Hemans Miscellaneous Poetry 7/The Hebe of Canova

For other versions of this work, see The Hebe of Canova.
Ippolito Pindemonte2976459Hemans Miscellaneous Poetry 7The Hebe of Canova1833Felicia Hemans

The Athenæum, 1833, page 385


PINDEMONTE'S SONNET ON THE HEBE OF CANOVA.

TRANSLATED BY MRS. HEMANS.


Dove per te, celeste ancella, or vassi?

Whither, celestial maid, so fast away?
What lures thee from the banquet of the skies?
How canst thou leave thy native realms of day,
For this low sphere, this vale of clouds and sighs?
—O thou, Canova! soaring high above
Italian art,—with Grecian magic vying!
We knew thy marble glowed with life and love,
But who had seen the image footsteps flying?
—Here to each eye the wind seems gently playing
With the light vest, its wavy folds arraying
In many a line of undulating grace;
While Nature, ne'er her mighty laws suspending,
Stands, before marble thus with motion blending,
One moment lost in thought, its hidden cause to trace.