To the Goddess named --- Mary
O Dive custos Auriacae Domus,
Et spes labantis certior imperi,
O rebus adversis vocande,
O superum decus in secundis.
Seu te fluentem pronus ad Isida
In vota fervens Oxonidum chorus
Seu te precantur quos remoti
unda lavat properata Cami,
Descende, descende coelo non ita creditas
Visurus aedes praesidiis tuis.
Descende, descende visurus penates Caesaris et,
et penetrale sacrum, penetrale sacrum.
Maria a Musis flebilis occidit,
Maria gentis deliciae breves,
Maria occidit.
O flete Mariam,
O flete Camoenae.
O flete Divae!
Flete Dea moriente.
O divine One, guardian of the House of Orange, steadfast hope of a tottering
empire, you to whom we call in adversity, you our highest glory in times of
prosperity; whether a gathering of Oxford men by the flowing Isis prays
fervently to you, or whether they beseech you that are washed by the hurrying
waves of the Cam, descend from heaven and behold this household, entrusted to
your care when not thus [afflicted]. Descend, see the king's household and its
innermost sanctuary. Mary, mourned by the Muses, is fallen: Mary, so briefly
the delight of her race. O weep, Muses, for Mary; weep, Divine Ones, for the
dying Goddess.
Source:
Three Elegies on the Much Lamented Loss
of Our Late Most Gracious Queen Mary,
by Henry Playford, 1695
return to Home Page
or use Her Cyclopedia Index