Blessings from the Gods: Selections from “The Hymns of Orpheus,” Part 2 of 2

TO THEMIS (GODDESS OF WISDOM) “Illustrious Themis, of celestial birth, Thee I invoke, young blossom of the Earth; Beauteous-eyed maiden; first from thee alone, Prophetic oracles to men were known, Given from the deep recesses of the fane In sacred Pytho, where renowned you reign; From thee, Apollo’s oracles arose, And from thy power his inspiration flows. Honored by all, of form Divinely bright, Majestic maiden, wandering in the night: Mankind from thee first learnt initial rites, And Bacchus’ nightly choirs thy soul delights; For holy honors to disclose is thine, With all the culture of the powers Divine. Be present, Goddess, to my prayer inclined, And bless the mystic rites with favoring mind.”

TO THE DIVINITY OF DREAMS “Thee I invoke, blessed power of dreams Divine, Angel of future fates, swift wings are thine: Great source of oracles to human kind, When stealing soft, and whispering to the mind, Through sleep’s sweet silence and the gloom of night, Thy power awakes the intellectual fight; To silent souls the will of Heaven relates, And silently reveals their future fates. Forever friendly to the upright mind Sacred and pure, to holy rites inclined; For these with pleasing hope thy dreams inspire, Bliss to anticipate, which all desire.”

TO DEATH “Hear me, O Death, whose empire unconfined, Extends to mortal tribes of every 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 every sex and age, For naught escapes thy ultimate rage; Not youth itself thy clemency can gain, Vigorous and strong, by thee untimely slain. In thee, the end of nature’s works is known, In thee, all judgment is absolved alone: No suppliant arts thy control, No vows revoke the purpose of thy soul; O blessed power regard my ardent prayer, And human life to age abundant spare.”