Beyond all time, all space and pure conception,
The vernal waters then will start to flow,
When Romans and Chaldeans rise from dust and
Through labyrinths of thoughts and years ago...
But Roman cohorts in the Albion\'s valley
Could never conquer Hadrian’s stone wall,
And though their marching steps were strict and steady,
They failed to tame the Celts’ impending squall...
But if we look with no emotional blindness,
Which fills the canvas of the truths we know,
Then Hugo Grotius with his sudden kindness
(With charts or stars, or with a higher guide\'s bliss)
Can solve for us this history\'s tableau...
And strange accord of diplomatic greeting,
And civil wars that flash with sudden gleam,
Within the lines that sound so songlike, fleeting,
Will pour as if into a virgin stream...
And then Chaldeans, Romans will awaken,
And mournful choir of Jews will start to sing,
Of how the ancient thoughts, by time unshaken,
Can end the endless feud and solace bring...
What is this ceaseless poem\'s song and meaning?
Why have the rhymes and dreams awoken now?
And why the image of a virgin, gleaming,
Acquires magic traits beneath her brow...
Then all the disputes will become but ashes,
And hide away beneath the holy wings,
Perchance because the faith, in quiet flashes,
Is where the source of inspiration springs...