Sunday, July 5, 2015

Hymn to Diana

Devotion to Diana is recorded in the New Testament, and even in the sixteenth and seventeenth century, her worship was not forgotten. 

A hymn to Diana, by Ben Jonson (1572-1637):

QUEEN and huntress, chaste and fair, 
Now the sun is laid to sleep, 
Seated in thy silver chair, 
State in wonted manner keep: 
Hesperus entreats thy light
Goddess excellently bright. 

Earth, let not thy envious shade 
Dare itself to interpose; 
Cynthia's shining orb was made 
Heaven to clear when day did close: 
Bless us then with wishèd sight, 
Goddess excellently bright. 

Lay thy bow of pearl apart, 
And thy crystal-shining quiver; 
Give unto the flying hart
Space to breathe, how short soever: 
Thou that mak'st a day of night— 
Goddess excellently bright.


Hesperus: the evening star; the planet Venus.
Cynthia: another name for Artemis or Diana.
Hart: archaic word for a male deer.

An amazing painting of blessed Diana from Deviantart.com.

No comments:

Post a Comment