Poliphilo's Strife of Love in a Dream

upper lighting. The upper part was illuminated by means of the descending shafts original: "catabaſſi". With some reflection from the opposite surfaces, they provided sufficient light. Such was the calculated rule of the exquisite arrangement of the ingenious mathematician on the three faces—East, South, and West—that at every hour of the day, the winding staircase was bright and clear. These air-holes original: "ſpiracoli" were symmetrically defined and dispersedly distributed in various locations of the enormous Pyramid.

To the part of the aforementioned mouth-opening I arrived by climbing another solid and direct staircase, which was hollowed out within the stone itself at the foundation level of the building, towards the right side adjacent to the hewn mountain original: "mōte delumbato", where there was a gap of ten paces. By this way—certainly more out of curiosity than was perhaps permitted—I climbed. Having reached the entrance to the staircase through the mouth, I finally ascended through innumerable steps, or rungs, not without heavy labor and dizziness of the head, circling up over such an unimaginable height original: "celſitudine". My eyes could not properly bear to look down at the ground. So much so, that everything below appeared to me as small and imperfect. And because of this, I did not dare to move away from the middle of the platform. And here, in the circuit of the circular and highest exit—the end of the twisting staircase and opening—many cast metal posts original: "ſtipiti fuſatili" were polished and fixed in a circle. The space between them original: "īterlocatiõe", measuring from center to center, was one foot, and they were half a pace in height. They were encircled at the top with a small wavy crown of the same cast material, which surrounded and fenced the lip of the opening and the gap of the upper exit of the said staircase, except for that part through which one exited onto the surface, by a wise design. This was so that no one, through lack of caution, might plunge into the opening of the winding cavern. For indeed, the immoderate height induced a staggering sensation. Beneath the level base of the Obelisk, a bronze tablet was set in lead, facing upward, with ancient writing in our own characters, as well as in Greek and Arabic, through which I fully understood that the structure was dedicated to the Supreme Sun. The entire measurement of the great structure was also fully noted and described there. And the name of the architect was noted in Greek upon the Obelisk.

Let us return now to the Pedestal original: "Meta, ouero Teſſella" situated beneath the Pyramid, on the front of which I marveled at an elegant and magnificent sculpture of a cruel Gigantomachia Gigantomachia: the mythological battle between the Giants and the Olympian gods. It seemed to lack only the breath of life, being of wonderful carving and excellently sculpted. With its movements and with such readiness—