
To Hercules
(The fumigation from
frankincense)
Hear, pow'rful, Hercules untam'd and
strong,
To whom vast hands, and mighty works
belong,
Almighty Titan, prudent and benign,
Of various forms, eternal and divine,
Father of Time, the theme of gen'ral
praise,
Ineffable, ador'd in various ways.
Magnanimous, in divination skill'd,
And in the athletic labours of the field.
'Tis thine strong archer, all things to
devour,
Supreme, all-helping, all-producing pow'r;
To thee mankind as their deliv'rer pray,
Whose arms can chase the savage tribes
away:
Unweary'd, earth's best blossom, offspring
fair,
To whom calm peace, and peaceful works are
dear.
Self-born, with primogenial fires you
shine,
And various names and strength of heart are
thine.
Thy mighty head supports the morning light,
And bears untam'd, the silent gloomy night;
From east to west endu'd with strength
divine,
Twelve glorious labours to absolve is thine;
Supremely skill'd, thou reign'st in
heav'n's abodes,
Thyself a God amid'st th' immortal Gods.
With arms unshaken, infinite, divine,
Come, blessed pow'r, and to our rites
incline;
The mitigations of disease convey,
And drive disasterous maladies away.
Come, shake the branch with thy almighty
arm,
Dismiss thy darts and noxious fate disarm.