A truth which through our being then doth melt,

And purifies from self; it is a tone

The soul and source of music, which makes known

Eternal harmony, and sheds a charm

Like to the fabled Cytherea’s zone,

Binding all things with beauty; ’twould disarm

The specter Death, had he substantial power to harm.

Not vainly did the early Persian make

His altar the high places and the peak

Of earth o’ergazing mountains, and thus take