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REMAINS OF HESIOD.
The holy man discreet sits decently,
And to some sheep-fold's fenced wall draws nigh.
From rites of love unclean the hearth forbear,
Nor sit beside ungirt, for household gods are there.
Leave not the funeral feast to sow thy race;
From the gods' banquet seek thy bride's embrace.
Whene'er thy feet the river-ford essay,
Whose flowing current winds its limpid way,
Thy hands amidst the pleasant waters lave,
And lowly gazing on the beauteous wave
Appease the river-god: if thou perverse
Pass with unsprinkled hands, a heavy curse
Shall rest upon thee from th' observant skies,
And after-woes retributive arise.
When in the fane the feast of gods[1] is laid,
Ne'er to thy five-branch'd hand apply the blade[2]
And to some sheep-fold's fenced wall draws nigh.
From rites of love unclean the hearth forbear,
Nor sit beside ungirt, for household gods are there.
Leave not the funeral feast to sow thy race;
From the gods' banquet seek thy bride's embrace.
Whene'er thy feet the river-ford essay,
Whose flowing current winds its limpid way,
Thy hands amidst the pleasant waters lave,
And lowly gazing on the beauteous wave
Appease the river-god: if thou perverse
Pass with unsprinkled hands, a heavy curse
Shall rest upon thee from th' observant skies,
And after-woes retributive arise.
When in the fane the feast of gods[1] is laid,
Ne'er to thy five-branch'd hand apply the blade[2]
- ↑ The feast of gods.] A sacrifice was followed by a general banquet, and the tables were spread in the temple itself. The gods were supposed invisibly to be present. Thus we are to explain their visit to the Æthiopians in Homer, Il. i:
For to the banks of the Oceanus
Where Æthiopia holds a feast to Jove
He journied yesterday; with whom the gods
Went also.Cowper. - ↑ Ne'er to thy five-branch'd hand apply the blade.] This precept is somewhat obscurely expressed, like the symbols of Pythagoras: that things of no value might appear to involve a mysterious im-
