On the Outskirts of Antioch
We in Antioch were astonished when we heard
what Julian was up to now.
Apollo had made things clear to him at Daphni:
he didn't want to give an oracle (as though we cared!),
he didn't intend to speak prophetically, unless
his temple at Daphni was purified first.
The nearby dead, he declared, got on his nerves.
There are many tombs at Daphni.
One of those buried there
was the triumphant and holy martyr Vavylas,
wonder and glory of our church.
It was him the false god hinted at, him he feared.
As long as he felt him near he didn't dare
pronounce his oracle: not a murmur.
(The false gods are terrified of our martyrs.)
Unholy Julian got worked up,
lost his temper and shouted: "Raise him, carry him out,
take him away immediately, this Vavylas.
You there, do you hear? He gets on Apollo's nerves.
Grab him, raise him at once,
dig him out, take him away, throw him out,
take him wherever you want. This isn't a joke.
Apollo said the temple has to be purified."
We took it, the holy relic, and carried it elsewhere.
We took it, we carried it away in love and in honor.
And hasn't the temple done brilliantly since!
In no time at all a colossal fire
broke out, a terrible fire,
and both the temple and Apollo burned to nothing.
Ashes the idol: dirt to be swept away.
Julian exploded, and he spread it around—
what else could he do?—that we, the Christians,
had set the fire. Let him say so.
It hasn't been proved. Let him say so.
The essential thing is—he exploded.
poem by Constantine P. Cavafy
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Related quotes
Webster Ford
Do you remember, O Delphic Apollo,
The sunset hour by the river, when Mickey M'Grew
Cried, "There's a ghost," and I, "It's Delphic Apollo";
And the son of the banker derided us, saying, "It's light
By the flags at the water's edge, you half-witted fools."
And from thence, as the wearisome years rolled on, long after
Poor Mickey fell down in the water tower to his death
Down, down, through bellowing darkness, I carried
The vision which perished with him like a rocket which falls
And quenches its light in earth, and hid it for fear
Of the son of the banker, calling on Plutus to save me?
Avenged were you for the shame of a fearful heart,
Who left me alone till I saw you again in an hour
When I seemed to be turned to a tree with trunk and branches
Growing indurate, turning to stone, yet burgeoning
In laurel leaves, in hosts of lambent laurel,
Quivering, fluttering, shrinking, fighting the numbness
Creeping into their veins from the dying trunk and branches!
'Tis vain, O youth, to fly the call of Apollo.
Fling yourselves in the fire, die with a song of spring,
If die you must in the spring. For none shall look
On the face of Apollo and live, and choose you must
'Twixt death in the flame and death after years of sorrow,
Rooted fast in the earth, feeling the grisly hand,
Not so much in the trunk as in the terrible numbness
Creeping up to the laurel leaves that never cease
To flourish until you fall. O leaves of me
Too sere for coronal wreaths, and fit alone
For urns of memory, treasured, perhaps, as themes
For hearts heroic, fearless singers and livers --
Delphic Apollo.
poem by Edgar Lee Masters
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Apollo Laughs
'APOLLO laughs,' the proverb tells,
Far echo of old oracles,
A Delphic waif, —'Once in the year,
Apollo laughs.' O laughter clear
As sunshine, blithe as golden bells!
What mortal folly parallels
Olympian jest and so impels
To mirth till Heaven's bright charioteer,
Apollo, laughs?
'Tis when the annual critic knells
The death of poetry, while swells
Some faint, fresh wood-note, pioneer
Of music earth shall thrill to hear.
Then at Apollo's infidels
Apollo laughs.
poem by Katharine Lee Bates
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Today... 'The Cornerstone
Rejected of men for being too good
we crucified you on a cross of wood
But Your Father had other plans for You
for the temple was to be built anew
A building not made of rock or of stone
but one made up of Christians alone
Built of people saved by the grace of God
the Cornerstone is Jesus Christ the Lord
A great temple not built by human skill
but made up of those who follow God's will
The living temple of Your body Lord
because its' builder and maker is God
To build it the old temple had to go
through death so that You could raise it up so.
This is marvellous in our sight O Lord
One in Christ we are the temple of God.
(see also the additional information in the Poet's notes box below)
On The Conflagration Of The Po
Why is, and whence, the Po in flames? and why
In consternation do its borderers raise
Imploring hands to mortal men around
And Gods above? Are Gods implacable?
Or men bereft of sight at such a blaze?
Apollo hath no more a son; his breath
Is stifled, and smoke only fills the air
Where once was fire, and men to men were true.
