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 | The Poetical Works of Aubrey De Vere |  |
433
XXXVIII. THE ‘ARA CŒLI’ ON THE CAPITOL.
Here, where of old the Roman Senate sate,Where, thundering from his Capitolian throne
Co-regent of the Universal State
Jove o'er that Roman sceptre laid his own,
For centuries the Franciscans, humbly elate
Kept their aerial haunt and vigil lone
Here, like that lark which ‘sings at heaven's gate’
Sang, first, Rome's Christmas carols;—they are gone!
Far down beneath, the Benedictines lay
Of Orders first; far down whose science soared
Highest; far down Ignatius' Templars, they
Who raised o'er earth the Crosier and the Sword:
Here reigned the triumph of Humility:
Thy pagan triumph, Pride, is here restored.
| The Poetical Works of Aubrey De Vere | |