 | The Poetical Works of Aubrey De Vere |  |
XVI. ISLAM.
That Asian ardour, deep, and wide, and still,Which once, like Heaven o'er glowing sands, did brood
Over this People's heart, stubborn and rude,
Hath left them. Did it yet their pulses fill,
They had not lost that fateful might of Will
Which from Imaus on to Atlas hewed
A way before them—in its terrible mood
‘Making ridiculous’ the boasted skill
Of Western Art alike and Arms. Of old
This People's spirit was an arch of fire,
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Nought but the hoary herb and branded plains,
Which beasts shall trample, issuing in their ire
Forth from the depth of their morasses cold!
| The Poetical Works of Aubrey De Vere | |