was great, both in her riches and her men, and for
ten years could afford so much blood; {whereas}, now laid low, she only
shows her ancient ruins, and, instead of her wealth, {she points at} the
tombs of her ancestors. Sparta was famed;[49] great Mycenae flourished;
so, too, the citadel of Cecrops, and that of Amphion. {Now} Sparta is a
contemptible spot; lofty Mycenae is laid low. What now is Thebes, the
city of Oedipus, but a {mere} story? What remains of Athens, the city of
Pandion, but its name?

"Now, too, there is a report that Dardanian Rome is rising; which, close
to the waters of Tiber that rises in the Apennines, is laying the
foundations of her greatness beneath a vast structure. She then, in her
growth, is changing her form, and will one day be the mistress of the
boundless earth. So they say that the soothsayers, and the oracles,
revealers of destiny, declare; and, so far as I recollect, Helenus, the
son of Priam, said to AEneas, as he was lamenting, and in doubt as to his
safety, when {now} the Trojan state was sinking, 'Son of a Goddess, if
thou dost thyself well understand the presentiment of my mind, Troy
shall not, thou being preserved, entirely fall. The flames and the sword
shall afford thee a passage. Thou shalt go, and, together with thee,
thou shalt bear ruined Pergamus; until a foreign soil, more friendly
than thy native land, shall be the lot of Troy and thyself. Even now do
I see that our Phrygian posterity are destined {to build} a city, so
great as neither now exists, nor will exist, nor has been seen in former
times. Through a long lapse of ages, other distinguished men shall make
it powerful, but one born[50] of the blood of Iuelus shall make it the
mistress of the world. After the earth shall have enjoyed his presence,
the aethereal abodes shall gain him, and heaven shall be his
destination.' Remembering it, I call to mind that Helenus prophesied
this to AEneas, who bore the Penates {from Troy}; and I rejoice that my
kindred walls are rising apace, and that to such good purpose for the
Phrygians the Pelasgians conquered.

"But that we may not range afar with steeds that forget to hasten to the
goal; the heavens, and whatever there is beneath them, and the earth,
and whatever is upon it, change their form. We too, {who are} a portion
of the universe, (since we are not only bodies, but are fleeting souls
as well, and can enter into beasts {as our} abode, and be hidden within
the breasts of