ORPHIC HYMNS 41 - 86

THE ORPHIC HYMNS 41 - 86, TRANSLATED BY THOMAS TAYLOR

[41] XLI. TO MISES [MISA]

The Fumigation from Storax.
Call Thesmophorus, spermatic God [Dionysos], of various names, who bears the leafy rod:
Mises [Misa], ineffable, pure, sacred queen, two-fold Iacchus, male and female seen:
Illustr'ous, whether to rejoice is thine in incense offer'd, in the fane divine;
Or if in Phrygia most thy soul delights, performing with thy mother sacred rites;
Or if the land of Cyprus is thy care, well pleas'd to dwell with Cytherea [Kythereia] fair;
Or if exulting in the fertile plains with thy dark mother Isis, where she reigns,
With nurses pure attended, near the flood of sacred Egypt, thy divine abode:
Wherever resident, blest pow'r attend, and with benignant mind these labours end.

[42] XLII TO THE SEASONS [HORAI]

The Fumigation from Aromatics.
Daughters of Jove [Zeus] and Themis, seasons bright,
Justice [Dike], and blessed Peace [Eirene], and lawful Right [Eunomia],
Vernal and grassy, vivid, holy pow'rs, whose balmy breath exhales in lovely flow'rs
All-colour'd seasons, rich increase your care, circling, for ever flourishing and fair:
Invested with a veil of shining dew, a flow'ry veil delightful to the view:
Attending Proserpine [Persephone], when back from night,
the Fates [Moirai] and Graces [Kharites] Lead her up to light;
When in a band-harmonious they advance, and joyful round her, form the solemn dance:
With Ceres [Meter] triumphing, and Jove [Zeus] divine; propitious come, and on our incense shine;
Give earth a blameless store of fruits to bear, and make a novel mystic's life your care.

[43] XLIII. TO SEMELE

The Fumigation from Storax.
Cadmean Goddess, universal queen, thee, Semele I call, of beauteous mien;
Deep-bosom'd, lovely flowing locks are thine, mother of Bacchus [Dionysos], joyful and divine,
The mighty offspring, whom love's thunder bright, forc'd immature, and fright'ned into light:
Born from the deathless counsels, secret, high, of Jove Saturnian [Zeus Kronion], regent of the sky
Whom Proserpine [Persephone] permits to view the light, and visit mortals from the realms of night:
Constant attending on the sacred rites, and feast triennial, which thy soul delights;
When thy son's wond'rous birth mankind relate, and secrets deep, and holy celebrate.
Now I invoke thee, great Cadmean queen, to bless these rites with countenance serene.

[44] XLIV. TO DIONYSIUS BASSAREUS TRIENNALIS

A Hymn
Come, blessed Dionysius [Dionysos], various nam'd, bull-fac'd,
begot from Thunder, Bacchus [Bakkhos] fam'd.
Bassarian God, of universal might, whom swords, and blood, and sacred rage delight:
In heav'n rejoicing, mad, loud-sounding God, furious inspirer, bearer of the rod:
By Gods rever'd, who dwell'st with human kind, propitious come, with much-rejoicing mind.

[45] XLV. TO LIKNITUS BACCHUS [LIKNITOS DIONYSOS]

The Fumigation from Manna.
Liknitan Bacchus [Liknitos Dionysos], bearer of the vine, thee I invoke to bless these rites divine:
Florid and gay, of nymphs the blossom bright, and of fair Venus [Aphrodite], Goddess of delight,
'Tis thine mad footsteps with mad nymphs to beat, dancing thro' groves with lightly leaping feet:
From Jove's [Zeus'] high counsels nurst by Proserpine [Persephoneia],
and born the dread of all the pow'rs divine:
Come, blessed pow'r, regard thy suppliant's voice, propitious come, and in these rites rejoice.

[46] XLVI. TO BACCHUS PERICIONIUS [DIONYSOS PERIKIONIOS]

The Fumigation from Aromatics.
Bacchus Pericionius [Dionysos Perikionios], hear my pray'r,
who mad'st the house of Cadmus once thy care,
With matchless force, his pillars twining round, (when burning thunders shook the solid ground,
In flaming, founding torrents borne along), propt by thy grasp indissolubly strong.
Come mighty Bacchus to these rites inclin'd, and bless thy suppliants with rejoicing mind.

[47] XLVII. TO SABASIUS [ZABAZIOS]

The Fumigation from Aromatics.
Hear me, illustrious father, dæmon fam'd.
Great Saturn's [Kronos'] offspring, and Sabasius [Zabazios] nam'd;
Inserting Bacchus, bearer of the vine, and founding God, within thy thigh divine,
That when mature, the Dionysian God might burst the bands of his conceal'd abode,
And come to sacred Tmolus, his delight, where Ippa dwells, all beautiful and bright.
Come blessed Phrygian God, the king of all, and aid thy mystics, when on thee they call.

