GODDESS VENUS


A HYMN


Heav'nly, illustrious, laughter-loving
queen,
Sea-born, night-loving, of an awful mien;
Crafty, from whom necessity first came,
Producing, nightly, all-connecting dame:
'Tis thine the world with harmony to join,
(73)
For all things spring from thee, O pow'r
divine.
The triple Fates are rul'd by thy decree,
And all productions yield alike to thee:
Whate'er the heav'ns, encircling all
contain,
Earth fruit-producing, and the stormy
main,
Thy sway confesses, and obeys thy nod,
Awful attendant of the brumal God:
Goddess of marriage, charming to the
sight,
Mother of Loves, whom banquetings
delight;
Source of persuasion, secret, savoring
queen,
Illustrious born, apparent and unseen:
Spousal, lupercal, and to men inclin'd,
Prolific, most-desir'd, life-giving, kind:
Great sceptre-bearer of the Gods, 'tis
thine,
Mortals in necessary bands to join;
And ev'ry tribe of savage monsters dire
In magic chains to bind, thro' mad
desire.
Come, Cyprus-born, and to my pray'r
incline,
Whether exalted in the heav'ns you
shine,
Or pleas'd in Syria's temple to preside,
Or o'er th' Egyptian plains thy car to
guide,
Fashion'd of gold; and near its sacred
flood,
Fertile and fam'd to fix thy blest abode;
Or if rejoicing in the azure shores,
Near where the sea with foaming billows
roars,
The circling choirs of mortals, thy
delight,
Or beauteous nymphs, with eyes
cerulean bright,
Pleas'd by the dusty banks renown'd of
old,
To drive thy rapid, two-yok'd car of gold;
Or if in Cyprus with thy mother fair,
Where married females praise thee
ev'ry year,
And beauteous virgins in the chorus
join,
Adonis pure to sing and thee divine;
Come, all-attractive to my pray'r inclin'd,
For thee, I call, with holy, reverent mind.
 

73: According to the Orphic theology as
related by Proclus, and from him by
Eschenbach, in Epig. p. 52,Venus is the
cause of all the harmony and analogy in
the universe, and of the union of form
with matter; connecting and
comprehending the powers of all the
mundane elements. And al-though this
Goddess ranks among the
supermundane divinities, yet her
principal employment consists in
beautifully illuminating the order,
har-mony, and communion of all
mundane concerns.

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