Was greater part, metropolis of the world.
I only ask of you, as you may read,
How in Avernus, destined to succeed,
Anchises show’d Æneas, in long line,
The illustrious shades of those, who were to shine
One day the glory of the Italian shore,
Now you, more favour’d than the Trojan chief,
Not in vain prophecy, but tried belief,
From what you see, by aid of history’s lore,
To admire the lofty state which Rome possess’d,