Page images
PDF
EPUB

In varied appellations: men to these
(From depth to depth in dark'ning error fall'n)
At length afcrib'd th' INAPPLICABLE NAME.
How doth it please and fill the memory

With deeds of brave renown, while on each hand
Hiftorick urns and breathing statues rise,
And speaking bufts! Sweet Scipio, Marius ftern,
Pompey superb, the spirit-stirring form
Of Cæfar raptur'd with the charm of rule
And boundless fame; impatient for exploits,
His eager eyes upcaft, he foars in thought
Above all height: and his own Brutus fee,
Defponding Brutus, dubious of the right,
In evil days, of faith, of publick weal
Solicitous and fad. Thy next regard
Be Tully's graceful attitude; uprais'd,
His out-ftretch'd arm he waves, in act to speak
Before the filent masters of the world,

And eloquence arrays him. There behold
Prepar❜d for combat in the front of war
The pious brothers; jealous Alba stands

In fearful expectation of the ftrife,

And

And youthful Rome intent: the kindred foes
Fall on each other's neck in filent tears;
In forrowful benevolence embrace-

Howe'er they foon unsheath the flashing sword,
Their country calls to arms; now all in vain
The mother clafps the knee, and ev'n the fair
Now weeps in vain; their country calls to arms.
Such virtue Clelia, Cocles, Manlius, rous'd;
Such were the Fabii, Decii; fo infpir'd

The Scipio's battled, and the Gracchi spoke :
So rose the Roman ftate. Me now, of these
Deep-mufing, high ambitious thoughts inflame
Greatly to serve my country, diftant land,

And build me virtuous fame; nor fhall the duft
Of these fall'n piles with fhew of fad decay
Avert the good refolve, mean argument,
The fate alone of matter.. Now the brow

We gain enraptur'd; beauteously distinct ©
The num'rous porticos and domes upfwell,
With obelifcs and columns interpos'd,

с

From the Palatin bill one fees most of the remarkable antiquities.

And

And pine, and fir, and oak: fo fair a scene
Sees not the dervise from the fpiral tomb
Of ancient Chammos, while his eye beholds
Proud Memphis' reliques o'er th' Ægyptian plain:
Nor hoary hermit from Hymettus' brow,
Though graceful Athens, in the vale beneath.
Along the windings of the Muse's stream,
Lucid Ilyffus, weeps her filent schools,

And groves, unvifited by bard or fage.
Amid the tow'ry ruins, huge, fupreme,
Th' enormous amphitheatre behold,
Mountainous pile! o'er whofe capacious womb
Pours the broad firmament its varied light;
While from the central floor the feats afcend
Round above round, flow-wid'ning to the verge,
A circuit vast and high; nor less had held
Imperial Rome, and her attendant realms,
When drunk with rule fhe will'd the fierce delight,
And op'd the gloomy caverns, whence out-rush'd
Before th' innumerable fhouting crowd

The fiery, madded, tyrants of the wilds,
Lions and tigers, wolves and elephants,

And

And defp'rate men, more fell. Abhorr'd intent!
By frequent converse with familiar death,
To kindle brutal daring apt for war;

To lock the breast, and steel th' obdurate heart

Amid the piercing cries of fore diftress
Impenetrable.But away thine eye;

Behold your steepy cliff; the modern pile
Perchance may now delight, while that, rever'd
In ancient days, the page alone declares,
Or narrow coin through dim cærulean ruft.
The fane was Jove's, its fpacious golden roof,
O'er thick-surrounding temples beaming wide,
Appear'd, as when above the morning hills
Half the round fun afcends; and tow'r'd aloft,
Suftain'd by columns huge, innumerous

As cedars proud on Canaan's verdant heights
Dark'ning their idols, when Aftarte lur'd
Too profp❜rous Ifrael from his living strength.
And next regard yon venerable dome,
Which virtuous Latium, with erroneous aim,
Rais'd to her various deities, and nam'd

[blocks in formation]

Pantheon; plain and round; of this our world
Majestick emblem; with peculiar grace,
Before its ample orb, projected stands
The many-pillar'd portal; nobleft work
Of human skill: here, curious architect,
If thou affay'ft, ambitious, to surpass
Palladius, Angelus, or British Jones,

On these fair walls extend the certain scale,
And turn th' inftructive compass: careful mark
How far in hidden art, the noble plain

Extends, and where the lovely forms commence
Of flowing sculpture: nor neglect to note
How range the taper columns, and what weight
Their leafy brows sustain: fair Corinth first
Boasted their order which Callimachus

(Reclining ftudious on Afopus' banks

Beneath an urn of fome lamented nymph)
Haply compos'd; the urn with foliage curl'd
Thinly conceal'd, the chapiter inform'd.

See the tall obelifcs from Memphis old,
One ftone enormous each, or Thebes convey'd;
Like Albion's fpires they rush into the skies.

And

« PreviousContinue »