79. Relics of Saints

"He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; for all
live unto Him."

"The Fathers are in dust, yet live to God:"—
So says the Truth; as if the motionless clay
Still held the seeds of life beneath the sod,
Smouldering and struggling till the judgment- — day.

And hence we learn with reverence to esteem
Of these frail houses, though the grave confines;
Sophist may urge his cunning tests, and deem
That they are earth;—but they are heavenly — shrines.

Palermo.
June 1, 1833.