Fierce ones and faithless now approach the waste,
Who look transversely with an evil eye,
And scowl and threaten, and uplift the sword,
And, if they lower it, 'tis but to grasp more
And more of amber left on either bank. Apollo hates the land he once so loved,
Nor swan is seen nor nightingale is heard
Nigh the dead river and affrighted vale,
For every Nymph shed there incessant tears,
And into amber hardened all they shed.
poem by Walter Savage Landor
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Purified
Verse1
Where the angels see
You are praised as You should be.
But how can I express
My yearning for Your Holiness.
May it be (that)
Chorus
I will open my heart
Search me in the deepest part.
And I will stand in cleansing fire,
By You, purified,
By You I'm purified.
Verse 2
Savior of my soul
To your strength I yield control.
Purge me of my stain
Sin will lose it's mortal reign.
Make me free (and)
Chorus
I will open my heart
Search me in the deepest part.
And I will stand in cleansing fire,
By You, purified,
By You I'm purified.
Bridge
You are Holy
You are Holy
Yes You are Holy
You are Holy
You are Holy
Holy
Chorus
I will open my heart
Search me in the deepest part.
And I will stand in cleansing fire,
By You, purified,
By You I'm purified.
Bridge
You are Holy
You are Holy
Yes You are Holy
You are Holy
You are Holy
Holy
song performed by by Michael W. Smith
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Body Is A Temple
They say your body is a temple, and I found
This to be true, for in my temple I found you.
I felt your soul surround me like a mist
On a foggy day, and right then I knew
That in my heart forever you would stay.
My body is a temple and
You are the foundation
you control my heart
And every sensation.
Now this temple had become a temple of two
For it belonged to me and you.
We built this temple for all the world to see
That thru love this is the way it should be.
When you’ve shared the most precious
Moments that GOD did provide
When not on all topics did we see eye to eye
When in sickness you was the comforting stone
And you know that you’re not alone.
When that temple seems to be falling apart
And you‘ve lost all hope in your heart.
When it seems like you have no other place to go
And your thoughts are moving slow
That is when you turn to the lord above
To show you how to rekindle that love.
The body is a temple and in it I found you
And with your strength I know what I have to do.
I will rebuild this temple with the love of my life
For you are my partner, my lover, my wife.
poem by Louis Rams
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He forgot—and I—remembered
203
He forgot—and I—remembered—
'Twas an everyday affair—
Long ago as Christ and Peter—
"Warmed them" at the "Temple fire."
"Thou wert with him"—quoth "the Damsel"?
"No"—said Peter, 'twasn't me—
Jesus merely "looked" at Peter—
Could I do aught else—to Thee?
poem by Emily Dickinson
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Temple Of Love
With the fire from the fireworks up above me
With a gun for a lover and a shot for the pain at hand
You run for cover in the temple of love
You run for another, but still the same
For the wind will blow my name across this land
In the temple of love you hide together
Believing pain and fear outside
But someone near you rides the weather
And the tears he cried will rain on
Walls as wide as lovers eyes
In the temple of love: shine like thunder
In the temple of love: cry like rain
In the temple of love: hear my calling
In the temple of love: hear my name
And the devil in a black dress watches over
My guardian angel walks away
Life is short and love is always over in the morning
Black wind come carry me far away
With the sunlight died and night above me
With a gun for a lover and a shot for the pain inside
You run for cover in the temple of love
You run for another, its all the same
For the wind will blow and throw your walls aside
With the fire from the fireworks up above me
With a gun for a lover and a shot for the pain
You run for cover in the temple of love
I shine like thunder, cry like rain
And the temple of love grows old and strong
But the wind blows stronger, cold and long
And the temple of love will fall before this
Black wind calls my name to you no more
In the black sky thunder sweeping under
Ground and over water sounds of
Crying weeping will not save your
Faith for bricks and dreams for mortar
All your prayers must seem as nothing
Ninety-six below the wave when
Stone is dust and only air remains
In the temple of love: shine like thunder
In the temple of love: cry like rain
In the temple of love: hear the calling
And the temple of love is falling
Down
In the temple of love: shine like thunder
In the temple of love: cry like rain
In the temple of love: hear my calling
In the temple of love: hear my name
In the black sky thunder sweeping under
Ground and over water sounds of
Crying weeping will not save your
Faith for bricks and dreams for mortar
All your prayers must seem as nothing
Ninety-six below the wave when
Stone is dust and air remains the
Only haven you can trust, and the
Devil in a black dress watches over
My guardian angel walks away
With a gun for a lover and a shot for the pain
You run for cover in the temple of love
I shine like thunder, cry like rain
