Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Italy: Vols. XI–XIII. 1876–79. | | | | Pæstum | | The Grecian Temples at Pæstum | | Rossiter W. Raymond (1840–1918) |
| | | IN Pæstum’s ancient fanes I trod, | |
| And mused on those strange men of old, | |
| Whose dark religion could infold | |
| So many gods, and yet no God! | |
| |
| Did they to human feelings own, | 5 |
| And had they human souls indeed, | |
| Or did the sternness of their creed | |
| Frown their faint spirits into stone? | |
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| The southern breezes fan my face;— | |
| I hear the hum of bees arise, | 10 |
| And lizards dart, with mystic eyes, | |
| That shrine the secret of the place! | |
| |
| These silent columns speak of dread, | |
| Of lovely worship without love; | |
| And yet the warm, deep heaven above | 15 |
| Whispers a softer tale instead! | | | | |
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