FRAGMENT FROM THE 'MONK OF ATHOS' Beside the confines of the Aegean main, Where northward Macedonia bounds the flood, And views opposed the Asiatic plain, Where once the pride of lofty Ilion stood, Like the great Father of the giant brood, With lowering port majestic Athos stands, Crown'd with the verdure of eternal wood, As yet unspoil'd by sacrilegious hands, And throws his mighty shade o'er seas and distant lands. And deep embosom'd in his shady groves Full many a convent rears its glittering spire, Mid scenes where Heavenly Contemplation loves To kindle in her soul her hallow'd fire, Where air and sea with rocks and woods conspire To breathe a sweet religious calm around, Weaning the thoughts from every low desire, And the wild waves that break with murmuring sound Along the rocky shore proclaim it holy ground. Sequester'd shades where Piety has given A quiet refuge from each earthly care, Whence the rapt spirit may ascend to Heaven! Oh, ye condemn'd the ills of life to bear! As with advancing age your woes increase, What bliss amidst these solitudes to share The happy foretaste of eternal Peace, Till Heaven in mercy bids your pain and sorrows cease. — Lord George Gordon Byron (1788-1824) [First published in Noel's Life of Lord Byron, 1890 The manuscript was given to the author of the Life by S. McCalmont Hill, who inherited it from his great-grandfather, Robert Dallas. The date and occasion of the poem are unknown.] Paul E. More (Ed.), The Complete Poetical Works of Byron Cambridge Edition, Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, 1905, p. 161 Mount Athos: Perceptions of the Holy Mountain