among the roots of the
grasses and flowers; and far off a cadence of song drifted down from
the inner courts of the Palace of the King.

Then another angel began to speak, and made answer to Michael. He,
too, was tall and wore the look of power. But it was power of the
mind rather than of the hand. His face was clear and glistening, and
his eyes were lit with a steady flame which neither leaped nor fell.
Of flame also were his garments, which clung about him as the fire
enwraps a torch burning where there is no wind; and his great wings,
spiring to a point far above his head, were like a living lamp before
the altar of the Most High. By this sign I knew that it was the
archangel Uriel, the spirit of the Sun, clearest in vision, deepest
in wisdom of all the spirits that surround the throne.

"I hold not the same thought," said he, "as the great archangel
Michael; nor, though I desire the same end which he desires, would I
seek it by the same way. For I know how often power has been given