STRONG, mighty Vulcan, bearing splendid light,
Unweary'd fire, with flaming torrents bright:
Strong-handed, deathless, and of art divine,
Pure element, a portion of the world is thine:
197:* This deity, according to Proclus, in Repub. p. 385. adorns by his artifice, the sensible machine of the universe, which he fills with certain reasons, proportions, and powers of Nature. But he requires the assistance of Venus, that he may invent sensible effects with beauty, and by this means cause the pulchritude of the world.
