LYRICS OF PERICLES.—III.• VIII.—ODE TO NEPTUNE.
Gon of the steed and the spear and the Ocean, Speed thou our barks o'er the wandering foam ; Steer us by reef, and by headland and island, Outward and onward, and inward and home ; Hail to thee, Neptune ! great Neptune, all hail!
Shaker of Earth and upheaver of Water, Father of Triton and brother of Jove,
Thou at whose bidding Troy rose as a palm ;tree,
Under whose branches her warriors strove, Hail to thee, Neptune ! great Neptune, all hail !
Saturn begat thee, and Saturn devoured thee, But to restore thee to mystical birth ; Neptune some style thee, some call thee Poseidon, Many thy names as the races of Earth: Hail to thee, Neptune! great Neptune, all hail !
Deep in the sea lies thy palace at 2Ega3, Whence thou arisest to ride on the wave, Yoking thy golden-maned, brazen-hoofed coursers, Mighty to ruin, but powerful to save ; Hail to thee,:Neptune ! great Neptune, all hail !
Clouds as thou biddest them gather and scatter, Come at thy whisper and fly at thy nod; Look then on us that bow down at thine altars, King of the Ocean, the Mariners' God !
Hail to thee, Neptune! great Neptune, all hail!
Previous page
