To the Sea, or Tethys. The Fumigation from Frankincense and Manna.
Tethys I call, with eyes cærulean bright,
Hid in a veil obscure from human sight
Great Ocean's empress, wand'ring thro' the deep,
And pleas'd with gentle gales, the earth to sweep;
Whose blessed waves in swift succession go,
And lash the rocky shore with endless flow:
Delighting in the Sea serene to play,
In ships exulting and the wat'ry way.
Mother of Venus, and of clouds obscure,
Great nurse of beasts, and source of fountains pure.
O venerable Goddess, hear my pray'r,
And make benevolent my life thy care
Send, blessed queen, to ships a prosp'rous breeze,
And waft them safely o'er the stormy seas.
To Nereus. The Fumigation from Myrrh.
O Thou, who dost the roots of Ocean keep
In seats cærulean, dæmon of the deep,
With fifty nymphs (attending in thy train,
Fair virgin artists) glorying thro' the main:
The dark foundation of the rolling sea
And Earth's wide bounds, belong much-fam'd to thee;
Great dæmon, source of all, whose pow'r can make
The Earth's unmeasur'd, holy basis shake,
When blust'ring winds in secret caverns pent,
By thee excited, struggle hard for vent
Come, blessed Nereus, listen to my pray'r,
And cease to shake the earth with wrath severe
Send on our sacred rites abundant health,
With peace divine and necessary wealth.
To the Nereids. The Fumigation from Aromatics.
Daughters of Nereus, resident in caves
Merg'd deep in Ocean, sporting thro' the waves;
Fanatic fifty nymphs, who thro' the main
Delight to follow in the Triton's train,
Rejoicing close behind their cars to keep;
Whose forms half wild, are nourish'd by the deep,
With other nymphs of different degree
Leaping and wand'ring thro' the liquid sea:
Bright, wat'ry dolphins, sonorous and gay,
Well pleas'd to sport with bachanalian play;
Nymphs beauteous-ey'd, whom sacrifice delights,
Send rich abundance on our mystic rites;
For you at first disclos'd the rites divine,
Of holy Bacchus and of Proserpine,
Of fair Calliope from whom I spring,
And of Apollo bright, the Muse's king.
To Proteus. The Fumigation from Storax.
Proteus I call, whom Fate decrees, to keep
The keys which lock the chambers of the deep;
First-born, by whose illustrious pow'r alone
All Nature's principles are clearly shewn
Matter to change with various forms is thine,
Matter unform'd, capacious, and divine.
All-honor'd, prudent, whose sagacious mind
Knows all that was, and is, of ev'ry kind,
With all that shall be in succeeding time
So vast thy wisdom, wond'rous, and sublime:
For all things Nature first to thee consign'd,
And in thy essence omniform confin'd.
Come, blessed father, to our rites attend,
And grant our happy lives a prosp'rous end.
To the Earth. The Fumigation from every kind of Seed, except Beans and Aromatics.
O Goddess, Earth, of Gods and men the source,
Endu'd with fertile, all destroying force
All-parent, bounding, whose prolific pow'rs,
Produce a store of beauteous fruits and flow'rs,
All-various maid, th' eternal world's strong base
Immortal, blessed, crown'd with ev'ry grace;
From whose wide womb, as from an endless root,
Fruits, many-form'd, mature and grateful shoot.
Deep bosom'd, blessed, pleas'd with grassy plains,
Sweet to the smell, and with prolific rains.
All flow'ry dæmon, centre of the world,
Around thy orb, the beauteous stars are hurl'd
With rapid whirl, eternal and divine,
Whose frames with matchless skill and wisdom shine;
Come, blessed Goddess, listen to my pray'r,
And make increase of fruits thy constant care
With fertile Seasons in thy train, draw near,
And with propitious mind thy suppliant hear,
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