
To Pan
(The fumigation from
various odours)
I call strong Pan, the substance of the
whole,
Etherial, marine, earthly, general soul,
Immortal fire; for all the world is thine,
And all are parts of thee, O pow'r divine.
Come, blessed Pan, whom rural haunts
delight,
Come, leaping, agile, wand'ring, starry
light;
The Hours and Seasons, wait thy high
command,
And round thy throne in graceful order
stand.
Goat-footed, horned, Bacchanalian Pan,
Fanatic pow'r, from whom the world began,
Whose various parts by thee inspir'd
combine
In endless dance and melody divine.
In thee a refuge from our fears we find,
Those fears peculiar to the human kind.
Thee shepherds, streams of water, goats
rejoice,
Thou lov'st the chace, and Echo's secret
voice:
The sportive nymphs, thy ev'ry step attend,
And all thy works fulfill their destin'd
end.
O all-producing pow'r, much-fam'd, divine,
The world's great ruler, rich increase is
thine.
All-fertile Paean, heav'nly splendor pure,
In fruits rejoicing, and in caves obscure.
True serpent-horned Jove, whose dreadful
rage
When rous'd, 'tis hard for mortals to
asswage.
By thee the earth wide-bosom'd deep and
long,
Stands on a basis permanent and strong.
Th' unwearied waters of the rolling sea,
Profoundly spreading, yield to thy decree.
Old Ocean too reveres thy high command,
Whose liquid arms begirt the solid land.
The spacious air, whose nutrimental fire,
And vivid blasts, the heat of life inspire;
The lighter frame of fire, whose sparkling
eye
Shines on the summit of the azure sky,
Submit alike to thee, whose general sway
All parts of matter, various form'd, obey.
All nature's change thro' thy protecting
care,
And all mankind thy lib'ral bounties share:
For these where'er dispers'd thro'
boundless space,
Still find thy providence support their
race.
Come, Bacchanalian, blessed power draw
near,
Fanatic Pan, thy humble suppliant hear,
Propitious to these holy rites attend,
And grant my life may meet a prosp'rous
end;
Drive panic Fury too, wherever found,
From human kind, to earth's remotest bound.