THE RITES OF ELEUSIS
Surely the scented sleep
That crowns the equal war
ls wiser than only to weep—
Το weep for evermore
!
Now, at the crown of the year,
The decadent days of October,
I come to thee, God, without fear ;
Pious, chaste, and sober.
I solemnly sacrifice
This first-fruit flower of wine
For a vehicle of thy vice,
As I am Thine to be mine.
For five in the year gone by
I pray Thee give to me one;
A lover stronger than I,
A moon to swallow the sun
!
May he be like a lily-white goat,
Crisp as a thicket of thorns,
With a collar of gold for his throat,
A scarlet bow for his horns!
CANCER. May our Lady Artemis be favourable!
TAURUS. May our Lady Artemis never be awakened
!
[NYMPH?ששמ/!ושמששand dances her "uirginal(lanæ.
ΡΑΝ. Of what worth is the gold in the mine?
CANCER. Brother Pan, be silent.
NYMPH. Bear the Cup οί Libation!
CANCER- 333'333-333-
PAN,
[Rea/es.
Mother of Light, and the Gods ! Mother of Music, awake!
Silence and Speech are at odds ; Heaven and Hell are at stake.
By the Rose and the Cross I conjure;
I constrain by the Snake and the
Sword ;
I am he that is sworn to endure—Bring us the word of the Lord
!
By the brood of the Bysses of Brightening, whose God was my sire ;
By the Lord of the Flame and the Lightning, the King of the Spirits of Fire ;
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