Obeliscus Aegyptiacus

I pass over in silence here the greatness of soul with which you have adorned the City of Cities. The temples built at home and abroad with incredible splendor and magnificence speak of it; the structure of the Vatican Theater, to which the world has until now seen no equal, proclaims it; the wondrous monument of the Chair of Saint Peter celebrates it—works by which you have, I will not say equaled, but surpassed the achievements of the ancient Romans. You, therefore, were the one protector to be chosen for this work, who, endowed as you are with incredible wisdom, could not only judge this new and rarely unusual production, but also confirm it by YOUR authority against the contention of detractors, and bring safe protection to its novelty by the amplitude of your power. So that, consequently, nothing remains but that this Obelisk, erected to the glorious splendor of YOUR Name by the Sages of old, may go forth into the parts of the fourfold World, tell Europe, proclaim to Asia, expound to Africa, and extol to America: ALEXANDER VII, Supreme Pontiff, under whose auspices it has revived, and by whose command it has been restored. Farewell, Hierarch of the Christian Religion, Supreme Pontiff; farewell, for the happiness of the current century.