Methought on Corinth's citadel
I gazed far down the strand,
Where, twice a thousand feet below,
The fair fleets sail and land;
And half across the Isthmian plain
The mountain shadows chase
And clasp a thousand domes and towers
Within their close embrace.
I looked; and lo, three other forms
Beside me on the wall:
Priscilla one, Aquila one,
And one the saintly Paul.
They stood and viewed the stately ships
Come back from Tyre and Rome,
The black-prowed argosies from Ind
Bear gold and spices home;
I saw them scan the western shores
Where high Parnassus shines,
Above the Delphian oracles,
Above the Delphian shrines.
" O Christ, be pitiful to these! "
They said, both one and all:
Priscilla one, Aquila one,
And one the saintly Paul
Unto the East I saw them turn,
And gaze with wondering eyes,
Where, gleaming on the Athenian heights,
Minerva's altars rise;
Where, on the bay, fair Athens lifts
Her temples to the sun,
And, thither pointing, Paul relates
The mighty works there done;
How on the summit of Mars' Hill,
Beneath Minerva's throne,
He mocked the wrath of all the gods,
Proclaiming One UNKNOWN .
They bowed their heads and blessed His name
Who loves both great and small:
Priscilla one, Aquila one,
And one the saintly Paul.
Below us the Saronic gulf
Lay dimpling in the sun,
Her fertile islands reaching down
Unto the fair Colonne;
To right of us Lepanto laughs
Beside the Sicyon shore;
And all between, the olive yards,
And vineyards purpling o'er,
And lemon groves, and citron,
And orange rows and corn,
And cyprus for the Isthmian crowns
Of heroes newly born.
" It is a plenteous land and fair, "
They spake, both one and all:
Priscilla one, Aquila one,
And one the saintly Paul.
There, Neptune's mighty colonnades
Above the Stadium rise,
Where Greece sends down her knightliest youths
To struggle for the prize;
And there, upreaching step by step,
The Theatre of stone,
And hugging close the Isthmic wall
The tower of Palaemon.
It is a goodly sight, I ween,
This city of two seas —
A queen between two lovers set —
The citadel of Greece.
" May Christ pour out his spirit here, "
They prayed, both one and all:
Priscilla one, Aquila one,
And one the saintly Paul.
Then spake the great Apostle:
" Across yon liquid blue
There rise as glorious cities
As any now we view;
As precious to that Saviour
Who said, " Go, tell of me
Unto all climes and kingdoms
In lands beyond the sea."
Now ye, most wise Priscilla,
And Aquila, go with me;
That even there at Ephesus,
As here at Corinth, we
May name the name of Jesus
Where great Diana's shrined,
Till the ashes of her temples
Shall be scattered with the wind. "
I heard the twain take up their vows
Unto the solemn call:
Priscilla one, Aquila one,
And one the saintly Paul.
And now from busy Cenchrea,
Fair Corinth's strong right arm,
Where Phebe and the brethren give
A God-speed, sad but warm, —
Across the Ægean waters blue,
Among her thousand isles,
They sail, and sail, until beyond
The Ephesian harbor smiles
Diana's glittering colonnade
Reflecting back the sun
From capitols and cornices
And friezes one by one.
And there from house to house they taught
The people one and all:
Priscilla one, Aquila one,
And one the saintly Paul.
O Paul! beneath thy rods and stripes,
In perils on the deep,
In perils from an hundred ills
That slumber not nor sleep,
In weariness and watchings,
In hungerings oft, and thirst,
In nakedness, in agony,
From unbelief accursed,
How blessed in such love to share,
Such home thy home to call, —
Priscilla one, Aquila one,
And one the saintly Paul.
God only knoweth all they wrought
In that Ephesian town —
Priscilla and Aquila
Beloved in renown;
Now toiling on with busy hands,
Now jeopardizing all,
Instructors of Apollos,
Co-laborers with Paul;
God only knoweth how at Rome
They cheered the martyr's heart,
Now ready to be offered
In that clamorous Roman mart.
Methinks the three together walked
Beyond that city's wall:
Priscilla one, Aquila one,
And one the saintly Paul.
At Rome, upon the Ostian way
Caius Cestius' tomb
Still lifts its lofty cenotaph
Above the surrounding gloom;
And thence down all the centuries
Has come the Martyr's plea:
" Priscilla greet, Aquila greet,
Ye churches yet to be! "
They bore his body thence with tears,
When he had suffered all:
Priscilla one, Aquila one, —
And one the martyred Paul.
Again on Corinth's mount I stand
And view the lands below:
The idol temples in the dust
Are crumbled long ago;
And where the three together stood
A thousand thousand stand,
And sail and sail to golden shores
Beyond the Ephesian strand.
