Nine sisters, beautiful in form and face, <br />Came from their convent on the shining heights <br />Of Pierus, the mountain of delights, <br />To dwell among the people at its base. <br />Then seemed the world to change. All time and space, <br />Splendor of cloudless days and starry nights, <br />And men and manners, and all sounds and sights, <br />Had a new meaning, a diviner grace. <br />Proud were these sisters, but were not too proud <br />To teach in schools of little country towns <br />Science and song, and all the arts that please; <br />So that while housewives span, and farmers ploughed, <br />Their comely daughters, clad in homespun gowns, <br />Learned the sweet songs of the Pierides.<br /><br />Henry Wadsworth Longfellow<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-descent-of-the-muses/
