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The following text is from Narcíso Tondreau's 1898 poem "Yesterday and To-Day" (translated by Agnes Blake Poor in 1918). The poem is about an old statue of the Greek goddess Venus, which now lies on the ground in a state of disrepair.
How long ago, by summer breezes fanned,
Here stood the newborn Venus, fresh and fair;
All palpitating from the master's hand,
The last touch of his chisel lingering there.
Just here, where human hand has surely wrought
"And surely this shall last!" he proudly thought;
"Fixed in immortal marble is my fame!"
Some crumbling letters may have spelled his name
How long ago, by summer breezes fanned,
Here stood the newborn Venus, fresh and fair;
All palpitating from the master's hand,
The last touch of his chisel lingering there.
Just here, where human hand has surely wrought
"And surely this shall last!" he proudly thought;
"Fixed in immortal marble is my fame!"
Some crumbling letters may have spelled his name