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the emperor’s vision
7
At the same moment as the star began to shine
above the city in the mountains, all nature awoke,
and the men who stood on Capitolium could not
help noticing it. They felt cool, refreshing winds
passing through the air, sweet odors streamed up to
them from below, the trees rustled, the Tiber began
to murmur, the stars glistened, and all at once the
rrioon stood high in the heavens and lighted up the
world. And from the sky came the two doves and
alighted on the emperor’s shoulder.
When this miracle took place, Augustus rose in
triumphant joy, but his friends and slaves prostrated
themselves. " Ave Caesar," they cried, " thy genius
has answered thee. Thou art the god, who shall be
worshiped on Capitolium."
And the homage which the enraptured men
rendered the emperor was so loud, that the old sibyl
heard it. She rose from her place on the edge of
the cliff and came and stood in the midst of the
people. And it was as if a dark cloud had risen
from the precipice and swept down over the hill.
She was appalling in her senility. Coarse hair hung
in thin tufts about her head, the joints of her limbs
were misshapen and grotesquely large, and the dark
skin was like a covering of bark, with furrow upon
furrow. But mighty and imposing she advanced
towards the emperor. With one hand she seized
his wrist, with the other she pointed eastward—
" Behold ! " she commanded him, and the emperor
lifted his eyes. The expanse opened before him
and his gaze penetrated to the distant East. And
he saw a poor stall under a steep wall of rock and
in the open door a few kneeling shepherds. Inside
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