[48] XLVIII. TO IPPA

The Fumigation from Storax.
Great nurse of Bacchus [Bakkhos], to my pray'r incline, for holy Sabus' secret rites are thine,
The mystic rites of Bacchus' nightly choirs, compos'd of sacred, loud-resounding fires:
Hear me, terrestrial mother, mighty queen, whether on Phyrgia's holy mountain seen,
Or if to dwell in Tmolus thee delights, with holy aspect come, and bless these rites.

[49] XLIX. TO LYSIUS LENÆUS [LYSIOS LENAIOS]

A Hymn.
Hear me, Jove's [Zeus'] son, blest Bacchus, God of wine, born of two mothers, honor'd and divine;
Lysian, Euion Bacchus, various-nam'd, of Gods the offspring secret, holy, fam'd:
Fertile and nourishing whose liberal care earth's fruits increases, flourishing and fair;
Sounding, magnanimous, Lenæan pow'r, O various form'd, medic'nal, holy flow'r:
Mortals in thee, repose from labour find, delightful charm, desir'd by all mankind:
Fair-hair'd Euion, Bromian, joyful God, Lysian, invested with the leafy rod.
To these our rites, benignant pow'r incline, when fav'ring men, or when on Gods you shine;
Be present to thy mystic's suppliant pray'r, rejoicing come, and fruits abundant bear.

[50] L. TO THE NYMPHS [NYMPHAI]

The Fumigation from Aromatics.
Nymphs, who from Ocean's [Okeanos'] stream derive your birth, who dwell in liquid caverns of the earth
Nurses of Bacchus [Bakkhos] secret-coursing pow'r, who fruits sustain, and nourish ev'ry flow'r:
Earthly, rejoicing, who in meadows dwell, and caves and dens, whose depths extend to hell:
Holy, oblique, who swiftly soar thro' air, fountains and dews, and mazy streams your care:
Seen and unseen, who joy with wand'rings wide and gentle course, thro' flow'ry vales to glide;
With Pan exulting on the mountains height, loud-founding, mad, whom rocks and woods delight:
Nymphs od'rous, rob'd in white, whose streams exhale the breeze refreshing, and the balmy gale;
With goats and pastures pleas'd, and beasts of prey, nurses of fruits, unconscious of decay:
In cold rejoicing, and to cattle kind, sportive thro' ocean wand'ring unconfin'd:
Nysian, fanatic Nymphs, whom oaks delight, lovers of Spring, Pæonian virgins bright.
With Bacchus, and with Ceres [Deo], hear my pray'r. And to mankind abundant favour bear;
Propitious listen to your suppliants voice, come, and benignant in these rites rejoice;
Give plenteous Seasons, and sufficient wealth, and pour; in lasting streams, continued Health.

[51] LI. TO TRIETERICUS [TRIETERIKOS]

The Fumigation from Aromatics.
Bacchus fanatic, much-nam'd, blest, divine, bull-fac'd Lenæan, bearer of the vine;
From fire descended, raging, Nysian king, from whom initial ceremonies spring:
Liknitan Bacchus, pure and fiery bright, prudent [Eubouleos], crown-bearer, wandering in the night;
Pupil of Proserpine, mysterious pow'r, triple, ineffable, Jove's [Zeus'] secret flow'r:
Ericapæus, first-begotten nam'd, of Gods the father, and the offspring fam'd:
Bearing a sceptre, leader of the choir, whose dancing feet, fanatic Furies fire,
When the triennial band thou dost inspire.
Loud-sounding, Tages, of a fiery light, born of two mothers, Amphietus bright:
Wand'ring on mountains, cloth'd with skins of deer, Apollo, golden-ray'd, whom all revere.
God of the grape with leaves of ivy crown'd, Bassarian, lovely, virgin-like, renown'd
Come blessed pow'r, regard thy mystics voice, propitious come, and in these rites rejoice.

[52] LII. To AMPHIETUS BACCHUS [AMPHIETOS BAKKHOS]

The Fumigation from every Aromatic except Frankincense.
Terrestrial Dionysius [Dionysos Khthonios], hear my pray'r, awak'ned rise with nymphs of lovely hair:
Great Amphietus Bacchus, annual God, who laid asleep in Proserpine's [Persephone's] abode,
Did'st lull to drowsy and oblivious rest, the rites triennial, and the sacred feast;
Which rous'd again by thee, in graceful ring, thy nurses round thee mystic anthems sing;
When briskly dancing with rejoicing pow'rs, thou mov'st in concert with the circling hours.
Come, blessed, fruitful, horned, and divine, and on these rites with joyful aspect shine;
Accept the general incense and the pray'r, and make prolific holy fruits thy care.