And the temple of love grows old and strong
But the wind blows stronger, cold and long
And the temple of love will fall before this
Black wind calls my name to you no more
In the temple of love you hide together
Believing pain and fear outside
But someone near you rides the weather
And the tears he cried will rain on
Walls as wide as lovers eyes
In the temple of love: shine like thunder
In the temple of love: cry like rain
In the temple of love: hear the calling
And the temple of love is falling
Down
song performed by by H.i.m. (his Infernal Majesty)
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Temple Of Love
With the fire from the fireworks up above me
With a gun for a lover and a shot for the pain at hand
You run for cover in the temple of love
You run for another, but still the same
For the wind will blow my name across this land
In the temple of love you hide together
Believing pain and fear outside
But someone near you rides the weather
And the tears he cried will rain on
Walls as wide as lovers' eyes
In the temple of love: shine like thunder
In the temple of love: cry like rain
In the temple of love: hear my calling
In the temple of love: hear my name
And the devil in a black dress watches over
My guardian angel walks away
Life is short and love is always over in the morning
Black wind come carry me far away
With the sunlight died and night above me
With a gun for a lover and a shot for the pain inside
You run for cover in the temple of love
You run for another, it's all the same
For the wind will blow and throw your walls aside
With the fire from the fireworks up above me
With a gun for a lover and a shot for the pain
You run for cover in the temple of love
I shine like thunder, cry like rain
And the temple of love grows old and strong
But the wind blows stronger, cold and long
And the temple of love will fall before this
Black wind calls my name to you no more
In the black sky thunder sweeping under
Ground and over water sounds of
Crying weeping will not save your
Faith for bricks and dreams for mortar
All your prayers must seem as nothing
Ninety-six below the wave when
Stone is dust and only air remains
In the temple of love: shine like thunder
In the temple of love: cry like rain
In the temple of love: hear the calling
And the temple of love is falling
Down
In the temple of love: shine like thunder
In the temple of love: cry like rain
In the temple of love: hear my calling
In the temple of love: hear my name
In the black sky thunder sweeping under
Ground and over water sounds of
Crying weeping will not save your
Faith for bricks and dreams for mortar
All your prayers must seem as nothing
Ninety-six below the wave when
Stone is dust and air remains the
Only haven you can trust, and the
Devil in a black dress watches over
My guardian angel walks away
With a gun for a lover and a shot for the pain
You run for cover in the temple of love
I shine like thunder, cry like rain
And the temple of love grows old and strong
But the wind blows stronger, cold and long
And the temple of love will fall before this
Black wind calls my name to you no more
In the temple of love you hide together
Believing pain and fear outside
But someone near you rides the weather
And the tears he cried will rain on
Walls as wide as lovers' eyes
In the temple of love: shine like thunder
In the temple of love: cry like rain
In the temple of love: hear the calling
And the temple of love is falling
Down
song performed by by H.I.M.
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Apollonius Of Tyana In Rhodes
Apollonius was talking about
proper education and conduct with a young
man who was building a luxurious
house in Rhodes. "As for me" said the Tyanian
at last, "when I enter a temple
however small it may be, I very much prefer
to see a statue of ivory and gold
than a clay and vulgar one in a large temple".--
The "clay" and "vulgar"; the detestable:
that already some people (without enough training)
it deceives knavishly. The clay and vulgar.
poem by Constantine P. Cavafy
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Jugurtha
How cold are thy baths, Apollo!
Cried the African monarch, the splendid,
As down to his death in the hollow
Dark dungeons of Rome he descended,
Uncrowned, unthroned, unattended;
How cold are thy baths, Apollo!
How cold are thy baths, Apollo!
Cried the Poet, unknown, unbefriended,
As the vision, that lured him to follow,
With the mist and the darkness blended,
And the dream of his life was ended;
How cold are thy baths, Apollo!
poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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Ultima Thule: Jugurtha
How cold are thy baths, Apollo!
Cried the African monarch, the splendid,
As down to his death in the hollow
Dark dungeons of Rome he descended,
Uncrowned, unthroned, unattended;
How cold are thy baths, Apollo!
How cold are thy baths, Apollo!
Cried the Poet, unknown, unbefriended,
As the vision, that lured him to follow,
With the mist and the darkness blended,
And the dream of his life was ended;
How cold are thy baths, Apollo!
poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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The Inn of Apollo
Have you supped at the Inn of Apollo,
While the last light fades from the West?
