Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Italy: Vols. XI–XIII. 1876–79.
The Grecian Temples at Pæstum
By Rossiter W. Raymond (18401918)I
And mused on those strange men of old,
Whose dark religion could infold
So many gods, and yet no God!
And had they human souls indeed,
Or did the sternness of their creed
Frown their faint spirits into stone?
I hear the hum of bees arise,
And lizards dart, with mystic eyes,
That shrine the secret of the place!
Of lovely worship without love;
And yet the warm, deep heaven above
Whispers a softer tale instead!