From the Last Hill That Looks on Thy Once Holy Dome
From the Last Hill That Looks on Thy Once Holy Dome - meaning Summary
Witnessing a Lost Temple
Byron's poem records a speaker on a hill witnessing the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple by Roman conquerors. He recalls earlier evenings of reverent light and recognizes the damage done: flames, ruined worship, and captive hands. The speaker alternates grief and a desire for retribution with an ultimate assertion of faith, insisting that pagan powers cannot profane the true shrine and that devotion to the God of Israel endures despite exile.
Read Complete AnalysesI. From the last hill that looks on thy once holy dome, I beheld thee, Oh Sion! when rendered to Rome: ‘Twas thy last sun went down, and the flames of thy fall Flash’d back on the last glance I gave to thy wall. II. I look’d for thy temple, I look’d for my home, And forgot for a moment my bondage to come; I beheld but the death-fire that fed on thy fane, And the fast-fetter’d hands that made vengeance in vain. III. Oh many an eve, the high spot whence I gazed Had reflected the last beam of day as it blazed; While I stood on the height, and beheld the decline Of the rays from the mountain that shone on thy shrine. IV. And now on that mountain I stood on that day, But I marked not the twilight beam melting away; Oh! would that the lightning had glared in its stead, And the thunderbolt burst on the conqueror’s head! V. But the Gods of the Pagan shall never profane The shrine where Jehovah disdain’d not to reign; And scattered and scorn’d as thy people may be, Our worship, oh Father! is only for thee.
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