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HYMN TO ZEUS, by                    
First Line: Most glorious of immortals, zeus all powerful
Last Line: Than rendering thee due praise for thy omnipresent law.
Subject(s): Zeus


MOST glorious of immortals, Zeus all powerful,
Author of Nature, named by many names, all hail.
Thy law rules all; and the voice of the world may cry to thee,
For from thee we are born, and alone of living things
That move on earth are we created in God's image.
So will I praise thee, ever singing of thy might
By whom the whole wide firmament of heaven is swayed
And guided in its wheeling journey round this earth
In glad submission to thee: for in thine unconquered hands
Thou hast a mighty servant, the thunderbolt of heaven
Wrought with a double edge, and of never-dying fire, --
A pulse of life beating through all created things
That walk in thy ways; and with this thou dost direct
Thy Omnipresent Word that moves through all creation
And mingles with the sun and the company of the stars.
All things confess thee as their life that are on earth
Or in the sea or in the holy air of heaven,
Save what in foolishness is wrought by evil men:
But into harmony thou canst turn such discords
And make of chaos order; for hate with thee is love,
And thus by thee all things of good and evil are joined
To make thy eternal Word, -- still unperceived by those
Who blindly shun this truth. Theirs is the bitterness
Of loss, who in their heart's desire of its own good,
As understanding not God's omnipresent law
Nor hearkening to his voice, forgo their happiness.
Self-willed, they seek in folly evil's many forms,
And some find suffering in the difficult race for fame,
And some in headlong chase for gain swerve from their course,
While to the senses' swoon of pleasure others turn
And to the body's delight, -- fools all, who spending folly
In conflict striving with their own desire of good,
Hither and thither are borne in the wake of vanity.
But Zeus that givest all, hear us and bring salvation, --
Dark in thy clouds and shining in thy lightning's flames --
Save men from all their ignorance and its distress,
Scatter it from their hearts, and in their quest for wisdom
Grant them success; for in wisdom thou art powerful
And rulest justly. So for our meed of honour
May we requite thee with the honour of our song,
And ever praise thee and thy works, -- a glorious theme
For men; and not the gods themselves know higher honour
Than rendering thee due praise for thy Omnipresent Law.





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