∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
[[v]]
[[n]]
Type of the antique Rome! Rich reliquary
Of lofty contemplation left to Time
By buried centuries of pomp and power!
At length — at length — after so many days
5
[[n]]
Of weary pilgrimage and burning thirst,
[[v]]
(Thirst for the springs of lore that in thee lie,)
I kneel, an altered and an humble man,
[[v]]
Amid thy shadows, and so drink within
[[n]]
My very soul thy grandeur, gloom, and glory!
10
Vastness! and Age! and Memories of Eld!
[[v]]
Silence! and Desolation! and dim Night!
I feel ye now — I feel ye in your strength —
[[n]]
O spells more sure than e’er Judæan king
Taught in the gardens of Gethsemane!
15
[[n]]
O charms more potent than the rapt Chaldee
Ever drew down from out the quiet stars! [page 76:]
[[n]]
Here, where a hero fell, a column falls!
Here, where the mimic eagle glared in gold,
A midnight vigil holds the swarthy bat!
20
[[v]]
Here, where the dames of Rome their gilded hair
[[v]]
[[n]]
Waved to the wind, now wave the reed and thistle!
Here, where on golden throne the monarch lolled,
Glides, spectre-like, unto his marble home,
[[n]]
Lit by the wan light of the hornéd moon,
25
The swift and silent lizard of the stones!
[[v]]
[[n]]
But stay! these walls — these ivy-clad arcades —
These mouldering plinths — these sad and blackened shafts —
[[v]]
These vague entablatures — this crumbling frieze —
These shattered cornices — this wreck — this ruin —
30
[[n]]
These stones — alas! these gray stones — are they all —
[[v]]
[[n]]
All of the famed, and the colossal left
By the corrosive Hours to Fate and me?
“Not all” — the Echoes answer me — “not all!
[[n]]
Prophetic sounds and loud, arise forever
35
[[v]]
From us, and from all Ruin, unto the wise,
[[v]]
[[n]]
As melody from Memnon to the Sun.
We rule the hearts of mightiest men — we rule
With a despotic sway all giant minds.
[[v]]
We are not impotent — we pallid stones.
40
Not all our power is gone — not all our fame —
Not all the magic of our high renown —
Not all the wonder that encircles us —
Not all the mysteries that in us lie —
Not all the memories that hang upon
45
[[v]]
And cling around about us as a garment,
[[v]]
[[n]]
Clothing us in a robe of more than glory.”
(1833)
[The following variants appear at the bottom of page 75:]
Title The Coliseum. A Prize Poem (S.L.M., S.E.P.), Coliseum (P.P.A.).
1 B.S.V. prefixes the line Lone amphitheatre! Grey Coliseum!
6 lore: love (B.S.V.).
8 Amid: Within (P.P.A.).
11 B.S.V. and S.L.M. insert after this line:
Gaunt vestibules! and phantompeopled aisles!
20 gilded: yellow (B.S.V., S.L.M.).
21 B.S.V. and S.L.M. insert after this line the following:
Here, where on ivory couch the Cesar sate,
On bed of moss lies gloating the foul adder.
So also P.P.A., save that it reads golden throne instead of ivory couch.
[The following variants appear at the bottom of page 76:]
26 These crumbling walls; these tottering arcades (B.S.V., S.L.M.); But hold! — these dark, these perishing arcades (P.P.A.).
28 crumbling: broken (B.S.V., S.L.M., P.P.A.).
31 famed: great (B.S.V., S.L.M.), grand (S.E.P.), proud (P.P.A.).
35 unto: to (P.P.A.).
36 melody: in old days (B.S.V., S.L.M.).
39 impotent: desolate (B.S.V., S.L.M.).
45 as a garment: now and ever (B.S.V.).
46 Clothing: And clothe (B.S.V.).
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Notes:
None.
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[S:0 - KCP, 1917] - Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - Works - The Coliseum (ed. K. Campbell, 1917)