Votive hymn to the divine Antoninus Pius

antoninus_pius_lanuvium

Bust of the divine Antoninus Pius in the Glyptothek in Munich. (This image is a derivative work of a photograph in the public domain)

Divine lord Antoninus, famed for pious deeds,
a second Numa living thou wert felt to be:
attuned to what is right, judicious, kindly, wise.
Thy course provides for humankind a guide
to good and upright governance for aye.
With clemency thou didst temper justice stern,
with moderation thine inherent majesty,
with magnanimity thy true magnificence.
Unto the heavens, pious prince, didst thou ascend
to take thy rightful place among the deathless gods
and thus rejoin thy much adored Faustina there.
As god and goddess side by side eternally,
I honor thee and her. O Pius, thanks are due
to thee for all the wonders thou hast brought to pass,
restoring partly this Republic’s dignity.
May thy beneficent influence yet shine on those
in whom the people freely place their confidence,
and turn the minds of all the magistrates of state
to justice, not to pelf, vanity, or petty pride.
Let not corruption, depraved intolerance,
contempt for truth, or naked inhumanity
prevail again as hitherto. May unfit guards
be guarded with a vigilance that never fails.
I therefore humbly offer thee this pious gift.

DIVO · ANTONINO · PIO · VIDVCVS · BRIGANTICI · V · S · L · M

About DeoMercurio

I’m a Gaulish polytheist, now back living in lands ceded by the Council of Three Fires after several years’ sojourn in Anatolia and in the land of the Senecas, with frequent travels to Gaul along the way. My grandfather’s family came from the area around Trier, and I identify closely with the Treveri in my religious practice.
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3 Responses to Votive hymn to the divine Antoninus Pius

  1. Ave Dive Antonine Pie!

    (It’s not only great to hail a great Divus, but in His case, what it looks like in English is also rather amusing!)

    • Also, I always love the images you produce like the one above, but for some reason the eyebrows are really adding a Muppet-like quality to Him in this case, which is actually rather pleasant! 😉

      • DeoMercurio says:

        Hahaha! Too true. This is actually the very first one I tried (my maiden voyage of polychromification was a side-by-side Antoninus Pius and Faustina picture). So yes, the eyebrows could do with some fixing up — and the rest of the hair won’t stand up to very critical scrutiny either! 😉

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