A book of English poetry; ed. by T. Shorter

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1M POJ!Jl& 071 Bm'LECl'ION .U'O SEln'IHJL.'f'l'.


Gather the wisdom of the Pyt1Uilida,
The eecreta that Egyptian Hierophnnta
Prnctiaed in crypta lllld cavena, which they veil'd
In many a rite and symbol-none forget.
Let every Nl\tion'e mind llllfolli ita thought,
And every Sage depict the a tarry scheme ;
And every Hero tell how once he.died;
And every Poet sing, while Nature smiles
To find her buried eras bloom anew.
Forget not thine own time; give ~mple pla.ce
To wisdom shower'd from he~ven, renewing earth.
Let Dante sing from out his Middle Age ;
Aud Machiavelli with hie subtle aldll
Unveil the craft of tyranta; nor forget
The richly-tlower'd muae of Oamoena;
Or love-lays, bom of Europe's loyal be&Jt,
Chanted by Troubadours in 1weet .Provence.
Let manly Chaucer tre:ld hi» pilgrim round ;
And Spenaer preach of heavenly chaatity ;
Let Herbert almost like an Angel sing ;
And Shakespeare in one panoramic aceiW
Reveal life's aetu&l dram:~., clothing all
His varied forms with living tltsh and blood,
Giving to each a true authentic beo.rt,
Whose arteries &nd veins l"Wl w11rm with love.
Lilt the blind Psalmist of the Oommonwe<h,
Who look'd with inward sight where burna the sun
Of apirit-ligbt o'er Eden of old time,
In clM&ic English utter Ml his thought.
Let .Byron pour from out hie burni.r.Jg mind
The ~ð.ing torrents of unreating aoul,
The paeeion dreama of a wild fever\! heart,
A world of rebel Genii, ain-&oclll'lled,
Yet 11ching, hungering for divinity.
Let Ke~~ta, the child Adonis, atand beside
The waking figure of biB Grecian urn,
Interpreting the meaning of all tears
Shed by the Graces in enamour'd drea.ma 1
Or smiles that drop from out the Suo-god's eyes,
When muro is on the mountains, 11.nd the atara
Olose their white buds and grow ioviaible.
Let the lost Pleiad, Ob&tt.ertou, attune
Ria harp in tbnt bright brotherhood o! aong;
Let Wordswol'th dream of beav11n amid hia billa;
And 01)leridge atir the heart as with a trump
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