The Poetical Works of Thomas Moore Collected by Himself. In Ten Volumes |
I, II. |
III, IV. |
V. |
VI, VII. |
VIII, IX. |
X. |
The Poetical Works of Thomas Moore | ||
A DREAM OF ANTIQUITY.
And trac'd that happy period over,
When blest alike were youth and age,
And love inspired the wisest sage,
And wisdom graced the tenderest lover.
Awhile I from the lattice gaz'd
Upon that still and moonlight deep,
With isles like floating gardens rais'd,
For Ariel there his sports to keep;
While, gliding 'twixt their leafy shores
The lone night-fisher plied his oars.
Came o'er me in that witching hour,—
As if the whole bright scenery there
Were lighted by a Grecian sky,
That late had thrill'd to Sappho's sigh.
Came o'er my sense, the dream went on;
Nor, through her curtain dim and deep,
Hath ever lovelier vision shone.
I thought that, all enrapt, I stray'd
Through that serene, luxurious shade ,
Where Epicurus taught the Loves
To polish virtue's native brightness,—
As pearls, we're told, that fondling doves
Have play'd with, wear a smoother whiteness.
'Twas one of those delicious nights
So common in the climes of Greece,
And all is moonshine, balm, and peace.
And thou wert there, my own belov'd,
And by thy side I fondly rov'd
Through many a temple's reverend gloom,
And many a bower's seductive bloom,
Where Beauty learn'd what Wisdom taught,
And sages sigh'd and lovers thought;
Where schoolmen conn'd no maxims stern,
But all was form'd to soothe or move,
To make the dullest love to learn,
To make the coldest learn to love.
To lead us through enchanted ground,
Where all that bard has ever dream'd
Of love or luxury bloom'd around.
Oh! 'twas a bright, bewildering scene—
Along the alley's deepening green
Soft lamps, that hung like burning flowers,
And scented and illum'd the bowers,
Seem'd, as to him, who darkling roves
Amid the lone Hercynian groves,
That sparkle in the leaves at night,
And from their wings diffuse a ray
Along the traveller's weary way.
'Twas light of that mysterious kind,
Through which the soul perchance may roam,
When it has left this world behind,
And gone to seek its heavenly home.
And, Nea, thou wert by my side,
Through all this heav'n-ward path my guide.
That upward path, the vision chang'd;
And now, methought, we stole along
Through halls of more voluptuous glory
Than ever liv'd in Teian song,
Or wanton'd in Milesian story.
Seem'd soften'd o'er with breath of sighs;
Whose ev'ry ringlet, as it wreath'd,
A mute appeal to passion breath'd.
Some flew, with amber cups, around,
Pouring the flowery wines of Crete ;
And, as they pass'd with youthful bound,
The onyx shone beneath their feet.
While others, waving arms of snow
Entwin'd by snakes of burnish'd gold ,
And showing charms, as loth to show,
Through many a thin Tarentian fold ,
Bearing rich urns of flowers along.
Where roses lay, in languor breathing,
And the young beegrape , round them wreathing,
Hung on their blushes warm and meek,
Like curls upon a rosy cheek.
The spell that thus divinely bound me?
Why did I wake? how could I wake
With thee my own and heaven around me!
Gassendi thinks that the gardens, which Pausanias mentions, in his first book, were those of Epicurus; and Stuart says, in his Antiquities of Athens, “Near this convent (the convent of Hagios Asomatos) is the place called at present Kepoi, or the Gardens; and Ampelos Kepos, or the Vineyard Garden: these were probably the gardens which Pausanias visited.” Vol. i. chap. 2.
This method of polishing pearls, by leaving them awhile to be played with by doves, is mentioned by the fanciful Cardanus, de Rerum Varietat. lib. vii. cap. 34.
In Hercynio Germaniæ saltu inusitata genera alitum accepimus, quarum plumæ, ignium modo, colluceant noctibus. —Plin. lib. x. cap. 47.
The Milesiacs, or Milesian fables, had their origin in Miletus, a luxurious town of Ionia. Aristides was the most celebrated author of these licentious fictions. See Plutarch (in Crasso), who calls them ακολαστα βιβλια.
“Some of the Cretan wines, which Athenæus calls οινος ανθοσμιας, from their fragrancy resembling that of the finest flowers.” —Barry on Wines, chap. vii.
It appears that in very splendid mansions, the floor or pavement was frequently of onyx. Thus Martial: “Calcatusque tuo sub pede lucet onyx.” Epig. 50. lib. xii.
Bracelets of this shape were a favourite ornament among the women of antiquity. Οι επικαρπιοι οφεις και αι χρυσαι πεδαι Θαιδος και Αρισταγορας και Λαιδος φαρμακα. —Philostrat, Epist. xl. Lucian, too, tells us of the βραχιοισι δρακοντες. See his Amores, where he describes the dressing-room of a Grecian lady, and we find the “silver vase,” the rouge, the tooth-powder, and all the “mystic order” of a modern toilet.
The Poetical Works of Thomas Moore | ||