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The Orphic Hymns
the Orphic tradition · Hymn 66, lines 10–11 · Come gentle
66.10
The Orphic Hymns 66.10 · Come gentle
The prayer begins: the singer calls Hephaestus to the libations and asks him to come in a gentle mood.
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κλῦθι1
klŷthi
Hear
μάκαρ2
mákar
blessed one
, κλῄζω3
klḗizō
I call
σε4
se
you
πρὸς5
pròs
to
εὐιέρους6
euiérous
the holy
ἐπιλοιβάς7
epiloibás
libationsdrink offerings
, ὅπως8
hópōs
so that
you may
αἰὲν9
aièn
always
ἔλθῃς10
élthēis
come
ἥμερος11
hḗmeros
gentletame
χαίρουσιν12
chaírousin
to those who delight
ἐπʼ13
ep’
in
ἔργοις14
érgois
their work
. Hear, blessed one, I call you to the holy libations, so that you may always come gentle to those who delight in their work.
Hear, blessed one, I call you to the holy libations, so that you may always come gentle to those who delight in their work.
Interpretation
Hear, blessed one: I call you to the holy libations, so that you may always come gentle to those who delight in their work.
Hēmeros is the ordinary word for a tame animal or a cultivated plant, the opposite of wild. To ask fire to come hēmeros is to ask it to come tamed: the friendly fire of the hearth and the forge, which serves people who are glad of their work. The next two lines name the other kind of fire.
66.12
The Orphic Hymns 66.12 · Calm the fire in our bodies
The last request: stop the raging of fire, the fire that is also the heat of life inside us.
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Stop the raging madness of tireless fire, you who hold the burning of nature in our bodies.