The Vision of Prophecy and Other Poems :: :: University of Virginia Library

In Egypt's golden time, a temple stood
In Sais, by the branches of the Nile,
Where sages many a mystic art pursued,
And priests and pilgrims thronged the sacred pile.

Thither came votaries from all the land,—
Grey-bearded age was there, and blooming youth;
And o'er the porch some priestly artist's hand
Had traced, in symbols, much of occult truth.

First was the figure of an Aged Man,
Who crept along, and looked upon the ground,
And by his side a bright-haired Stripling ran,
With sparkling eye, and brow with myrtle crowned.

Here soared an Eagle upwards, all the while
Looking as if he dared the sun to dim
His ardent vision,—there a Fish of Nile
Seemed in another element to swim.

And last was pictured all the hideous length
Of a huge Crocodile,—each iron scale
That ridged the monster's spine, his sinewy strength,
And the dull gleaming of his bronzèd mail.

“If you would understand each mystic sign,”
Thus spake a priest to pilgrims gathered round,
“Give ear before you pass within the shrine,
Whilst I their deep significance expound.

“The Old Man and the Boy,—this group implies
The sense concerns grave age and careless youth;
The Eagle, sharp of sight, denotes the wise
All-seeing One who loves the heart of truth.

“That animal unclean, the Fish of Nile,
Which the pure gods detest, doth symbolize
Hatred and loathing; and the Crocodile
That pride which oft assumes devotion's guise.

“Now hear in full the solemn oracle,
And shun the worship the immortals hate,—
‘O ye who soon must bid the world farewell,
And you who are but entering through its gate!

“‘Know that the gods, from whose all piercing eyes
Night hath no veil, and human hearts no shroud,
Look to the spirit of the sacrifice,
And hate the impious offerings of the proud.’”