[53] LIII. TO SILENUS, SATYRUS, and the PRIESTESSES of BACCHUS

The Fumigation from Manna.
Great nurse of Bacchus [Bakkhos], to my pray'r incline, Silenus, honor'd by the pow'rs divine
And by mankind at the triennial feast illustrious dæmon, reverenc'd as the best:
Holy, august, the source of lawful rites, rejoicing pow'r, whom vigilance delights
With Sylvans dancing ever young and fair,
head of the Bacchic Nymphs [Naiades and Bakkhai], who ivy bear.
With all thy Satyrs on our incense shine, Dæmons wild form'd, and bless the rites divine;
Come, rouse to sacred Joy thy pupil kin, and Brumal Nymphs with rites Lenæan bring;
Our orgies shining thro' the night inspire, and bless triumphant pow'r the sacred choir.

[54] LIV. TO VENUS [APHRODITE]

A Hymn.
Heav'nly [Ourania], illustrious, laughter-loving queen, sea-born, night-loving, of an awful mien;
Crafty, from whom necessity [Ananke] first came, producing, nightly, all-connecting dame:
'Tis thine the world with harmony to join, for all things spring from thee, O pow'r divine.
The triple Fates [Moirai] are rul'd by thy decree, and all productions yield alike to thee:
Whate'er the heav'ns, encircling all contain, earth fruit-producing, and the stormy main,
Thy sway confesses, and obeys thy nod, awful attendant of the brumal God [Bakkhos]:
Goddess of marriage, charming to the sight, mother of Loves [Eortes], whom banquetings delight;
Source of persuasion [Peitho], secret, fav'ring queen, illustrious born, apparent and unseen:
Spousal, lupercal, and to men inclin'd, prolific, most-desir'd, life-giving., kind:
Great sceptre-bearer of the Gods, 'tis thine, mortals in necessary bands to join;
And ev'ry tribe of savage monsters dire in magic chains to bind, thro' mad desire.
Come, Cyprus-born, and to my pray'r incline, whether exalted in the heav'ns you shine,
Or pleas'd in Syria's temple to preside, or o'er th' Egyptian plains thy car to guide,
Fashion'd of gold; and near its sacred flood, fertile and fam'd to fix thy blest abode;
Or if rejoicing in the azure shores, near where the sea with foaming billows roars,
The circling choirs of mortals, thy delight, or beauteous nymphs, with eyes cerulean bright,
Pleas'd by the dusty banks renown'd of old, to drive thy rapid, two-yok'd car of gold;
Or if in Cyprus with thy mother fair, where married females praise thee ev'ry year,
And beauteous virgins in the chorus join, Adonis pure to sing and thee divine;
Come, all-attractive to my pray'r inclin'd, for thee, I call, with holy, reverent mind.

[55] LV. TO ADONIS

The Fumigation from Aromatics.
Much-nam'd, and best of dæmons, hear my pray'r, the desart-loving, deck'd with tender hair;
Joy to diffuse, by all desir'd is thine, much form'd, Eubulus [Eubouleos]; aliment divine
Female and Male, all charming to the sight, Adonis ever flourishing and bright;
At stated periods doom'd to set and rise, with splendid lamp, the glory of the skies.
Two-horn'd and lovely, reverenc'd with tears, of beauteous form, adorn'd with copious hairs.
Rejoicing in the chace, all-graceful pow'r, sweet plant of Venus [Aphrodite], Love's [Eors'] delightful flow'r:
Descended from the secret bed divine, of lovely-hair'd, infernal Proserpine [Persephone].
'Tis thine to fink in Tartarus profound, and shine again thro' heav'ns illustrious round,
With beauteous temp'ral orb restor'd to sight; come, with earth's fruits, and in these flames delight.

[56] LVI. TO THE TERRESTRIAL HERMES [HERMES KHTHONIOS]

The Fumigation from Storax.
Hermes I call, whom Fate decrees to dwell in the dire path which leads to deepest hell
O Bacchic [Bakkheios] Hermes, progeny divine of Dionysius [Dionysos], parent of the vine,
And of celestial Venus [Aphrodite] Paphian queen, dark eye-lash'd Goddess of a lovely mien:
Who constant wand'rest thro' the sacred feats
where hell's dread empress, Proserpine [Persephone], retreats;
To wretched souls the leader of thc way when Fate decrees, to regions void of day:
Thine is the wand which causes sleep to fly, or lulls to slumb'rous rest the weary eye;
For Proserpine [Persephone's] thro' Tart'rus dark and wide gave thee forever flowing souls to guide.
Come, blessed pow'r the sacrifice attend, and grant our mystic works a happy end.

