To Pluto

XVII.

TO PLUTO.

PLUTO, magnanimous, whose realms profound
Are fix'd beneath the firm and solid ground,
In the Tartarian plains remote from fight,
And wrapt forever in the depths of night;
Terrestrial Jove, thy sacred ear incline, 5  ⁵
And, pleas'd, accept thy mystic's hymn divine.
Earth's keys to thee, illustrious king belong,  ⁷
Its secret gates unlocking, deep and strong.
'Tis thine, abundant annual fruits to bear,
For needy mortals are thy constant care. 10

p. 143

To thee, great king, Avernus is assign'd,
The seat of Gods, and basis of mankind.
Thy throne is fix'd in Hade's dismal plains,
Distant, unknown to rest, where darkness reigns;
Where, destitute of breath, pale spectres dwell, 15
In endless, dire, inexorable hell;
And in dread Acheron, whose depths obscure,
Earth's stable roots eternally secure.
O mighty dæmon, whose decision dread,
The future fate determines of the dead, 20
With captive Proserpine, thro' grassy plains,
Drawn in a four-yok'd car with loosen'd reins,
Rapt o'er the deep, impell'd by love, you flew
'Till Eleusina's city rose to view;
There, in a wond'rous cave obscure and deep, 25
The sacred maid secure from search you keep,
The cave of Atthis, whose wide gates display
An entrance to the kingdoms void of day.
Of unapparent works, thou art alone
The dispensator, visible and known. 30
O pow'r all-ruling, holy, honor'd light,
Thee sacred poets and their hymns delight:
Propitious to thy mystic's works incline,
Rejoicing come, for holy rites are thine.

Footnotes

142:5 Ver. 5.] Terrestrial Jove, Pluto, says Proclus in Theol. Plat. p. 368. is called terrestrial Jupiter, because he governs by his providence the earth, and all she contains.

142:7 Ver. 7.] Earth's keys. Pausanias informs us, that Pluto is reported to have keys, as an illustrious distinction; in the same manner as a sceptre is attributed to Jupiter, and a trident to Neptune.