(for Cyril Connolly)
The piers are pummelled by the waves;
In a lonely field the rain
Lashes an abandoned train;
Outlaws fill the mountain caves.
Fantastic grow the evening gowns;
Agents of the Fisc pursue
Absconding tax-defaulters through
The sewers of provincial towns.
Private rites of magic send
The temple prostitutes to sleep;
All the literati keep
An imaginary friend.
Cerebrotonic Cato may
In ancient Greece and Rome, people went to Asclepeions，temples dedicated to the pagan god of healing Aesculapius, to be healed.  They would cleanse themselves ritually in the courtyard, offer a gift in the inner temple, and finally go to sleep in the abaton.  The temple priests would act out scenes during the night in an effort to drive off the illness.  If the patient was lucky, Asclepeion would come to them in their dreams and cure their sickness.  More likely, the priests would divine their dreams and prescribe a cure. 
 This practice translated to the use of churches as hospitals after Rome adopted Christianity.  However, the actual rites were largely performed well before the fall of Rome. 
 
 The ruins of the Asclepeion of Kos
The Fall of Rome