Has the Lord of the Sun, at the world's end,
Poured you his ripest and best?
O, there's wine in that Inn of Apollo;
Wine, mellow and deep as the sunset,
With mirth in it, singing as loud
As the skylark sings in a high wind,
High over a crisp white cloud.
Have you laughed in that Inn of Apollo?
Was the whole world molten in music
At once, by the heat of that wine?
Did the stars and the tides and your own heart
Dance with the heavenly Nine?
For they dance in that Inn of Apollo.
Was their poetry croaked by the sages,
Or born in a whisper of wings?
For the music that masters the ages,
Be sure, is the music that sings!
Yes, they sing in that Inn of Apollo.
poem by Alfred Noyes
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Today... 'The Child Jesus
Led by the Spirit His parents had brought
The Child Jesus into the Temple court
The Temples' to the temple had come
To keep the law and the required custom
The glory of the Lord was there that day
In that building composed of earthly clay
Greater glory than in Solomon's reign
God into His temple had come again
Few expected Him to come in this way
‘Twas not at the request of men that pray
But to fulfil the law and pay the price
A pair of turtle doves as sacrifice
Simeon and Hannah were present there
And in prophecy began to declare
That Child in their arms was the Holy one
Born of God, His only Belovéd Son
As this great moment began to unfold
The world passed by too busy to behold
For this Child Jesus was to change the way
In which man has to come to God today
The veil of the temple was torn in two
It's now possible for man to pass through
That Child in the temple became a man
And died on the cross to fulfil God's plan
(see also the additional information in the Poet's notes box below)
The Veiled Statue At Sais
A youth, impelled by a burning thirst for knowledge
To roam to Sais, in fair Egypt's land,
The priesthood's secret learning to explore,
Had passed through many a grade with eager haste,
And still was hurrying on with fond impatience.
Scarce could the Hierophant impose a rein
Upon his headlong efforts. "What avails
A part without the whole?" the youth exclaimed;
"Can there be here a lesser or a greater?
The truth thou speak'st of, like mere earthly dross,
Is't but a sum that can be held by man
In larger or in smaller quantity?
Surely 'tis changeless, indivisible;
Deprive a harmony of but one note,
Deprive the rainbow of one single color,
And all that will remain is naught, so long
As that one color, that one note, is wanting."
While thus they converse held, they chanced to stand
Within the precincts of a lonely temple,
Where a veiled statue of gigantic size
The youth's attention caught. In wonderment
He turned him toward his guide, and asked him, saying,
"What form is that concealed beneath yon veil?"
"Truth!" was the answer. "What!" the young man cried,
"When I am striving after truth alone,
Seekest thou to hide that very truth from me?"
"The Godhead's self alone can answer thee,"
Replied the Hierophant. "'Let no rash mortal
Disturb this veil,' said he, 'till raised by me;
For he who dares with sacrilegious hand
To move the sacred mystic covering,
He'--said the Godhead--" "Well?"--"'will see the truth.'"
"Strangely oracular, indeed! And thou
Hast never ventured, then, to raise the veil?"
"I? Truly not! I never even felt
The least desire."--"Is't possible? If I
Were severed from the truth by nothing else
Than this thin gauze--" "And a divine decree,"
His guide broke in. "Far heavier than thou thinkest
Is this thin gauze, my son. Light to thy hand
It may be--but most weighty to thy conscience."
The youth now sought his home, absorbed in thought;
His burning wish to solve the mystery
Banished all sleep; upon his couch he lay,
Tossing his feverish limbs. When midnight came,
He rose, and toward the temple timidly,
Led by a mighty impulse, bent his way.
The walls he scaled, and soon one active spring
Landed the daring boy beneath the dome.
Behold him now, in utter solitude,
Welcomed by naught save fearful, deathlike silence,--
A silence which the echo of his steps
Alone disturbs, as through the vaults he paces.
Piercing an opening in the cupola,
The moon cast down her pale and silvery beams,
And, awful as a present deity,
Glittering amid the darkness of the pile,
In its long veil concealed, the statue stands.
With hesitating step, he now draws near--
His impious hand would fain remove the veil--
Sudden a burning chill assails his bones
And then an unseen arm repulses him.
"Unhappy one, what wouldst thou do?" Thus cries
A faithful voice within his trembling breast.
"Wouldst thou profanely violate the All-Holy?"
"'Tis true the oracle declared, 'Let none
Venture to raise the veil till raised by me.'
But did the oracle itself not add,
That he who did so would behold the truth?
Whate'er is hid behind, I'll raise the veil."
