The frailty of beauty

That strange capacity
of beauty irresistible
is also, the more beautiful,
the more extremely vulnerable
and, in fact, the very essence
of that delicacy called frailty.
But that charm holds sway
and higher power over men
than they can possibly get mobilized
by armies, fortunes and politics,
which are all reduced to nothing
in comparison with sacred beauty.
Thus alone that beauty can redeem the world
when all world powers else must fail.