Page:Modern Greece.pdf/49

This page has been validated.
MODERN GREECE.
47


XCII.

Mark—on the storied frieze the graceful train,
The holy festival's triumphal throng,
In fair procession, to Minerva's fane,
With many a sacred symbol move along.
There every shade of bright existence trace,
The fire of youth, the dignity of age;
The matron's calm austerity of grace,
The ardent warrior, the benignant sage;
The nymph's light symmetry, the chief's proud mien,

Each ray of beauty caught and mingled in the scene.


XCIII.

Art unobtrusive there ennobles form,39
Each pure chaste outline exquisitely flows;
There e'en the steed, with bold expression warm,40
Is clothed with majesty, with being glows.
One mighty mind hath harmonized the whole;
Those varied groups the same bright impress bear;
One beam and essence of exalting soul
Lives in the grand, the delicate, the fair;
And well that pageant of the glorious dead

Blends us with nobler days, and loftier spirits fled.
This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.