The Poetical Works of Thomas Moore Collected by Himself. In Ten Volumes |
I, II. |
III, IV. |
V. |
VI, VII. |
VIII, IX. |
X. |
The Poetical Works of Thomas Moore | ||
95
[“Drink of this cup—Osiris]
“Drink of this cup—Osiris
sips
The same in his halls below;
And the same he gives, to cool the lips
Of the Dead who downward go.
The same in his halls below;
And the same he gives, to cool the lips
Of the Dead who downward go.
“Drink of this cup—the water within
Is fresh from Lethe's stream;
'Twill make the past, with all its sin,
And all its pain and sorrows, seem
Like a long-forgotten dream!
Is fresh from Lethe's stream;
'Twill make the past, with all its sin,
And all its pain and sorrows, seem
Like a long-forgotten dream!
“The pleasure, whose charms
Are steep'd in woe;
The knowledge, that harms
The soul to know;
Are steep'd in woe;
The knowledge, that harms
The soul to know;
96
“The hope, that, bright
As the lake of the waste,
Allures the sight,
But mocks the taste;
As the lake of the waste,
Allures the sight,
But mocks the taste;
“The love that binds
Its innocent wreath,
Where the serpent winds,
In venom, beneath;—
Its innocent wreath,
Where the serpent winds,
In venom, beneath;—
“All that, of evil or false, by thee
Hath ever been known or seen,
Shall melt away in this cup, and be
Forgot, as it never had been!”
Hath ever been known or seen,
Shall melt away in this cup, and be
Forgot, as it never had been!”
Osiris, under the name of Serapis, was supposed to rule over the subterranean world; and performed the office of Pluto, in the mythology of the Egyptians. “They believed,” says Dr. Pritchard, “that Serapis presided over the region of departed souls, during the period of their absence, when languishing without bodies, and that the dead were deposited in his palace.” Analysis of the Egyptian Mythology.
The Poetical Works of Thomas Moore | ||