The first line of the third stanza is the likely source of the title and the theme of our national anthem. When renowned African nationalist Edward Wilmot Blyden visited the pyramids in Egypt, this is the poem that came racing through his mind and that he excerpted in his journal. Close-readers of Blyden's work can now get to see the poem from whence that famous excerpt came. As well, longtime students of Blyden may have a glimpse of one primary source of his Africa-centered vision and the brilliance displayed in his works.

Many contemporary writers often present Blyden as a singular genius who was unaffected by all that came before him, but this is far from the truth. It does not take away from his contribution, I think, to recognize that Teage was his lifelong mentor. When Teage was editor of the Liberia Herald newspaper, he was the first person to publish Blyden. He later hired the younger man as his assistant. When Teage served as secretary of state, he hired Blyden as his private secretary. After Teage's death, Blyden rose to fill those positions, while carrying forward his mentor's vision.

Here now the glorious poem, first published in 1842²:

Land of the mighty dead!

By Hilary Teage

Land of the mighty dead!
Here science once displayed,
And art, their charms;
Here awful Pharaohs swayed
Great nations who obeyed,
Here distant monarchs laid
Their vanquished arms.

They hold us in survey,
They cheer us on our way
They loud proclaim—
From Pyramidal hall—
From Carnac's sculptured wall—
From Thebes they loudly call—
Retake your fame!

All hail Liberia! hail!
Arise and now prevail
O'er all thy foes;
In truth and righteousness—
In all the arts of peace—
Advance, and still increase
Though hosts oppose.

At the loud call we rise
And press toward the prize,
In glory's race.
All redolent of fame,
The land to which we came,
We'll breathe the inspiring flame—
And onward press.

Here Liberty shall dwell.
Here Justice shall prevail;
Religion-here;
To this, fair virtue's dome
Meek innocence may come,
And find a peaceful home,
And know no fear.

Oppression's cursed yoke
By freemen shall be broke,
In dust be laid;
The soul erect and free,
Here evermore shall be
To none we'll bend the knee
But nature's God.

Proud science here shall rear,
Her monuments, to bear
With deathless tongue
By nations yet unborn
Her glories shall be known,
And art her tribute join,
The praise prolong.

Commerce shall lift her head,
To auspicious gales shall spread
Expanded wing;
From India's spicy land,
From Europe's rock bound strand,
From Peru's golden sand
Her tribute bring.

Oh Lord, we look to Thee—
To Thee for help we flee,
Lord hear our prayer
In righteousness arise,
Scatter our enemies,
Their hellish plots surprise
And drive them far.

O happy people they,
Who Israel's God obey,
Whose Lord is God
They shall be blest indeed,
From anxious cares be freed,
And for them is decreed
A large reward.

Some readers may have a visceral reaction against the line that reads, "Scatter our enemies/ Their hellish plots surprise/ And drive them far." However, those "enemies" were more likely slave traders instead of Africans from the continent. How else can we make sense of the line, "Here science once displayed/ and art, their charms"?

I am working on a biography of Teage and have annotated his writings, which I hope to complete and publish before journeying to the land of the ancestors. During the course of my research, I've read many works which disprove the theory that Hilary Teage espoused a Eurocentric assimilationist ideology. If only those who malign Teage and his contemporaries would read the journal of Theophilous Conneau and other authentic records of the slave trade from that place during that period, this poem and other critical works would receive the readings they deserve. Many Negritude poets and Africanist thinkers acknowledge the influence of Blyden. At last, here is the spring—Teage—from which Blyden drank.

1. Carl Patrick Burrowes. "'In Common with Colored Men, I Have Certain Sentiments': Black Nationalism and Hilary Teage of the Liberia Herald," American Journalism. 16, 3 (Summer 1999), pp. 17-36.

2. Liberia Herald, 23 Dec. 1842, p. 8.

Power And Press Freedom In Liberia, 1830-1970: The Impact Of Globalization And Civil Society On Media-government Relations. Lawrenceville, New Jersey: Africa World Press, 2005.