Note 335 — CANTO THE THIRD.
Reading edition
[Compare Herodotus, i. 131, Οἱ δὲ νομίζουσι Διἰ μὲν, ἐπὶ τὰ ὑψηλότατα τῶν οὐρέων ἀναβαίνοντες θυσίας ἕρδειν τὸν κύκλον πάντα τοῦ ὐρανο Δία καλέοντες. Perhaps, however, "early Persian" was suggested by a passage in "that drowsy, frowsy poem, The Excursion"—
"The Persian—zealous to reject Altar and image and the inclusive walls And roofs and temples built by human hands— To loftiest heights ascending, from their tops With myrtle-wreathed tiara on his brow, Presented sacrifice to moon and stars."
The Excursion, iv. (The Works of Wordsworth, 1889, p. 461).]