Page:The Poems of John Dyer (1903).djvu/39

 Lions and tigers, wolves and elephants, And desp'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 sore distress Impenetrable. But away thine eye! Behold yon' steepy cliff; the modern pile Perchance may now delight, while that rever'd In ancient days the page alone declares, Or narrow coin thro' dim cerulean rust. The fane was Jove's, its spacious golden roof, O'er thick-surrounding temples beaming wide, Appear'd, as when above the morning hills Half the round sun ascends, and tower'd aloft, Sustain'd by columns huge, innumerous As cedars proud on Canaan's verdant heights Dark'ning their idols, when Astarte lur'd Too-prosp'rous Israel 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 Pantheon; plain and round, of this our world Majestic emblem; with peculiar grace Before its ample orb projected stands The many-pillar'd portal; noblest work Of human skill! Here, curious Architect, If thou essay'st, ambitious, to surpass Palladius, Angelus, or British Jones, On these fair walls extend the certain scale, And turn th' instructive compass: careful mark How far in hidden art the noble plan Extends, and where the lovely forms commence Of flowing sculpture; nor neglect to note How range the taper columns, and what weight