, Very God! See me, see what thou prayest!

* * * * *

O Eyes of God! O Head!
My strength of soul is fled.
Gone is heart's force, rebuked is mind's desire!
When I behold Thee so,
With awful brows a-glow,
With burning glance, and lips lighted by fire,
Fierce as those flames which shall
Consume, at close of all,
Earth, Heaven!

* * * * *

God is it I did see,
This unknown marvel of Thy Form! but fear
Mingles with joy! Retake,
Dear Lord! for pity's sake,
Thine earthly shape, which earthly eyes may bear!
--("The Song Celestial.")
(Sir Edwin Arnold's translation.)

MIN. Let us go; and we will reason by the way.

SEV. As you please.

=Fifth Dialogue=.

_Interlocutors_:

LAODOMIA. GIULIA.

LAO. Some other time, oh my sister, thou wilt hear what happened to
those nine blind men, who were at first nine most beautiful and amorous
youths, who being so inspired by the loveliness of your face, and having
no hope of receiving the reward of their love, and fearing that such
despair would reduce them to final ruin, went away from the happy
Campanian country, and of one accord, those who at first were rivals for
your beauty, swore not to separate until they had tried in all possible
ways to find something more beautiful than you or at least equal to you;
besides which, that they might discover that mercy and pity which they
could not find in your breast armed with pride; for they believed this
was the only remedy which could bring them out of that cruel captivity.
The third day after their solemn departure, as they were passing by the
Circean mount, it pleased them to go and see those antiquities, the
cave and fane of that goddess. When they were come there, the majesty of
the solitary place, the high, storm-beaten rocks, the murmur of the sea
waves which break amongst those caves, and many other circumstances of
the locality and the season combined, made them feel inspired; and one
of them I will tell thee, more bold than the others, spoke these words:
"Oh might it please heaven that in these days, as in the past more happy
ages, some wise Circe might make herself present who, with plants and
minerals working her incantations, would be able to curb nature. I
should believe that she, however proud, would surely be pitiful un