Why were the Wise Men three, Instead of five or seven?” They had to match, you see, The archangels in Heaven.
God sent them, sure and swift, By his mysterious presage, To bear the threefold gift And take the threefold message.
Thus in their hands were seen The gold of purest Beauty, The myrrh of Truth all-clean, The frankincense of Duty.
And thus they bore away The loving heart's great treasure, And knowledge clear as day, To be our life's new measure.
They went back to the East To spread the news of gladness. There one became a priest To the new word of sadness;
And one a workman, skilled Beyond the old earth's fashion; And one a scholar, filled With learning's endless passion.
God sent them for a sign He would not change nor alter His good and fair design, However man may falter.
He meant that, as He chose His perfect plan and willed it, They stood in place of those Who elsewhere had fulfilled it;
Whoso would mark and reach The height of man's election, Must still achieve and teach The triplicate perfection.
For since the world was made, One thing was needed ever, To keep man undismayed Through failure and endeavor —
A faultless trinity Of body, mind, and spirit, And each with its own three Strong angels to be near it;
Strength to arise and go Wherever dawn is breaking, Poise like the tides that flow, Instinct for beauty-making;
Imagination bold To cross the mystic border, Reason to seek and hold, Judgment for law and order;
Joy that makes all things well, Faith that is all-availing Each terror to dispel, And Love, ah, Love unfailing.
These are the flaming Nine Who walk the world unsleeping, Sent forth by the Divine With manhood in their keeping.
These are the seraphs strong His mighty soul had need of, When He would right the wrong And sorrow He took heed of.
And that, I think, is why The Wise Men knelt before Him, And put their kingdoms by To serve Him and adore Him;
So that our Lord, unknown, Should not be unattended, When He was here alone And poor and unbefriended;
That still He might have three ( Rather than five or seven ) To stand in their degree, Like archangels in Heaven.
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