Holy and high, upraised amid the dead,
Lord of the Dark, to whom all flesh must bow
When Fate decrees, glad thanks I render now
For my release, and hers. To thee this debt
Freely I own.
(Averting his face from the altar, he offers the incense.)
And thou great Hera, who of the highest throne
Hast share in Heaven, on this once widowed bed
Look down with shining eyes, and round it shed
Sweet influences, and let the fruitful womb