Page:Poems - Southey (1799) volume 1.djvu/220

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.

204

Divulging spread; before your [1]idol formsBy every hearth the blinded Pagan knelt,Pouring his prayers to these, and offering thereVain sacrifice or impious, and sometimesWith human blood your sanctuary defil'd:Till the first Brutus, tyrant-conquering chief,Arose; he first the impious rites put down,He fithest, who for Freedom lived and died,The friend of humankind. Then did your feastsFrequent recur and blameless; and when cameThe solemn [2]festival, whose happiest ritesEmblem'd Equality, the holiest truth!Crown'd with gay garlands were your statues seen,To you the fragrant censer smok'd, to youThe rich libation flow'd: vain sacrifice!
  1. ↑ It is not certainly known under what form the Penates were worshipped. Some assert, as wooden or brazen rods shaped like trumpets: others, that they were represented as young men.
  2. ↑ The Saturnalia.
This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.