[57] LVII. TO CUPID, OR LOVE [EROS]

The Fumigation from Aromatics.
I Call great Cupid [Eros], source of sweet delight, holy and pure, and lovely to the sight;
Darting, and wing'd, impetuous fierce desire, with Gods and mortals playing, wand'ring fire:
Cautious, and two-fold, keeper of the keys of heav'n and earth, the air, and spreading seas;
Of all that Ceres' [Deo's] fertile realms contains, by which th' all-parent Goddess life sustains,
Or dismal Tartarus is doom'd to keep, widely extended, or the sounding, deep;
For thee, all Nature's various realms obey, who rul'st alone, with universal sway.
Come, blessed pow'r, regard these mystic fires, and far avert, unlawful mad desires.

[58] LVIII. TO THE FATES [MOIRAI]

The Fumigation from Aromatics.
Daughters of darkling Night [Nyx], much-nam'd, draw near infinite Fates [Moirai], and listen to my pray'r;
Who in the heav'nly lake (where waters white burst from a fountain hid in depths of night,
And thro' a dark and stony cavern glide, a cave profound, invisible) abide;
From whence, wide coursing round the boundless earth, your pow'r extends to those of mortal birth
To men with hope elated, trifling, gay, a race presumptuous, born but to decay;
Whose life 'tis your's in darkness to conceal to sense impervious, in a purple veil,
When thro' the fatal plain they joyful ride in one great car, Opinion for their guide;
'Till each completes his heav'n-appointed round at Justice, Hope, and Care's concluding bound,
The terms absolv'd, prescrib'd by ancient law of pow'r immense, and just without a flaw;
For Fate [Moira] alone with vision unconfin'd, surveys the conduct of the mortal kind.
Fate is Jove's [Zeus'] perfect and eternal eye, for Jove [Zeus] and Fate [Moira] our ev'ry deed descry.
Come, gentle pow'rs, well born, benignant, fam'd, Atropos, Lachesis, and Clotho nam'd:
Unchang'd, aerial, wand'ring in the night, restless, invisible to mortal fight;
Fates [Moirai] all-producing all-destroying hear, regard the incense and the holy pray'r;
Propitious listen to these rites inclin'd, and far avert distress with placid mind.

[59] LIX. TO THE GRACES [KHARITES]

The Fumigation from Storax.
Hear me, illustrious Graces [Kharites], mighty nam'd, from Jove descended and Eunomia fam'd;
Thalia, and Aglaia fair and bright, and blest Euphrosyne whom joys delight:
Mothers of mirth, all lovely to the view, pleasure abundant pure belongs to you:
Various, forever flourishing and fair, desir'd by mortals, much invok'd in pray'r:
Circling, dark-ey'd, delightful to mankind, come, and your mystics bless with bounteous mind.

[60] LX. TO NEMESIS

A Hymn.
Thee, Nemesis I call, almighty queen, by whom the deeds of mortal life are seen:
Eternal, much rever'd, of boundless sight, alone rejoicing in the just and right:
Changing the counsels of the human breast for ever various, rolling without rest.
To every mortal is thy influence known, and men beneath thy righteous bondage groan;
For ev'ry thought within the mind conceal'd is to thy fight perspicuously reveal'd.
The soul unwilling reason to obey by lawless passion rul'd, thy eyes survey.
All to see, hear, and rule, O pow'r divine whose nature Equity contains, is thine.
Come, blessed, holy Goddess, hear my pray'r, and make thy mystic's life, thy constant care:
Give aid benignant in the needful hour, and strength abundant to the reas'ning pow'r;
And far avert the dire, unfriendly race of counsels impious, arrogant, and base.

[61] LXI. TO JUSTICE [DIKE]

The Fumigation from Frankincense.
The piercing eye of Justice [Dike] bright, I sing, plac'd by the throne of heav'n's almighty king [Zeus],
Perceiving thence, with vision unconfin'd, the life and conduct of the human kind
To thee, revenge and punishment belong, chastising ev'ry deed, unjust and wrong;
Whose pow'r alone, dissimilars can join, and from th' equality of truth combine:
For all the ill, persuasion can inspire, when urging bad designs, with counsel dire,
'Tis thine alone to punish; with the race of lawless passions, and incentives base;
For thou art ever to the good inclin'd, and hostile to the men of evil mind.
Come, all-propitious, and thy suppliant hear, when Fate's predestin'd, final hour draws near.

