The Greek Slave
'THE GREEK SLAVE.
'Naked, yet clothed with chastity, She stands;And as a shield throws back the sun's hot rays,Her modest mieu repels each vulgar gaze.Her inborn purity of soul demandsFreedom from touch of sacrilegious hands,And homage of pure thoughts. Call her not Slave;Her soul commands what servitude would crave,Nor feels the pressure of those iron bandsClasping her limbs. O! god-like power of Art!—Beneath whose touch the spirit's inward strifeReveals itself—even as earth's tides obeyThe influence of the moon, so dost thou swayThe deep and passionate waters of the heart,R. S. C.For the unconscious marble throbs with life!'
September, 1847.