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 160
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 pile165
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,170
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'd175
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 world180
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 surpass185
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 commence190
Of flowing sculpture; nor neglect to note
How range the taper columns, and what weight