ALEXANDER VII,

SUPREME PONTIFF.

Having been recently unearthed in the garden of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, an Egyptian Obelisk has appeared. This ought to be erected before the temple in honor of ALEXANDER VII, Supreme Pontiff. And deservedly so: for indeed it was consecrated to the Supreme Genius—which they used to call the Spirit or Soul of the World—according to the interpretation of that distinguished man, Athanasius Kircher.

O D E

Ornamental drop cap letter A with floral motifs.

In Egypt, divine powers had once grown
In gardens, born from rotten soil, when it pleased them,
Leeks and onions. The Pallas of Rome has brought it to pass
That this portent—worthy even of the brain of Jove,
And which Phoebus loves, not given to just any
Tripod—should be seen here first. Meroe rejoices to plant
This goal of Chisian glory.
This pyramid, HOLY FATHER, expresses you
Entirely, which Memphis, fearing to reveal sacred things
Under ambiguous symbols, had dedicated to the Supreme
Genius, hidden away.
Thus it veiled the life-giving, artful spirit of the world
And the Soul duly diffused through all things:
Which the birds at the four corners
With a scepter, two by two, represent.
Nor is the serpent, folding the signs of the kingdom, idle;
And the handled Cross above acts as an index
Of the ancient secret: just as the learned
Kircher warns in his new order,