 | Memorials of a residence on the continent |  |
75
TO RAFFAEL.
Raffael, alas! was the only person who conceived the project of recovering the remains of ancient Rome from its rubbish by means of methodical excavations, and this led to no result whatever.
Niebuhr.Thine was the scheme, and worthy to be thine,
O Painter-Poet! with care and regu'lar toil,
To raise those marvels from the' entombing soil
With which Greek Art made Rome a place divine.
Though Gothic rage with Christian zeal combine,
Earthquake with flood,—the desolating coil
Of plague two centuries old with Guiscard's spoil,—
Brancaleone's fierccly-sage design,
With other shocks,—of Pagan Rome to make
A mere blank memo'ry,—thou hadst bade awake
Rare shapes from their deep beds, had Sympathy
Lent thee good aid ... Still I could wish for thee
That thou had'st never yearned for them,—elate
To be in Christian Art so great among the Great.
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