1.This is the Arsenal.From floor to ceiling，Like a huge organ，rise the burnished arms；But from their silent pipes no anthem pealingStartles the villages with strange alarms.
2.Ah，what a sound will rise，how wild and dreary，When the death-angel touches those swift keys！
What loud lament and dismal Miserere
Will mingle with their awful symphonies ！
3.I hear，even now，the infinite fierce chorus，The cries of agony，the endless groan，Which，through the ages that have gone before us，In long reverberationsreach our own.
4.On helm and harness rings the Saxon hammer；Through Cimbricforest roars the Norseman‘s song；And loud，amid the universal clamour，O’er distant deserts sounds the Tartargong.
5.I hear the Florentine，who from his palace Wheels out his battle-bell with dreadful din；And Aztecpriests upon their teocallisBeat the wild war-drums made of serpent‘s skin；6.The tumult of each sacked and burning village；The shout that every prayer for mercy drowns；The soldiers’revels in the midst of pillage；The wail of famine in beleagueredtowns；7.The bursting shell，the gateway wrenched asunder The rattling musketry，the clashing blade：
And ever and anon，in tones of thunder，The diapasonof the cannonade.
8.Is it，O man，with such discordant noises，With such accursed instruments as these，Thou drownest Nature‘s sweet and kindly voices，And jarrest the celestial harmonies？
9.Were half the power，that fills the world with terror，Were half the wealth，bestowed on camps and courts，Given to redeem the human mind from error，There were no need of arsenals or forts：
10.The warrior’s name would be a name abhorred；And every nation that should lift againIts hand against a brother，on its forehead Would wear for evermore the curse of Cain！
11.Down the dark future，through long generations，The echoing sounds grow fainter，and then cease；And like a bell，with solemn，sweet vibrations，I hear once more the voice of Christ say，“Peace.”
12.Peace！and no longer from its brazen portalsThe blast of War‘s great organ shakes the skies，But beautiful as songs of the immortals，The holy melodies of love arise.