[62] LXII. TO EQUITY [DIKAIOSUNE]

The Fumigation from Frankincense.
O Blessed Equity [Dikaiosune], mankind's delight, th' eternal friend of conduct just and right:
Abundant, venerable, honor'd maid, to judgments pure, dispensing constant aid,
A stable conscience, and an upright mind; for men unjust, by thee are undermin'd,
Whose souls perverse thy bondage ne'er desire, but more untam'd decline thy scourges dire:
Harmonious, friendly power, averse to strife, in peace rejoicing, and a stable life;
Lovely, loquacious, of a gentle mind, hating excess, to equal deeds inclin'd:
Wisdom, and virtue of whate'er degree, receive their proper bound alone in thee.
Hear, Goddess Equity [Dikaiosune], the deeds destroy of evil men, which human life annoy;
That all may yield to thee of mortal birth, whether supported by the fruits of earth,
Or in her kindly fertile bosom found, or in the depths of Marine Jove [Zeus] profound.

[63] LXIII. TO LAW [NOMOS]

A Hymn.
The holy king of Gods and men I call, celestial Law [Nomos], the righteous seal of all;
The seal which stamps whate'er the earth contains, Nature's firm basis, and the liquid plains:
Stable, and starry, of harmonious frame, preserving laws eternally the same:
Thy all-composing pow'r in heaven appears, connects its frame, and props the starry spheres;
And shakes weak Envy with tremendous sound, toss'd by thy arm in giddy whirls around.
'Tis thine, the life of mortals to defend, and crown existence with a blessed end;
For thy command and alone, of all that lives order and rule to ev'ry dwelling gives:
Ever observant of the upright mind, and of just actions the companion kind;
Foe to the lawless, with avenging ire, their steps involving in destruction dire.
Come, bless, abundant pow'r, whom all revere, by all desir'd, with favr'ing mind draw near;
Give me thro' life, on thee to fix my fight, and ne'er forsake the equal paths of right.

[64] LXIV. TO MARS [ARES]

The Fumigation from Frankincense.
Magnanimous, unconquer'd, boistrous Mars, in darts rejoicing, and in bloody wars
Fierce and untam'd, whose mighty pow'r can make the strongest walls from their foundations shake:
Mortal destroying king, defil'd with gore, pleas'd with war's dreadful and tumultuous roar:
Thee, human blood, and swords, and spears delight, and the dire ruin of mad savage fight.
Stay, furious contests, and avenging strife, whose works with woe, embitter human life;
To lovely Venus [Kypris], and to Bacchus [Lyaios] yield, to Ceres [Deo] give the weapons of the field;
Encourage peace, to gentle works inclin'd, and give abundance, with benignant mind.

[65] LXV. TO VULCAN [HEPHAISTOS]

The Fumigation from Frankincense and Manna.
Strong, mighty Vulcan [Hephaistos], 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:
All-taming artist, all-diffusive pow'r, 'tis thine supreme, all substance to devour:
Æther, Sun, Moon, and Stars, light pure and clear, for these thy lucid parts to men appear.
To thee, all dwellings, cities, tribes belong, diffus'd thro' mortal bodies bright and strong.
Hear, blessed power, to holy rites incline, and all propitious on the incense shine:
Suppress the rage of fires unweary'd frame, and still preserve our nature's vital flame.

[66] LXVI. TO ESCULAPIUS [ASKLEPIOS]

The Fumigation from Manna.
Great Esculapius [Asklepios], skill'd to heal mankind, all-ruling Pæan, and physician kind;
Whose arts medic'nal, can alone assuage diseases dire, and stop their dreadful rage:
Strong lenient God, regard my suppliant pray'r, bring gentle Health, adorn'd with lovely hair;
Convey the means of mitigating pain, and raging, deadly pestilence restrain.
O pow'r all-flourishing, abundant, bright, Apollo's honor'd offspring, God of light;
Husband of blameless Health [Hygeia], the constant foe of dread Disease the minister of woe:
Come, blessed saviour, and my health defend, and to my life afford a prosp'rous end.

[67] LXVII. TO HEALTH [HYGEIA]

The Fumigation from Manna.
O Much-desir'd, prolific, gen'ral queen, hear me, life-bearing, Health [Hygeia], of beauteous mien,
Mother of all; by thee diseases dire, of bliss destructive, from our life retire;
And ev'ry house is flourishing and fair, if with rejoicing aspect thou art there:
Each dædal art, thy vig'rous force inspires, and all the world thy helping hand desires;
Pluto life's bane alone resists thy will, and ever hates thy all-preserving skill.
O fertile queen, from thee forever flows to mortal life from agony repose;
And men without thy all-sustaining ease, find nothing useful, nothing form'd to please;
Without thy aid, not Plutus' [Aides'] self can thrive, nor man to much afflicted age arrive;
For thou alone of countenance serene, dost govern all things, universal queen.
Assist thy mystics with propitious mind, and far avert disease of ev'ry kind.

