Most happiest of all maidens—wherefore maiden,
Oh, wherefore so long maiden, when there waits thee
Wedlock the highest? He, the Lord of Heaven,
Is waxen hot, pierced with desire of thee,
Yea, and with thee would tread the passages
Of love’s delight. Now therefore foot not from thee,
O child, the bed of the Highest; but do this,
Go forth to where the meadow is deep, the field
Of Lerna—stations of the household flock,
Home of thy father’s herds—go even thither,