Gods, Saints & Men By Eugene Lee-Hamilton ... With Ten Full-Page Illustartions Designed by Enrico Mazzanti |
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20
SONG.
One morn in the days that are olden,
When young were mankind and the world,
The sea, dawn-illumined and golden,
Was sleeping, by ripple uncurl'd.
When young were mankind and the world,
The sea, dawn-illumined and golden,
Was sleeping, by ripple uncurl'd.
A perfume of lemon was given
To the air by the groves of the shore;
All sunny and silent the heaven;
Not a sound of a song or an oar.
To the air by the groves of the shore;
All sunny and silent the heaven;
Not a sound of a song or an oar.
But suddenly over the waters,
A music came floating along,
A music more sweet than the daughters
Of man ever uttered in song.
A music came floating along,
A music more sweet than the daughters
Of man ever uttered in song.
O'er the face of the sea as it slumbered,
Then ripple on ripple swept fast,
Which seemed like the kisses unnumber'd,
Of Gods who invisible pass'd.
Then ripple on ripple swept fast,
Which seemed like the kisses unnumber'd,
Of Gods who invisible pass'd.
And Venus the snowy and scented
From the watery mirror uprose,
Enthroned on a shell that was tinted
Like the innermost leaf of a rose.
From the watery mirror uprose,
Enthroned on a shell that was tinted
Like the innermost leaf of a rose.
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Through Nature and Man ran a quiver
Announcing the Goddess's birth,
Who came to throw open for ever
The flood-gates of Love upon Earth.
Announcing the Goddess's birth,
Who came to throw open for ever
The flood-gates of Love upon Earth.
And Man saw how beauteous was Woman,
And Woman how comely was Man,
Through all that was mortal and human
A thrill of anxiety ran;
And Woman how comely was Man,
Through all that was mortal and human
A thrill of anxiety ran;
And all felt a sudden emotion:
The worker in iron and gold,
The warrior, the netter of ocean,
The merchant that bartered and sold.
The worker in iron and gold,
The warrior, the netter of ocean,
The merchant that bartered and sold.
The rustic who trudged heavy laden
By a fount, empty hearted and dull,
Stopped short and looked long at the maiden
As she stood till her pitcher was full;
By a fount, empty hearted and dull,
Stopped short and looked long at the maiden
As she stood till her pitcher was full;
Through his veins ran a thrill and a fire,
A wish to possess her or die;
In her heart there up leapt a desire,
Through her lips passed a word and a sigh.
A wish to possess her or die;
In her heart there up leapt a desire,
Through her lips passed a word and a sigh.
And filled was Creation with kisses,
With pantings and amorous sobs,
With pleasure from hidden abysses,
With hopes and delusions and throbs;
With pantings and amorous sobs,
With pleasure from hidden abysses,
With hopes and delusions and throbs;
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All beauty was changed to perfection,
And ugliness even was fair;
And hand-maids held kings in subjection,
And conquered the conquerors were.
And ugliness even was fair;
And hand-maids held kings in subjection,
And conquered the conquerors were.
But how have the mortals requited
The gift that was made to them then—
The gift that inflamed and delighted
The thankless descendants of men?
The gift that was made to them then—
The gift that inflamed and delighted
The thankless descendants of men?
Say, where is the smoke of her altar,
And where the libations of wine,
And the prayers that the striplings would falter,
And the wreaths that the maidens would twine?
And where the libations of wine,
And the prayers that the striplings would falter,
And the wreaths that the maidens would twine?
Of the statues once raised in her honour
How many unshattered remain?
And the hymns that heaped praises upon her,
Will man ever breathe them again?
How many unshattered remain?
And the hymns that heaped praises upon her,
Will man ever breathe them again?
But though Venus is worshipped no longer,
She lives, and her power men feel;
And Desire waxes stronger and stronger
At the shrines of their saints as they kneel.
She lives, and her power men feel;
And Desire waxes stronger and stronger
At the shrines of their saints as they kneel.
For though conquered and exiled from Heaven,
Her reign upon earth is not done;
And the flame which she feeds rages even
In the heart of the Monk and the Nun.
Her reign upon earth is not done;
And the flame which she feeds rages even
In the heart of the Monk and the Nun.
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And after long months of dissembling,
In spite of the thunders above,
They follow in fear and in trembling
The mighty commandment of Love.
In spite of the thunders above,
They follow in fear and in trembling
The mighty commandment of Love.
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