[68] LXVIII. TO THE FURIES [ERINYES]

The Fumigation from Aromatics.
Vociferous Bacchanalian Furies [Erinyes], hear! Ye, I invoke, dread pow'rs, whom all revere;
Nightly, profound, in secret who retire, Tisiphone, Alecto, and Megara dire:
Deep in a cavern merg'd, involv'd in night, near where Styx flows impervious to the sight;
Ever attendant on mysterious rites, furious and fierce, whom Fate's dread law delights;
Revenge and sorrows dire to you belong, hid in a savage veil, severe and strong,
Terrific virgins, who forever dwell endu'd with various forms, in deepest hell;
Aerial, and unseen by human kind, and swiftly coursing, rapid as the mind.
In vain the Sun with wing'd refulgence bright, in vain the Moon, far darting milder light,
Wisdom and Virtue may attempt in vain; and pleasing, Art, our transport to obtain
Unless with these you readily conspire, and far avert your all-destructive ire.
The boundless tribes of mortals you descry, and justly rule with Right's [Dike's] impartial eye.
Come, snaky-hair'd, Fates [Moirai] many-form'd, divine, suppress your rage, and to our rites incline.

[69] LXIX. TO THE FURIES [EUMENIDES]

The Fumigation from Aromatics.
Hear me, illustrious Furies [Eumenides], mighty nam'd, terrific pow'rs, for prudent counsel fam'd;
Holy and pure, from Jove terrestrial [Zeus Khthonios] born
and Proserpine [Phersephone], whom lovely locks adorn:
Whose piercing sight, with vision unconfin'd, surveys the deeds of all the impious kind:
On Fate attendant, punishing the race (with wrath severe) of deeds unjust and base.
Dark-colour'd queens, whose glittering eyes, are bright with dreadful, radiant, life-destroying, light:
Eternal rulers, terrible and strong, to whom revenge, and tortures dire belong;
Fatal and horrid to the human sight, with snaky tresses wand'ring in the night;
Either approach, and in these rites rejoice, for ye, I call, with holy, suppliant voice.

[70] LXX.TO MELINOE

The Fumigation from Aromatics.
Call Melinoe, saffron-veil'd, terrene, who from infernal Pluto's sacred queen [Phersephone],
Mixt with Saturnian Jupiter [Kronion Zeus], arose, near where Cocytus' mournful river flows;
When under Pluto's [Plouton's] semblance,
Jove [Zeus] divine deceiv'd with guileful arts dark Proserpine [Phersephone].
Hence, partly black thy limbs and partly white, from Pluto [Plouton] dark, from Jove [Zeus] etherial, bright
Thy colour'd members, men by night inspire when seen in specter'd forms with terrors dire;
Now darkly visible, involv'd in night, perspicuous now they meet the fearful fight.
Terrestrial queen expel wherever found the soul's mad fears to earth's remotest bound;
With holy aspect on our incense shrine, and bless thy mystics, and the rites divine.

[71] LXXI. TO FORTUNE [TYKHE]

The Fumigation from Frankincense.
Approach strong Fortune [Tykhe], with propitious mind and rich abundance, to my pray'r inclin'd
Placid, and gentle Trivia, mighty nam'd, imperial Dian [Artemis], born of Pluto [Eubouleos] fam'd;
Mankind's unconquer'd, endless praise is thine, sepulch'ral, widely-wand'ring pow'r divine!
In thee, our various mortal life is found, and some from thee hi copious wealth abound;
While others mourn thy hand averse to bless, in all the bitterness of deep distress.
Be present, Goddess, to thy vot'ry kind, and give abundance with benignant mind.

[72] LXXII. TO THE DÆMON, OR GENIUS

The Fumigation from Frankincense.
Thee, mighty-ruling, Dæmon dread, I call, mild Jove [Zeus], life-giving, and the source of all:
Great Jove [Zeus], much-wand'ring, terrible and strong, to whom revenge and tortures dire belong.
Mankind from thee, in plenteous wealth abound, when in their dwellings joyful thou art found;
Or pass thro' life afflicted and distress'd, the needful means of bliss by thee supprest.
'Tis thine alone endu'd with boundless might, to keep the keys of sorrow and delight.
O holy, blessed father, hear my pray'r, disperse the seeds of life-consuming care;
With fav'ring mind the sacred rites attend, and grant my days a glorious, blessed end.

[73] LXXIII. TO LEUCOTHEA

The Fumigation from Aromatics.
I Call Leucothea, of great Cadmus born, and Bacchus' [Dionysos'] nurse, whom ivy leaves adorn.
Hear, pow'rful Goddess, in the mighty deep wide and profound, thy Ration doom'd to keep:
In waves rejoicing, guardian of mankind; for ships from thee alone deliv'rance find
Amidst the fury of th' unstable main, when art no more avail, and strength is vain;
When rushing billows with tempestuous ire o'erwhelm the mariner in ruin dire,
Thou hear'st, with pity touch'd, his suppliant pray'r, resolv'd his life to succour and to spare.
Be ever present, Goddess! in distress, waft ships along with prosperous success:
Thy mystics thro' the stormy sea defend, and safe conduct them to their destin'd end.

