C 120 ) 



» m y dearly beloved spouse , to lier who will have 

 » only me on ihe wide earlh. » Eurydice then shed 

 tears , but thèse tears were for her august parents 

 and not for herself , the soft serenity of her looks 

 expressed her confidence. 



» Meanwhile the stormy season passed away; the 

 monarch of the tempest , no more reigned in the 

 sky. Talaon prépares the tender Vola for the depar- 

 ture of her daughter. And when the day arrived , 

 the august old man ordered Eurydice , and Orpheus 

 to seat themselves at his feet , then imposing on 

 their heads , his vénérable hands, he pronounced 

 the words of initiation, without ho.wever pronounc- 

 ing the epoptic formule , for the days consecrat- 

 ed to chastity were to have no end for them. They 

 will remain néophytes. Awful mysteries of life and 

 of death, you mightj not be completely revealed 

 to them ; the genius of ancestry had remained veil- 

 ed in the sky. 



» Go together into the same exile , said Ta- 

 laon, the world is open before you, your destiny 

 is in your hands. Remember that the immortal 

 Gods envelop the voyager with their regards , as 

 the sky overflows nature by its beneficent light. 

 Here are some precious seeds , which will so greatly 

 improve the wretched race of mortals. Men have 

 till now refused them , but without doubt , the 

 times were not yet corne. Thus the earth will be 

 their inheritance ; thus they will learn labour and 

 foresight. Thèse seeds , emblems of so much good, 

 pledge of such infinité hopes , you will reserve , 



