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Show 14 ORIGIN OF SOCIETY. CANTO I . (harm' d in her train admiring Hymen moves, And tiptoe Graces hand in hand with Loves. Next, while on pausing step the masked rnimes En~ct the triumphs of forgotten times, Conceal from vulgar throngs th.e mystic truth, Or charm with v\lisdom's lore the initiate youth ; Each shifting scene, some patriot hero trod, Some sainted beauty, or some saviour god. 150 III. Now rose in purple pon1p the breezy dawn, And crimson dew-drops trembled on the lawn; Blaz'd high in air the temple's golden vanes, And dancing shadows veer'd upon the plain s.Long trains of virgins from the sacred grove, Pair after pair, in bright procession move, With flower-fill'd baskets round the altar throng, Or swing their .censers, as they wind along. The fair URANIA leads the blushing bands, Presents their offerings with unsullied hands ; 160 CAN TO I . PRODUCTION OF LIFE. Pleas' d to their dazzled eyes in part unshrouds The goddess-form ;-the rest is hid in 'clouds. 15 " PRIESTEss OF NATURE! while with pious awe T hy votary bends, the mystic veil withdraw; Charm afte r charm, succession bright, display, And give the GonnEss to adoring day ! So kneeling realms shall own the Power divine, And heaven and earth pour incense on her shrine. 170 " Oh grant the MusE with pausing step to press Each sun-bright avenue, and green recess; Led by thy hand survey the tropJVed walls, T he statued ga1leries, and the pictur' d halls; The statued galleries, 1. 176. The art of painting has appeared iu the early state of all societies before the invention of the alphabet. Thus when the Spanish adventurers, under Cortez, invaded America, intelligence of their debarkation and movements was daily transmitted to Montezuma, by drawings, which corresponded with the Egyptian hieroglyphics. The antiquity of statuary appears from the Memnon and sphinxes of Egypt; that of casting figures in metals from the golden calf of Aaron; and that of carving in wood from the idols or household gods, which Rachel stole from her father |