STRANGE are the ways of men, And strange the ways of God!
We tread the mazy paths That all our fathers trod.
We tread them undismayed, And undismayed behold The portents of the sky, The things that were of old.
The fiery stars pursue Their course in heav'n on high;And round the 'leaguered town, Crest-tossing heroes cry.
Crest-tossing heroes cry;
And martial fifes declare How small, to mortal minds, Is merely mortal care.
And to the clang of steel And cry of piercing flute Upon the azure peaks A God shall plant his foot:
A God in arms shall stand, And seeing wide and far The green and golden earth, The killing tide of war,He, with uplifted arm, Shall to the skies proclaim The gleeful fate of man, The noble road to fame!