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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE SYBIL'S TEMPLE, by HUMPHRY DAVY First Line: Thy faith, o roman! Was a natural faith Last Line: The voice of inspiration well might come! Subject(s): Tivoli, Italy | |||
THY faith, O Roman! was a natural faith. Well suited to an age in which the light Ineffable gleam'd through obscuring clouds Of objects sensible, -- not yet revealed In noontide brightness on the Syrian mount. For thee, the Eternal Majesty of heaven In all things lived and moved, -- and to its power And attributes poetic fancy gave The forms of human beauty, strength, and grace. The Naiad murmur'd in the silver stream, The Dryad whisper'd in the nodding wood, (Her voice the music of the zephyr's breath;) On the blue wave the sportive Nereid moved, Or blew her conch amidst the echoing rocks. I wonder not, that, moved by such a faith, Thou raisedst the Sybil's temple in this vale, For such a scene was suited well to raise The mind to high devotion, -- to create Those thoughts indefinite which seem above Our sense and reason, and the hallowed dream Prophetic. -- In the sympathy sublime, With natural forms and sounds, the mind forgets Its present being, -- images arise Which seem not earthly. -- midst the awful rocks And caverns bursting with the living stream, -- In force descending from the precipice, -- Sparkling in sunshine, nurturing with dews A thousand odorous plants and fragrant flowers. In the sweet music of the vernal woods, From winged minstrels, and the louder sounds Of mountain storms, and thundering cataracts, The voice of inspiration well might come! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ON THE DEATH OF LORD BYRON, COMPOSED AT WESTHILL, IN THE GREAT STORM by HUMPHRY DAVY WRITTEN AFTER RECOVERY FROM A DANGEROUS ILLNESS by HUMPHRY DAVY |
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