Taylor - Eleusianian and Bacchic Mysteries.pdf - Platonic Philosophy

226 Eleusinian andWas sav d in ^ther, when, with fury fired,The Titans fell against his life conspired ;And with relentless rage and thirst for gpre,Their hands his members into fragments tore :But ever watchful of thy father s will,Thy power preserved him from succeeding ill,Till from the secret counsels of his fire,And born from Semele through heavenly sire,Great Dionysus to the world at lengthAgain appeared with renovated strength.Once, too, thy warlike ax, with matchless sway,Lopped from their savage necks the heads awayOf furious beasts, and thus the pests destroyedWhich long all-seeing Hecate annoyed.By thee benevolent great Juno s mightWas roused, to furnish mortals with delight.And thro life s wide and various range, t is thineEach part to beautify with art divine :Invigorated hence by thee, we findA demiurgic impulse in the mind.Towers proudly raised, and for protection strong,To thee, dread guardian deity, belong,As proper symbols of thexalted heightThy series claims amidst the courts of light.Lands are beloved by thee, to learning prone,And Athens, Oh Athena, is thy own!Great goddess, hear ! and on my dark ned mindPour thy pure light in measure unconfined ;That sacred light, Oh all-protecting queen,Which beams eternal from thy face serene.My soul, while wand ring on the earth, inspireWith thy own blessed and impulsive fire :And from thy fables, mystic and divine,Give all her powers with holy light to shine.