LIX. Match me, ye climes! which poets love to laud; Match me those Houries, whom ye scarce allow There your wise Prophet's paradise we find, LX. Oh, thou Parnassus !4 whom I now survey, But soaring snow-clad through thy native sky, The humblest of thy pilgrims passing by Would gladly woo thine Echoes with his string, Though from thy heights no more one Muse will wave her wing. 1 This stanza was written in Turkey. 2 ["Beauties that need not fear a broken vow.". MS.] 3 ["Long black hair, dark languishing eyes, clear olive complexions, and forms more graceful in motion than can be conceived by an Englishman, used to the drowsy, listless air of his countrywomen, added to the most becoming dress, and, at the same time, the most decent in the world, render a Spanish beauty irresistible."-Lord Byron to his Mother, Aug. 1809.] 4 These stanzas were written in Castri (Delphos), at the foot of Parnassus, now called Aiazuga (Liakura), Dec. 1809. LXI. Oft have I dream'd of Thee! whose glorious name In silent joy to think at last I look on Thee! 1 LXII. not? Happier in this than mightiest bards have been, Whose fate to distant homes confined their lot, Shall I unmoved behold the hallow'd scene, Which others rave of, though they know Though here no more Apollo haunts his grot, And thou, the Muses' seat, art now their grave, 2 Some gentle spirit still pervades the spot, Sighs in the gale, keeps silence in the cave, And glides with glassy foot o'er yon melodious wave. ["Upon Parnassus, going to the fountain of Delphi (Castri), in 1809, I saw a flight of twelve eagles (Hobhouse says they were vultures at least in conversation), and I seized the omen. On the day before, I composed the lines to Parnassus (in Childe Harold), and on beholding the birds, had a hope that Apollo had accepted my homage. I have at least had the name and fame of a poet, during the poetical period of life (from twenty to thirty); — whether it will last is another matter: but I have been a votary of the deity and the place, and am grateful for what he has done in my behalf, leaving the future in his hands, as I left the past."B. Diary, 1821.] 2["Casting the eye over the site of ancient Delphi, one cannot possibly imagine what has become of the walls of the numerous buildings which are mentioned in the history of its former magnificence, - buildings which covered two miles of ground. With the exception of the few terraces or supporting walls, nothing now appears. The various robberies by Scylla, Nero, and Constantine, are inconsiderable; for the removal of the statues of bronze, and marble, and ivory, could not greatly affect LXIII. Of thee hereafter. - Ev'n amidst my strain LXIV. But ne'er didst thou, fair Mount! when Greece was young, See round thy giant base a brighter choir, Nor e'er did Delphi, when her priestess sung The Pythian hymn with more than mortal fire, The song of love than Andalusia's maids, Ah! that to these were given such peaceful shades As Greece can still bestow, though Glory fly her glades. the general appearance of the city. The acclivity of the hill, and the foundations being placed on rock, without cement, would no doubt render them comparatively easy to be removed or hurled down into the vale below; but the vale exhibits no appearance of accumulation of hewn stones; and the modern village could have consumed but few. In the course of so many centuries, the débris from the mountain must have covered up a great deal, and even the rubbish itself may have acquired a soil sufficient to conceal many noble remains from the light of day. Yet we see no swellings or risings in the ground, indicating the graves of the temples. All therefore is mystery, and the Greeks may truly say, Where stood the walls of our fathers?' scarce their mossy tombs remain !". H. W. Williams's Travels in Greece, vol. ii. p. 254.] ["Some glorious thought to my petition grant."- MS.] LXV. Fair is proud Seville; let her country boast Calls forth a sweeter, though ignoble praise. A Cherub-hydra round us dost thou gape, LXVI. accursed Time! When Paphos fell by time - To nought else constant, hither deign'd to flee; LXVII. From morn till night, from night till startled Morn 1 Seville was the Hispalis of the Romans. 2 ["The lurking lures of thy enchanting gaze."- MS.] 3 ["Cadiz, sweet Cadiz !-it is the first spot in the creation. The beauty of its streets and mansions is only excelled by the liveliness of its inhabitants. It is a complete Cythera, full of the finest women in Spain; the Cadiz belles being the Lancashire witches of their land." Lord B. to his Mother, 1809.] D Tread on each other's kibes. A long adieu And love and prayer unite, or rule the hour by turns. 1 LXVIII. The Sabbath comes, a day of blessed rest: Hark! heard you not the forest-monarch's roar? LXIX. The seventh day this; the jubilee of man. London! right well thou know'st the day of prayer : Then thy spruce citizen, wash'd artisan, And smug apprentice gulp their weekly air: Thy coach of hackney, whiskey, one-horse chair, And humblest gig through sundry suburbs whirl To Hampstead, Brentford, Harrow make repair; Till the tired jade the wheel forgets to hurl, Provoking envious gibe from each pedestrian churl. LXX. Some o'er thy Thamis row the ribbon'd fair, Some Richmond-hill ascend, some scud to Ware, 1 [" monkish temples share The hours misspent, and all in turns is love and prayer.”—MS.] |