And then he shouted: "Yes! I will behold it!"
"Behold it!"
Repeats in mocking tone the distant echo.
He speaks, and, with the word, lifts up the veil.
Would you inquire what form there met his eye?
I know not,--but, when day appeared, the priests
Found him extended senseless, pale as death,
Before the pedestal of Isis' statue.
What had been seen and heard by him when there
He never would disclose, but from that hour
His happiness in life had fled forever,
And his deep sorrow soon conducted him
To an untimely grave. "Woe to that man,"
He warning said to every questioner,
"Woe to that man who wins the truth by guilt,
For truth so gained will ne'er reward its owner."
poem by Friedrich Schiller
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Salutations Salutations Salutations
Silent like the idol in the temple
Silently are they watching amidst sounds
No one knows that that idol
Keeps watching people and their minds.
Alike are they too sincerely observing
The people and their occurances
To put in a compendium of writing
To register the prevailing events
For so many so many years in history.
Good or bad, pleasant or dirty
Everything written, memory to memory refreshed
To cause an effect over the later masses
With an impact of don't from bad
'Do do' from good, so always
Themselves being good-hearted polite
With scholarly look shining with a halo
Ardent and sheen. God! Godly elite
To be declared as my 'Saraswati' and their Apollo.
Poets, ! Salutations! Salutations! Salutations!
poem by Indira Renganathan
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a poem written at the Taoist Temple in Cebu City a few days ago
the place is well trimmed
bushes with leaves well arranged
like the haircut of a soldier
the dragon guards the place
the one that does not spit fire
nothing to fear in this place of
worship this place of calm and
quiet where cameras are prohibited
but we all tread our steps towards
the holy and the divine that
unholy hour of our existences.
i was once here and there is
someone i cannot forget
the close friend i had who
clicked her camera who told
me to pose here and there only
to realize later that there was
no film.
oh, those were the younger years
that speak of lies
that gives nothing but false hopes
meanwhile, i am amazed at this
temple
a tip that tries to reach the clouds
telling us
though that we are less inferior.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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Caryatids
It could have been
the temple of Apollo,
more surely that of Athena
or maybe an even greater god
with female figures draped
in royal cloth somewhere in Sparta
supporting the entablature
dedicated to a god.
Set in rows like the porch
at the temple of Erechtheum
at the Acropolis, but facing out
as if every single one
was standing alone
carrying a frieze around the top,
carrying the weight of the world.
Dedication plastered on beautiful faces,
without joy or any other emotion
woman was making man
forming him in a ancient mould
and taking him to the heights
that he could reach.
Standing as the foundation,
carrying him from birth,
ever caring and nurturing
dedicated to help him rise
to where destiny demands.
poem by Gert Strydom
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Come, O King of the Lacedaimonians
Kratisiklia didn't deign to allow
the people to see her weeping and grieving:
she walked in dignity and in silence.
Her calm face betrayed nothing
of her sorrow and her agony.
But even so, for a moment she couldn't hold back:
before she went aboard the detestable ship for Alexandria
she took her son to Poseidon's temple,
and once they were alone
she embraced him tenderly and kissed him
(he was "in great distress," says Plutarch, "badly shaken").
But her strong character struggled through;
regaining her poise, the magnificent woman
said to Kleomenis: "Come, O King of the Lacedaimonians,
when we go outside
let no one see us weeping
or behaving in any way unworthy of Sparta.
At least this is still in our power;
what lies ahead is in the hands of the gods."
And she boarded the ship, going toward whatever lay "in the
hands of the gods."
poem by Constantine P. Cavafy
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Big Brother
Dont talk of dust and roses
Or should we powder our noses?
Dont live for last years capers
Give me steel, give me steel, give me pulses unreal
Hell build a glass asylum
With just a hint of mayhem
Hell build a better whirlpool
Well be living from sin, then we can really begin
Please savior, saviour, show us
Hear me, Im graphically yours
Someone to claim us, someone to follow
Someone to shame us, some brave apollo
Someone to fool us, someone like you
We want you big brother, big brother
I know you think youre awful square
But you made everyone and youve been every where
Lord, Id take an overdose if you knew whats going down
Someone to claim us, someone to follow
Someone to shame us, some brave apollo
Someone to fool us, someone like you
Someone to claim us, someone to follow
Someone to shame us, some brave apollo
Someone to fool, someone like you
Someone to claim us, someone to follow
Someone to shame us, some brave apollo
Someone to fool, someone like you
We want you big brother
song performed by by David Bowie
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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