 | The Poetical Works of Aubrey De Vere |  |
V. THE CAMPAGNA SEEN FROM ST. JOHN LATERAN.
Was it the trampling of triumphant hostsThat levelled thus yon plain, sea-like and hoary;
Armies from Rome sent forth to distant coasts
And back returning clad with spoils of glory?
Around it loom cape, ridge, and promontory:
Above it sunset shadows fleet like ghosts,
394
By Time confuted, name have none in story.
Fit seat for Rome! for here is ample space
Which greatness chiefly needs—severed alone
By yonder aqueducts with queenly grace
That sweep in curves concentric ever on
Bridging a world subjected as a chart
To that great City, head of earth and heart.
| The Poetical Works of Aubrey De Vere | |