| Alfred H. Miles, ed. The Sacred Poets of the Nineteenth Century. 1907. | | | | II. “‘Make us a god,’ said man” | | By William Johnson Fox (1786–1864) |
| | | “MAKE us a god,” said man; | |
| Power first the voice obeyed; | |
| And soon a monstrous form | |
| Its worshippers dismayed; | |
| Uncouth and huge, by nations rude adored, | 5 |
| With savage rites and sacrifice abhorred. | |
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| “Make us a god,” said man; | |
| Art next the voice obeyed; | |
| Lovely, serene, and grand, | |
| Uprose the Athenian maid; | 10 |
| The perfect statue, Greece with wreathèd brows, | |
| Adores in festal rites and lyric vows. | |
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| “Make us a god,” said man: | |
| Religion followed Art, | |
| And answered, “Look within; | 15 |
| God is in thine own heart— | |
| His noblest image there, and holiest shrine, | |
| Silent revere—and be thyself divine.” | | | | |
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