[74] LXXIV. TO PALÆMON

The Fumigation from Manna.
O Nurs'd with Dionysius [Dionysos], doom'd to keep thy dwelling in the widely-spreading deep:
With joyful aspect to my pray'r incline, propitious come, and bless the rites divine:
Thro' earth and sea thy ministers attend, and from old Ocean's stormy waves defend:
For ships their safety ever owe to thee, who wand'rest with them thro' the raging sea.
Come, guardian pow'r, whom mortal tribes desire, and far avert the deep's destructive ire.

[75] LXXV. TO THE MUSES

The Fumigation from Frankincense.
Daughters of Jove [Zeus and Mnemosyne], dire-sounding and divine,
renown'd Pierian, sweetly speaking Nine;
To those whose breasts your sacred furies fire much-form'd, the objects of supreme desire:
Sources of blameless virtue to mankind, who form to excellence the youthful mind;
Who nurse the soul, and give her to descry the paths of right with Reason's steady eye.
Commanding queens who lead to sacred light the intellect refin'd from Error's night;
And to mankind each holy rite disclose, for mystic knowledge from your nature flows.
Clio, and Erato, who charms the sight, with thee Euterpe minist'ring delight:
Thalia flourishing, Polymina fam'd, Melpomene from skill in music nam'd:
Terpischore, Urania heav'nly bright, with thee who gav'st me to behold the light.
Come, venerable, various, pow'rs divine, with fav'ring aspect on your mystics shine;
Bring glorious, ardent, lovely, fam'd desire, and warm my bosom with your sacred fire.

[76] LXXVI. To MNEMOSYNE, or the GODDESS of MEMORY

The Fumigation from Frankincense.
The consort I invoke of Jove [Zeus] divine, source of the holy, sweetly-speaking Nine;
Free from th' oblivion of the fallen mind, by whom the soul with intellect is join'd:
Reason's increase, and thought to thee belong, all-powerful, pleasant, vigilant, and strong:
'Tis thine, to waken from lethargic rest all thoughts deposited within the breast;
And nought neglecting, vigorous to excite the mental eye from dark oblivion's night.
Come, blessed power, thy mystic's mem'ry wake to holy rites, and Lethe's fetters break.

[77] LXXVII. TO AURORA [EOS]

The Fumigation from Manna.
Hear me, O Goddess! whose emerging ray leads on the broad refulgence of the day;
Blushing Aurora [Eos], whose celestial light beams on the world with red'ning splendours bright:
Angel of Titan, whom with constant round, thy orient beams recall from night profound:
Labour of ev'ry kind to lead is thine, of mortal life the minister divine.
Mankind in thee eternally delight, and none presumes to shun thy beauteous sight.
Soon as thy splendours break the bands of rest, and eyes unclose with pleasing sleep oppress'd;
Men, reptiles, birds, and beasts, with gen'ral voice, and all the nations of the deep, rejoice;
For all the culture of our life is thine. Come, blessed pow'r! and to these rites incline:
Thy holy light increase, and unconfin'd diffuse its radiance on thy mystic's mind.

[78] LXXVIII. TO THEMIS

The Fumigation from Frankincense.
Illustrious Themis, of celestial birth, thee I invoke, young blossom of the earth;
Beauteous-eyed virgin; first from thee alone, prophetic oracles to men were known,
Giv'n from the deep recesses of the fane in sacred Pytho, where renown'd you reign;
From thee, Apollo's oracles arose, and from thy pow'r his inspiration flows.
Honour'd by all, of form divinely bright, majestic virgin, wand'ring in the night:
Mankind from thee first learnt initial rites, and Bacchus' nightly choirs thy soul delights;
For holy honours to disclose is thine, with all the culture of the pow'rs divine.
Be present, Goddess, to my pray'r inclin'd, and bless the mystic rites with fav'ring mind.

[79] LXXIX. TO THE NORTH WIND [BOREAS]

The Fumigation from Frankincense.
Boreas, whose wint'ry blasts, terrific, tear the bosom of the deep surrounding air;
Cold icy pow'r, approach, and fav'ring blow, and Thrace a while desert expos'd to snow:
The misty station of the air dissolve, with pregnant clouds, whose frames in show'rs resolve:
Serenely temper all within the sky, and wipe from moisture, Æther's beauteous eye.

