Page:Ovid's Metamorphoses (Vol. 2) - tr Garth, Dryden, et. al. (1727).djvu/293

The Chiefs perplex'd, and fill'd with doubtful Care,
To their Protector's sumptuous Roofs repair,
By genuin Signs implore him to express,
What Seats he deigns to chuse, what Land to bless:
Scarce their ascending Prayers had reach'd the Sky;
Lo, the Serpentine God, erected high!
Forerunning Hissings his Approach confest;
Bright shone his Golden Scales, and wav'd his lofty Crest;
The trembling Altar his Appearance spoke;
The Marble Floor, and glittering Cieling shook;
The Doors were rock'd; the Statue seem'd to nod;
And all the Fabric own'd the present God:
His radiant Chest he taught aloft to rise,
And round the Temple cast his flaming Eyes:
Struck was th' astonish'd Crowd; the holy Priest,$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$
His Temples with white Bands of Ribbon drest,
With rev'rent Awe the Power divine confest:
The God! the God! he cries; all Tongues be still!
Each conscious Breast devoutest Ardour fill!
O Beauteous! O Divine! assist our Cares,
And be propitious to thy Vot'ries Prayers!
All with consenting Hearts, and pious Fear,
The Words repeat, the Deity revere:
The Romans in their holy Worship join'd,
With silent Awe, and Purity of Mind:
Gracious to them, his Crest is seen to nod,
And, as an Earnest of his Care, the God,
Thrice hissing, vibrates thrice his forked Tongue:
And now the smooth Descent he glides along:
Still on the ancient Seats he bends his Eyes,
In which his Statue breaths, his Altars rise;
His long-lov'd Shrine with kind Concern he leaves,
And to forsake th' accustom'd Mansion grieves:
At length, his sweeping Bulk in State is born
Thro' the throng'd Streets, which scatter'd Flowers adorn;

Thro'