When’er I think of you Oh ancestors so great, Then to the highest Heaven My soul I elevate. There in th’ immensity Of the eternal springs Of Fame which cannot die And constant happiness Are your immortal souls. The vision transport brings Your valor has reward Your virtues Heaven doth bless Around your joyous souls Each new delight it flings. Ineffable your joy Your constant happiness. If I in spite of faults And of insufficience Am called on by the high Decrees of Providence, To fill upon the Earth The very highest place ’Tis but because I am Descendant of your race. Although I never may In your great footsteps move Yet I will care display Throughout my life’s high course That every act of mine Shall to descendants prove That I lived not in vain And need not feel remorse. In giving this, necessarily weak, translation of the opening part of the hymn, we have endeavored to preserve the short Iambics of the Chinese version; but in the Chinese there are only eight lines to the first division, therefore four lines of the translation correspond to one of the original. After the chorus has sung as far as this, which is only an exordium, or manner of worthily preparing for the following exercises, the emperor prostrates himself three times, touching his forehead to the earth each time, and then taking the libations, offers them up to the departed: meanwhile the chorus sing the second part of the hymn, still in the name of the emperor.[120] In this he again alludes _per_ chorus, to his noble descent, and thanks them for leaving their abode of bliss to visit him, and humbly prostrated, begs to render homage to them, and entreats that they will accept the libations offered, as a testimonial of profound respect and perfect love.[121] After offering these, the emperor prostrates himself nine times to the earth, and then resumes his position in front of the table, while the chorus sing the third part of the hymn. During this final division of the music, the spirits which descended at the first part are supposed to be reascending to Heaven. In the third part the emperor (still by proxy) states how mean and pitiful he feels, after such illustrious predecessors, and tells how heavy the burdens of state are to him, and thanks his ancestors for their spiritual assistance. He concludes with the statement that he can do very little to testify his appreciation of all their benefits, but what he is able to do he has done.