Note 31 — Early Poems (continued 2)

The statue of Memnon near Thebes in Egypt when first struck by the rays of the rising sun is said to have become vocal, to have emitted responsive sounds. See for an account of this Pausanias, i., 42; Tacitus, Annals, ii., 61; and Juvenal, Sat., xv., 5: “Dimidio magicæ resonant ubi Memnone Chordæ,” and compare Akenside’s verses, Plea. of Imag., i., 109-113:— Old Memnon’s image, long renown’d By fabling Nilus: to the quivering touch Of Titan’s ray, with each repulsive string Consenting, sounded thro’ the warbling air Unbidden strains.