To Vulcan

LXV.

TO VULCAN ^*

The FUMIGATION from FRANKINCENSE and MANNA.

STRONG, mighty Vulcan, bearing splendid light,
Unweary'd fire, with flaming torrents bright:
Strong-handed, deathless, and of art divine,
Pure element, a portion of the world is thine:

p. 198

All-taming artist, all-diffusive pow'r, 5
'Tis thine supreme, all substance to devour:
Æther, Sun, Moon, and Stars, light pure and clear,
For these thy lucid parts to men appear.
To thee, all dwellings, cities, tribes belong,
Diffus'd thro' mortal bodies bright and strong. 10
Hear, blessed power, to holy rites incline,
And all propitious on the incense shine:
Suppress the rage of fires unweary'd frame,
And still preserve our nature's vital flame.

Footnotes

197:* This deity, according to Proclus, in Repub. p. 385. adorns by his artifice, the sensible machine of the universe, which he fills with certain reasons, proportions, and powers of Nature. But he requires the assistance of Venus, that he may invent sensible effects with beauty, and by this means cause the pulchritude of the world.