Lone ampitheatre ! Grey Coliseum !
    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
    Of weary pilgrimage, and burning thirst,
    (Thirst for the springs of love [lore] that in thee lie,)
    I kneel, an altered, and an humble man,
    Amid thy shadows, and so drink within
    My very soul thy grandeur, gloom, and glor
    Vastness ! and Age ! and Memories of Eld !
    Silence and Desolation! and dim Night!
    Gaunt vestibules! and phantom-peopled aisles !
    I feel ye now: I feel ye in your strength!
    O spells more sure then [than] e'er Judæan king
    Taught in the gardens of Gethsemane !
    O charms more potent than the rapt Chaldee
    Ever drew down from out the quiet stars !