Classic Poem

Go , little book, to greet my friend for me,
Do reverence in Proculus' bright halls;
And if thou ask the way, I'll tell it thee —
Pass Castor's shrine and Vesta's ancient walls,
That guard the Virgin Goddess' sacred home;
And thence a reverent temple thou shalt see
Fair with the statues of the Lord of Rome.

Near is the vast Colossus decked with rays
Wherewith the Rhodian marvel may not vie;
Yet hasten on and tarry not to gaze,
And pass the shrine of gay Lyaeus by
Hard by the fane of Cybele, aglow
With Corybants, in colours all ablaze
Stands the fair house and lofty portico.

Go near thereto, 'tis never barred with pride,
But Phoebus and the muse it holdeth dear;
To these its door is ever opened wide.
But, if 'tis asked why Martial is not here,
Say " He doth weave thy praises into song
And may not spare an hour to aught beside,
For, had he come, his verse had suffered wrong."