Cosmo De' Medici An Historical Tragedy: And Other Poems: By Richard Hengist Horne |
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PELTERS OF PYRAMIDS. |
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 | Cosmo De' Medici |  |
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PELTERS OF PYRAMIDS.
Nought loves another as itself,
Nor venerates another so;
Nor is it possible to thought
A greater than itself to know.
Blake.
Nor venerates another so;
Nor is it possible to thought
A greater than itself to know.
Blake.
A shoal of idlers, from a merchant craft
Anchor'd off Alexandria, went ashore,
And mounting asses in their headlong glee,
Round Pompey's Pillar rode with hoots and taunts,—
As men oft say “What art thou more than we?”
Next in a boat they floated up the Nile,
Singing and drinking, swearing senseless oaths,
Shouting, and laughing most derisively
At all majestic scenes. A bank they reach'd,
And clambering up, play'd gambols among tombs;
And in portentous ruins (through whose depths—
The mighty twilight of departed Gods—
Both sun and moon glanced furtive, as in awe)
They hid, and whoop'd, and spat on sacred things.
Anchor'd off Alexandria, went ashore,
And mounting asses in their headlong glee,
Round Pompey's Pillar rode with hoots and taunts,—
As men oft say “What art thou more than we?”
Next in a boat they floated up the Nile,
Singing and drinking, swearing senseless oaths,
Shouting, and laughing most derisively
At all majestic scenes. A bank they reach'd,
And clambering up, play'd gambols among tombs;
And in portentous ruins (through whose depths—
The mighty twilight of departed Gods—
Both sun and moon glanced furtive, as in awe)
They hid, and whoop'd, and spat on sacred things.
At length, beneath the blazing sun they lounged
Near a great Pyramid. Awhile they stood
With stupid stare, until resentment grew,
In the recoil of meanness from the vast;
And gathering stones, they with coarse oaths and jibes,
(As they would say, “What art thou more than we?”)
Pelted the Pyramid! But soon these men,
Hot and exhausted, sat them down to drink—
Wrangled, smoked, spat, and laughed, and drowsily
Cursed the bald Pyramid, and fell asleep.
Near a great Pyramid. Awhile they stood
With stupid stare, until resentment grew,
In the recoil of meanness from the vast;
And gathering stones, they with coarse oaths and jibes,
(As they would say, “What art thou more than we?”)
Pelted the Pyramid! But soon these men,
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Wrangled, smoked, spat, and laughed, and drowsily
Cursed the bald Pyramid, and fell asleep.
Night came:—a little sand went drifting by—
And morn again was in the soft blue heavens.
The broad slopes of the shining Pyramid
Look'd down in their austere simplicity
Upon the glistening silence of the sands
Whereon no trace of mortal dust was seen.
And morn again was in the soft blue heavens.
The broad slopes of the shining Pyramid
Look'd down in their austere simplicity
Upon the glistening silence of the sands
Whereon no trace of mortal dust was seen.
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