[80] LXXX. TO THE WEST WIND [ZEPHYROS]

The Fumigation from Frankincense.
Sea-born, aerial, blowing from the west, sweet gales [Aurai], who give to weary'd labour rest:
Vernal and grassy, and of gentle found, to ships delightful, thro' the sea profound;
For these, impell'd by you with gentle force, pursue with prosp'rous Fate their destin'd course.
With blameless gales regard my suppliant pray'r, Zephyrs unseen, light-wing'd, and form'd from air.

[81] LXXXI. TO THE SOUTH WIND [NOTOS]

The Fumigation from Frankincense.
Wide coursing gales, whose lightly leaping feet with rapid wings the air's wet bosom beat,
Approach benevolent, swift-whirling pow'rs, with humid clouds the principles of flow'rs:
For flow'ry clouds are portion'd to your care, to send on earth from all surrounding air.
Bear, blessed pow'rs, these holy rites attend, and fruitful rains on earth all-parent send.

[82] LXXXII. TO OCEAN [OKEANOS]

The Fumigation from Aromatics.
Ocean I call, whose nature ever flows, from whom at first both Gods and men arose;
Sire incorruptible, whose waves surround, and earth's concluding mighty circle bound:
Hence every river, hence the spreading sea, and earth's pure bubbling fountains spring from thee:
Hear, mighty fire, for boundless bliss is thine, whose waters purify the pow'rs divine:
Earth's friendly limit, fountain of the pole, whose waves wide spreading and circumfluent roll.
Approach benevolent, with placid mind, and be for ever to thy mystics kind.

[83] LXXXIII. TO VESTA [HESTIA]

The Fumigation from Aromatics.
Daughter of Saturn [Kronos], venerable dame, the seat containing of unweary'd flame;
In sacred rites these ministers are thine, Mystics much-blessed, holy and divine
In thee, the Gods have fix'd place, strong, stable, basis of the mortal race:
Eternal, much-form'd ever-florid queen, laughing and blessed, and of lovely mien;
Accept these rites, accord each just desire, and gentle health, and needful good inspire.

[84] LXXXIV. TO SLEEP [HYPNOS]

The Fumigation from a Poppy.
Sleep [Hypnos], king of Gods, and men of mortal birth, sov'reign of all sustain'd by mother Earth;
For thy dominion is supreme alone, o'er all extended, and by all things known.
'Tis thine all bodies with benignant mind in other bands than those of brass to bind:
Tamer of cares, to weary toil repose, from whom sweet solace in affliction flows.
Thy pleasing, gentle chains preserve the soul, and e'en the dreadful cares of death controul;
For Death [Thanatos] and Lethe with oblivious stream, mankind thy genuine brothers justly deem.
With fav'ring aspect to my pray'r incline, and save thy mystics in their works divine.

[85] LXXXV. TO THE DIVINITY OF DREAMS [ONEIROI]

The Fumigation from Aromatics.
Thee I invoke, blest pow'r of dreams [Oneiroi] divine, angel of future fates, swift wings are thine:
Great source of oracles to human kind, when stealing soft, and whisp'ring to the mind,
Thro' sleep's sweet silence and the gloom of night, thy pow'r awakes th' intellectual fight;
To silent souls the will of heav'n relates, and silently reveals their future fates.
For ever friendly to the upright mind sacred and pure, to holy rites inclin'd;
For these with pleasing hope thy dreams inspire, bliss to anticipate, which all desire.
Thy visions manifest of fate disclose, what methods best may mitigate our woes;
Reveal what rites the Gods immortal please, and what the means their anger to appease:
For ever tranquil is the good man's end, whose life, thy dreams admonish and defend.
But from the wicked turn'd averse to bless, thy form unseen, the angel of distress;
No means to cheek approaching ill they find, pensive with fears, and to the future blind.
Come, blessed pow'r, the signatures reveal which heav'n's decrees mysteriously conceal,
Signs only present to the worthy mind, nor omens ill disclose of monst'rous kind.

[86] LXXXVI. TO DEATH [THANATOS]

The Fumigation from Manna.
Hear me, O Death [Thanatos], whose empire unconfin'd, extends to mortal tribes of ev'ry kind.
On thee, the portion of our time depends, whose absence lengthens life, whose presence ends.
Thy sleep perpetual bursts the vivid folds, by which the soul, attracting body holds:
Common to all of ev'ry sex and age, for nought escapes thy all-destructive rage;
Not youth itself thy clemency can gain, vig'rous and strong, by thee untimely slain.
In thee, the end of nature's works is known, in thee, all judgment is absolv'd alone:
No suppliant arts thy dreadful rage controul, no vows revoke the purpose of thy soul;
O blessed pow'r regard my ardent pray'r, and human life to age abundant spare.

THE END