Thou, who from out such darkness first could’st lift A torch so bright, illumining thereby The benefits of life, thee do I follow, O thou bright glory of the Grecian race, And in thy deepset footprints firmly now I plant my steps, not so much through desire To rival thee, rather because I love And therefore long to imitate thee: for how Should a mere swallow strive with swans; or what Might kids with tottering limbs, matched in a race, Achieve against a horse’s stalwart strength? Thou, father, art discoverer of truth; Thou dost enrich us with a father’s precepts; And from thy pages, glorious sage, as bees In flowery glades sip from all plants, so we Feed likewise upon all thy golden words, Golden words, ever worthy of endless life. For soon as, issuing from thy godlike mind, Thy doctrine has begun to voice abroad The nature of things, straightway the soul’s terrors Take flight; the world’s walls open; I behold Things being formed and changed throughout all space. Revealed is the divinity of the gods, And their serene abodes, which neither winds Buffet, nor clouds drench them with showers, nor snow Congealed by sharp frost, falling in white flakes, Violates, but an ever-cloudless sky Invests them, laughing with wide-spreading light. Moreover all their wants nature provides, And there is nothing that at any time Can minish their tranquillity of soul. But on the other hand nowhere are visible The Acherusian quarters; and yet earth In no wise can obstruct our contemplation Of all those operations that take place Beneath our feet throughout the nether void. At such thoughts there comes over me a kind Of godlike pleasure mixed with thrilling awe, That nature by thy power should be thus clearly Made manifest and unveiled on every side.