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The gods rejoice in his beauties,

Exalting him who is in the midst of adorers!

Lord of the Sekti and of the Madet bark,

Which traverse for thee Nu in peace!

Thy crew rejoice

When they see the overthrow of the wicked one,

Whose members taste the knife;

The flame devoureth him;

His soul is more punished than his body;

That Nak serpent, he is deprived of movement.
The gods are in exultation,

The crew of Ra are in peace,

Heliopolis is in exultation,

The enemies of Tum are overthrown.

Karnak is in peace, Heliopolis is in exultation.
The heart of the uraeus goddess is glad,
The enemies of her lord are overthrown;
The gods of Kheraha are in acclamation,

The dwellers in the sanctuaries are in obeisance;
They behold him mighty in his power.
Mighty prince of the gods!

Great one of Justice, lord of Karnak,
In this thy name, "Doer of Justice,"
Lord of Plenty, Peaceful Bull;

In this thy name, "Amen, Bull of his Mother,"
Making mankind,* creating all that is,

In this thy name of "Tum Khepera,"

Great hawk, adorning the breast!

Fair of face adorning the bosom.

Figure lofty of diadem.

The two uraei fly on wings before him,

The hearts of men run up to him (like dogs),

The illuminated ones turn toward him.

Adorning the two lands by his coming forth,

Hail to thee, Amen Ra, lord of the throne of the two lands! His city loveth his rising.

This is the end,

in peace,

as it was found.

HYMN TO ZEUS

ÆSCHYLUS (From the Greek)

First Chorus from Agamemnon

Zeus, by what name soe'er

He glories being addressed,
Even by that holiest name

I name the highest and the Best.
On him I cast my troublous care,
My only refuge from despair:
Weighing all else, in Him alone I find
Relief from this vain burden of the mind.

One erst appeared supreme,

Bold with abounding might, But like a darkling dream

Vanished in long past night Powerless to save; and he is gone

Who flourished since, in turn to own His conqueror, to whom with soul on fire Man crying aloud shall gain his soul's desire—,

Zeus who prepared for men

The path of wisdom, binding fast Learning to suffering. In their sleep The mind is visited again

With memory of affliction past.

Without the will, reflection deep Reads lesson that perforce shall last,

Thanks to the power that plies the sovran oar, Resistless, toward the eternal shore.

CHORUS FROM EDIPUS REX

SOPHOCLES, 490-405 B.C.

Strophe I

Oh, may my constant feet not fail,
Walking in paths of righteousness,
Sinless in word and deed,—
True to those eternal laws
That scale forever the high steep

Of heaven's pure ether, whence they sprang ;-
For only in Olympus is their home,

Nor mortal wisdom gave them birth:

And howsoe'er men may forget,

They will not sleep;

For the might of the god within them grows not old.

Antistrophe I

Rooted in pride, the tyrant grows;
But pride that with its own too-much
Is rashly surfeited,

Heeding not the prudent mean,
Down the inevitable gulf

From its high pinnacle is hurled,

Where use of feet or foothold there is none.

But, O kind gods, the noble strength

That struggles for the State's behoof

Unbend not yet:

In the gods have I put my trust; I will not fear.

Strophe II

But whoso walks disdainfully

In act or word,

And fears not Justice, nor reveres

The throned gods,—

Him let misfortune slay

For his ill-starred wantoning,

Should he heap unrighteous gains,

Nor from unhallowed paths withhold his feet,
Or reach rash hands to pluck forbidden fruit.
Who shall do this, and boast
That yet his soul is proof

Against the arrows of offended Heaven?
If honor crowns such deeds as these,
Not song but silence, then, for me!

Antistrophe II

To earth's dread centre, unprofaned
By mortal touch,

No more with awe will I repair,
Nor Abae's shrine,

Nor the Olympian plain,

If the truth stands not confessed,
Pointed at by all the world.

O Zeus supreme, if rightly thou art called
Lord over all, let not these things escape
Thee and thy timeless sway!

For now men set at naught

Apollo's word, and cry, "Behold, it fails!"
His praise is darkened with a doubt;
And faith is sapped, and Heaven defied.

b. EARLY CHRISTIAN AND MEDIEVAL PERIODS

INSPIRATION

ODE VI OF SOLOMON

Translated by J. Rendel Harris

As the hand moves over the harp, and the strings speak, So speaks in my members the Spirit of the Lord, And I speak by His love.

For He destroys what is foreign, and everything that is bitter: For thus it was from the beginning and will be to the end, That nothing should be His adversary,

And nothing should stand up against Him.

The Lord hath multiplied the knowledge of Himself,
And is zealous that these things should be known,

Which by His grace have been given unto us.
And the praise of His name He gave us :

Our spirits praise His holy Spirit.

For there went forth a stream and became a river great and broad;

For it flooded and broke up everything and it brought (water) to the Temple:

And the restrainers of the children of men were not able to restrain it,

Nor the arts of those whose business it is to restrain water;
For it spread over the face of the whole earth, and filled

everything:

And all the thirsty upon earth were given to drink of it; And thirst was relieved and quenched: for from the Most High the draft was given.

Blessed then are the ministers of that draft who are entrusted with that water of His:

They have assuaged the dry lips, and the will that had fainted they have raised up;

And souls that were near departing they have brought back from death:

And limbs that had fallen they straightened and set up:

They gave strength for their feebleness and light to their eyes: For everyone knew them in the Lord, and they lived by the water of life forever.

Hallelujah.

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