Ben Jonson (1572-1637). Hymn to Pan. William Stanley Braithwaite, ed. 1907. The Book of Elizabethan Verse

William Stanley Braithwaite, ed. The Book of Elizabethan Verse. 1907.

Hymn to Pan

By Ben Jonson (1572–1637)


1 Nymph.	Of Pan we sing, the best of singers, Pan,
	That taught us swains how first to tune out lays,
	And on the pipe more airs than Phœbus can.
Chorus.	Hear, O you groves, and hills resound his praise.

2 Nymph.	Of Pan we sing, the best of leaders, Pan,	5
	That leads the Naiads and the Dryads forth;
	And to their dances more than Hermes can.
Chorus.	Hear, O you groves, and hills resound his worth.

3 Nymph.	Of Pan we sing, the best of hunters, Pan,
	That drives the hart to seek unusèd ways,	10
	And in the chase more than Silvanus can.
Chorus.	Hear, O you groves, and hills resound his praise.

2 Nymph.	Of Pan, we sing, the best of shepherds, Pan,
	That keeps our flocks and us, and both leads forth
	To better pastures than great Pales can.	15
Chorus.	Hear, O you groves, and hills resound his worth.
	And while his powers and praises thus we sing,
	The valleys let rebound and all the rivers ring.