Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Italy: Vols. XI–XIII. 1876–79.
The Tomb of Sannazzaro
By Benedetto Menzini (1646–1704)Translated by Capel Lofft
’T
In veneration! rare shall ye behold
Such splendid honors light on mortal mold!
The sculptured myrtle, sacred laurel, draws
To the great votary of Phœbean laws
The charmed remembrance! On the marble scrolled
Foliage and fruits intwine in graceful fold:
And central, as a goddess, Naples awes.
On one side nets, extended on the sand,
And in the distance a small bark, appear:
Flutes on the other, and a sylvan band.
Nymphs of the groves, and of the waters clear,
A name to fill, like his, the sea and land
Hath Rome or Athens wafted to your ear?