O venerable goddess, hear my pray'r,
For labour pains are thy peculiar care;
in thee, when stretch'd upon the bed of grief,
The sex as in a mirror view relief.
Guard of the race, endued with gentle mind, 5
To helpless youth, benevolent and kind;
Benignant nourisher; great Nature's key
Belongs to no divinity but thee.
114:* An epithet of Diana's, alluding to her presiding over gates, and being as it were the gate-keeper of life. It is remarkable that the first of these Hymns should be addressed to the goddess who ushers in our existence, and the last to Death. This certainly proves the collection is complete.
