To D. Alonso de Avalo, Marquis Del Vasto

Illustrious Marquis, on whom Heaven showers down All the bliss this world knows! if to the light Of thy resplendent valour—to the height Whereto the voice of thy sublime renown Calls me, I climb, as to the flaming crown Of some stupendous mountain, thou shalt be Eternal, peerless, sole, and I through thee Scornful of winged Time's destructive frown. All that we wish from heaven, and gain on earth, Are in thy high perfections met; in short, Thou art the unique wonder, at whose birth Her world of bright conceptions Nature scanned, Singled the best, and with Dædalian hand, Thrice livelier than her cast the statue wrought.