To the Terrestrial Hermes. The Fumigation from Storax.
Hermes I call, whom Fate decrees to dwell
In the dire path which leads to deepest hell:
O Bacchic Hermes, progeny divine
Of Dionysius, parent of the vine,
And of celestial Venus Paphian queen,
Dark eye-lash'd Goddess of a lovely mien:
Who constant wand'rest thro' the sacred seats
Where hell's dread empress, Proserpine, retreats
To wretched souls the leader of the 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 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.
To Cupid, or Love. The Fumigation from Aromatics.
I Call great Cupid, 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' 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.
To the Fates. The Fumigation from Aromatics.
Daughters of darkling night, much-nam'd, draw near
Infinite Fates, 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 alone with vision unconfin'd,
Surveys the conduct of the mortal kind.
Fate is Jove's perfect and eternal eye,
For Jove and Fate 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 sight
Fates 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,
To the Graces. The Fumigation from Storax.
Hear me, illustrious Graces, 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.
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 sight 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,
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