Classic Poem

XXI.

And soon he gained the marble steps,
Before the abode divine,
And soon he oped the brazen doors,
And sank within the shrine;
'Twas dusk, and chill, and noiseless all,
And scarce amid the shade
He saw the form of her whose might
Can give the hopeless aid.

XXII.

" And why, " he cried, " O Goddess dread!
Must worshippers of thee,
'Mid all on earth the most despised,
Most miserable be?
O! hast thou not the strength to save,
Or art thou then indeed
Too cold and too averse a power
To succour mortal need?

XXIII.

" And is it false what oft was said
In days of old renown,
What hymn and lay so loud proclaim
In camp, and field, and town,
That thou, a bounteous arbitress,
Wilt hear when mourners call,
Delightest most in man's delight,
And sendest bliss to all?

XXIV.

" By thee, as tale and history tell,
And sculptured marble grey,
And oracle and festal rite,
Surviving men's decay;
By thee all things are beautiful,
And peaceable, and strong,
And joy from every thro is born,
And mercy conquers wrong.

XXV.

" Thy birth, O! Goddess, kind and smooth,
Was from the sunny sea,
The crystal blue and milky foam
In brightness cradled thee;
From thee all fairest things have light,
Which they to men impart;
Then whence arise the pangs and storms
That rend the lover's heart? "