To Bacchus Pericionius. The Fumigation from Aromatics.
Bacchus Pericionius, 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, sounding torrents borne along)
Propt by thy grasp indissolubly strong.
Come mighty Bacchus to these rites inclin'd,
And bless thy suppliants with rejoicing mind.
To Sabasius. The Fumigation from Aromatics.
Hear me, illustrious father, dæmon fam'd,
Great Saturn's offspring, and Sabasius nam'd
Inserting Bacchus, bearer of the vine,
And sounding 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,
To Ippa. The Fumigation from Storax.
Great nurse of Bacchus, 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 Phrygia's holy mountain seen,
Or if to dwell in Tmolus thee delights,
With holy aspect come, and bless these rites,
To Lysius Lenæus. A Hymn.
Hear me, Jove's son, blest Bacchus, God of wine.
Born of two mothers, honor'd and divine; Lysian,
Euion Bacchus, various nam
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.
To the Nymphs. The Fumigation from Aromatics.
Nymphs, who from Ocean's stream derive your birth,
Who dwell in liquid caverns of the earth
Nurses of Bacchus secret-coursing power,
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-sounding, 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, 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,
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