Classic and Contemporary Poetry
MODERN GREECE, by RICHARD MONCKTON MILNES Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: As, in the legend which our childhood loved Last Line: As all the spirit of nations has not known. Alternate Author Name(s): Houghton, 1st Baron; Houghton, Lord Subject(s): Greece; Greeks | ||||||||
As, in the legend which our childhood loved, The destined prince was guided to the bed, Where, many a silent year, the charmed Maid Lay still, as though she were not; nor could wake, Till the first touch of his appointed hand With the deep fountains of her subtle being Made sympathy, and in her virgin bosom The pulse of breath, that so long had beat on Its regular measure, trembled and grew fast, And the long fringes parted on her eyes, -- And she to her old world of light and sense Was born again; so the Invisible Power, Whose awful presence is upon our earth Above all dominations, came at last To Greece, and laid the magic of his hand Upon her sleep, and she obedient rose. She rose, but not as that enchanted ladie, To whose unsullied beauty sleep had been But as a veil, to guard off impure Time From breathing on it, and had left no trace Of its existence, but the long gold hair, That, like a vestment, folded round her form; Nor, even as they, who on this vulgar orb Rise from their night's brief slumbers, hale and fresh, With all the toil of yesterday behind them; -- No, Nations sleep not thus, -- their sleep and rest Has more of death about it, -- in its hours Silent corruption works, and slow decay; And when some special grace bids them awake, Half-blinded, with worn hearts, and sense confused, They rush in fury from their couch of shame, Proclaim themselves new-born, and free, and young, Nothing of youth about them, but its passions, Its vigorous lusts, and recklessness of ends. -- Oh! would'st Thou, from thy hot delirious dream, Look out upon the calm of long-past time, Thine own bright natural youth, willing to learn; Would only Greece remember what she was, And then what made her so; -- would she remember That distant History records a time, Though in the splendour of the after-light Nearly obliterate, when she was as bare Of every element of social being, Of every use of moral energies, Of all that can transform humanity From the wild warrior-savage, instinct-led, Into the thinking, acting citizen, As now, or more so; but her infant soul, Soon from that rude and miserable state, Into a youth of healthy-springing thoughts, Gay simple fancies, aspirations high, Expanded under tutelary care Of two wise nurses, delegates of God, The Love of Beauty and Self-sacrifice: And when, in the full time, came slowly on Life's manly mood, and consciousness mature, She, the fair faith and natural impulses That waited on her morning, taking up Into the accomplished glory of her noon, Never forgot, through all the growth of wealth, And martial action, and scholastic pride, Her first affections, -- and possessed at once, A Mind informed by sage experience, And a Heart fresh as it had come from heaven. What, though the curse of this unresting world, The influence that will let no greatness be, Merged in the blackness of barbaric night, This model of the perfect equipoise, And just appliance of all human powers; Yet still for You, born of a second dawn, The children of another germ of life, It has a voice of loud authority; By the same laws it bids you train your minds, To the same tutelage submit your hearts, And to the sum of wisdom there laid up, Adding the priceless gems of Christian truth, Be owners of a treasury of such wealth, As all the spirit of nations has not known. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A FLOWER NO MORE THAN ITSELF by LINDA GREGG ALMA IN ALL SEASONS by LINDA GREGG ALMA IN THE DARK by LINDA GREGG ALMA TO HER SISTER by LINDA GREGG ALONE WITH THE GODDESS by LINDA GREGG APHRODITE AND THE NATURE OF ART by LINDA GREGG AS BEING IS ETERNAL by LINDA GREGG COLUMBUS AND THE MAYFLOWER by RICHARD MONCKTON MILNES |
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