Hermes

SOOTHSAY. Behold, with rod twy-serpented, Hermes the prophet, twining in one power The woman with the man. Upon his head The cloudy cap, wherewith he hath in dower The cloud’s own virtue—change and counterchange, To show in light, and to withdraw in pall, As mortal eyes best bear. His lineage strange From Zeus, Truth’s sire, and maiden May—the all- Illusive Nature. His fledged feet declare That ’tis the nether self transdeified, And the thrice-furnaced passions, which do bear The poet Olympusward. In him allied Both parents clasp; and from the womb of Nature Stern Truth takes flesh in shows of lovely feature.