Written At Florence, 1866: <br /> <br /> <br />Since Sovereign Nature, at the happy best, <br />Is rightful and sole paragon of Art, <br />Who, tho' she but in part, and part by part, <br />Paints, carves, or sings the whole, is still possest <br />By thee, all thee, oh somewhere unconfest <br />Apollo! in the worlds of men who art <br />A man, and, with a human body and heart, <br />Lookest her visible truths, and livest the rest; <br />Surely that strategy was well design'd <br />Which, laying siege to Art's proud Capital, <br />Armed not, against her matchless pow'rs-that-be, <br />Music, Painting, Sculpture, Poetry, <br />But sent a living womanhood of all <br />To queen, by their own laws, the masters of mankind.<br /><br />Sydney Thompson Dobell<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/to-an-american-embassy/