But still we hear the voice of Paul
Unto all people call:
" Priscilla greet, Aquila greet,
That Christ be all in all. "
I gazed far down the strand,
Where, twice a thousand feet below,
The fair fleets sail and land;
And half across the Isthmian plain
The mountain shadows chase
And clasp a thousand domes and towers
Within their close embrace.
I looked; and lo, three other forms
Beside me on the wall:
Priscilla one, Aquila one,
And one the saintly Paul.
They stood and viewed the stately ships
Come back from Tyre and Rome,
The black-prowed argosies from Ind
Bear gold and spices home;
I saw them scan the western shores
Where high Parnassus shines,
Above the Delphian oracles,
Above the Delphian shrines.
" O Christ, be pitiful to these! "
They said, both one and all:
Priscilla one, Aquila one,
And one the saintly Paul
Unto the East I saw them turn,
And gaze with wondering eyes,
Where, gleaming on the Athenian heights,
Minerva's altars rise;
Where, on the bay, fair Athens lifts
Her temples to the sun,
And, thither pointing, Paul relates
The mighty works there done;
How on the summit of Mars' Hill,
Beneath Minerva's throne,
He mocked the wrath of all the gods,
Proclaiming One UNKNOWN .
They bowed their heads and blessed His name
Who loves both great and small:
Priscilla one, Aquila one,
And one the saintly Paul.
Below us the Saronic gulf
Lay dimpling in the sun,
Her fertile islands reaching down
Unto the fair Colonne;
To right of us Lepanto laughs
Beside the Sicyon shore;
And all between, the olive yards,
And vineyards purpling o'er,
And lemon groves, and citron,
And orange rows and corn,
And cyprus for the Isthmian crowns
Of heroes newly born.
" It is a plenteous land and fair, "
They spake, both one and all:
Priscilla one, Aquila one,
And one the saintly Paul.
There, Neptune's mighty colonnades
Above the Stadium rise,
Where Greece sends down her knightliest youths
To struggle for the prize;
And there, upreaching step by step,
The Theatre of stone,
And hugging close the Isthmic wall
The tower of Palaemon.
It is a goodly sight, I ween,
This city of two seas —
A queen between two lovers set —
The citadel of Greece.
" May Christ pour out his spirit here, "
They prayed, both one and all:
Priscilla one, Aquila one,
And one the saintly Paul.
Then spake the great Apostle:
" Across yon liquid blue
There rise as glorious cities
As any now we view;
As precious to that Saviour
Who said, " Go, tell of me
Unto all climes and kingdoms
In lands beyond the sea."
Now ye, most wise Priscilla,
And Aquila, go with me;
That even there at Ephesus,
As here at Corinth, we
May name the name of Jesus
Where great Diana's shrined,
Till the ashes of her temples
Shall be scattered with the wind. "
I heard the twain take up their vows
Unto the solemn call:
Priscilla one, Aquila one,
And one the saintly Paul.
And now from busy Cenchrea,
Fair Corinth's strong right arm,
Where Phebe and the brethren give
A God-speed, sad but warm, —
Across the Ægean waters blue,
Among her thousand isles,
They sail, and sail, until beyond
The Ephesian harbor smiles
Diana's glittering colonnade
Reflecting back the sun
From capitols and cornices
And friezes one by one.
And there from house to house they taught
The people one and all:
Priscilla one, Aquila one,
And one the saintly Paul.
O Paul! beneath thy rods and stripes,
In perils on the deep,
In perils from an hundred ills
That slumber not nor sleep,
In weariness and watchings,
In hungerings oft, and thirst,
In nakedness, in agony,
From unbelief accursed,
How blessed in such love to share,
Such home thy home to call, —
Priscilla one, Aquila one,
And one the saintly Paul.
God only knoweth all they wrought
In that Ephesian town —
Priscilla and Aquila
Beloved in renown;
Now toiling on with busy hands,
Now jeopardizing all,
Instructors of Apollos,
Co-laborers with Paul;
God only knoweth how at Rome
They cheered the martyr's heart,
Now ready to be offered
In that clamorous Roman mart.
Methinks the three together walked
Beyond that city's wall:
Priscilla one, Aquila one,
And one the saintly Paul.
At Rome, upon the Ostian way
Caius Cestius' tomb
Still lifts its lofty cenotaph
Above the surrounding gloom;
And thence down all the centuries
Has come the Martyr's plea:
" Priscilla greet, Aquila greet,
Ye churches yet to be! "
They bore his body thence with tears,
When he had suffered all:
Priscilla one, Aquila one, —
And one the martyred Paul.
Again on Corinth's mount I stand
And view the lands below:
The idol temples in the dust
Are crumbled long ago;
And where the three together stood
A thousand thousand stand,
And sail and sail to golden shores
Beyond the Ephesian strand.
But still we hear the voice of Paul
Unto all people call:
" Priscilla greet, Aquila greet,
That Christ be all in all. "