01.01.2011, 13:10
ON SEEING A LITTLE CHILD SPIN A COIN OF
ALEXANDER THE GREAT
This is the face of him, whose quick resource
Of eye and hand subdued Bucephalus,
And made the shadow of a startled horse
A foreground for his glory. It is thus
They hand him down ; this coin of Philip's son
Recalls his life, his glories, and misdeeds ;
And that abortive court of Babylon,
Where the world's throne was left among the reeds.
His dust is lost among the ancient dead,
A coin his only presence : he is gone :
And all but this half mythic image fled —
A simple child may do him shame and slight ;
'Twixt thumb and finger take the golden head,
And spin the horns of Ammon out of sight.
ALEXANDER THE GREAT
This is the face of him, whose quick resource
Of eye and hand subdued Bucephalus,
And made the shadow of a startled horse
A foreground for his glory. It is thus
They hand him down ; this coin of Philip's son
Recalls his life, his glories, and misdeeds ;
And that abortive court of Babylon,
Where the world's throne was left among the reeds.
His dust is lost among the ancient dead,
A coin his only presence : he is gone :
And all but this half mythic image fled —
A simple child may do him shame and slight ;
'Twixt thumb and finger take the golden head,
And spin the horns of Ammon out of sight.