28.10.2007, 10:16
DANTE.
I THINK the great God gave thee unto men
To be to them what Maro was to thee
Another gracious Beatrice to be
Piloting souls ; recording with thy pen
Things strange, and never dreamed of until then,
With coasts and islands in the Future's sea
Mapped in the clear dim light of mystery.
Preacher of Retribution ! shall I, when
The bodies of the glorious dead arise
And in the Holy City re-appear
To many, find that grace to recognise
One who has led me spell-bound far and near
Through Purgatory, Hell, and Paradise,
And hail thee as earth's greatest poet-seer !
I THINK the great God gave thee unto men
To be to them what Maro was to thee
Another gracious Beatrice to be
Piloting souls ; recording with thy pen
Things strange, and never dreamed of until then,
With coasts and islands in the Future's sea
Mapped in the clear dim light of mystery.
Preacher of Retribution ! shall I, when
The bodies of the glorious dead arise
And in the Holy City re-appear
To many, find that grace to recognise
One who has led me spell-bound far and near
Through Purgatory, Hell, and Paradise,
And hail thee as earth's greatest poet-seer !