XXVI. To the Mother of the Gods

The FUMIGATION from a Variety of ODORIFEROUS SUBSTANCES.

Mother of Gods, great nurse of all, draw near,

Divinely honor'd, and regard my pray'r:

Thron'd on a car, by lions drawn along,

By bull-destroying lions, swift and strong,

Thou sway'st the sceptre of the pole divine, 5  5

And the world's middle seat, much-fam'd, is thine.

Hence earth is thine, and needy mortals share

Their constant food, from thy protecting care:

From thee at first both Gods and men arose;

From thee, the sea and ev'ry river flows. 10

Vesta, and source of good, thy name we find

To mortal men rejoicing to be kind;

For ev'ry good to give, thy soul delights;

Come, mighty pow'r, propitious to our rites,

All-taming, blessed, Phrygian saviour, come, 15

Saturn's great queen, rejoicing in the drum.

Celestial, ancient, life-supporting maid,

Fanatic Goddess, give thy suppliant aid;

With joyful aspect on our incense shine,

And, pleas'd, accept the sacrifice divine.

Footnotes

151:5 Ver. 5.] We have already observed, that the mother of the Gods is the same with Rhea; and Proclus, in the second book of his Commentary on Euclid, informs us, that the pole of the world is called by the Pythagoreans the seal of Rhea.

XXVII.