That intelligent lizard
knows more of the place than I do. To him
all this is a city still complete,
its every fissure leads
into sunlit avenue, shadowy retreat.
I approve of his ignorance of archeology:
I, too, cannot read a ruin with ease.
For him, of course, the question does not arise.
What Greece lacks is buildings that are entire.
Not those drab towns or these chipped remains,
It is architecture that I admire.
A true building builds you up as you look at it.
The pleasures of ruins are not infinite.

—Charles Tomlinson