There Is A Temple At Karnak That I Love, And I Scarcely Know Why I
Care For It So Much.
It is on the right of the solitary lotus column
before you come to the terrific hall of Seti.
Some people pass it by,
having but little time, and being hypnotized, it seems, by the more
astounding ruin that lies beyond it. And perhaps it would be well, on
a first visit, to enter it last; to let its influence be the final one
to rest upon your spirit. This is the temple of Rameses III., a brown
place of calm and retirement, an ineffable place of peace. Yes, though
the birds love it and fill it often with their voices, it is a
sanctuary of peace. Upon the floor the soft sand lies, placing silence
beneath your footsteps. The pale brown of walls and columns, almost
yellow in the sunshine, is delicate and soothing, and inclines the
heart to calm. Delicious, suggestive of a beautiful tapestry, rich and
ornate, yet always quiet, are the brown reliefs upon the stone. What
are they? Does it matter? They soften the walls, make them more
personal, more tender. That surely is their mission. This temple holds
for me a spell. As soon as I enter it, I feel the touch of the lotus,
as if an invisible and kindly hand swept a blossom lightly across my
face and downward to my heart. This courtyard, these small chambers
beyond it, that last doorway framing a lovely darkness, soothe me even
more than the terra-cotta hermitages of the Certosa of Pavia.
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