SHELLEY AND THE PURGATORY OF ST. PATRICK.
It will be of interest to quote the following passage from one of
Shelley's best known works, "The Cenci," of which he himself says: "An
idea in this speech was suggested by a most sublime passage in 'El
Purgatorio de San Patricio,' of Calderon."
"But I remember, Two miles on this side of the fort, the road Crosses a deep ravine; 'tis rough and narrow, And winds with short turns down the precipice; And in its depths there is a mighty rock Which has, from unimaginable years, Sustained itself with terror and with toil Over the gulf, and with the agony With which it clings seems slowly coming down; Even as a wretched soul, hour after hour, Clings to the mass of life; yet clinging, leans; And leaning, makes more dark the dread abyss In which it fears to fall; beneath this crag Huge as despair, as if in weariness, The melancholy mountain yawns."