Hermes
SOOTHSAY. Behold, with rod twy-serpented,Hermes the prophet, twining in one powerThe woman with the man. Upon his headThe cloudy cap, wherewith he hath in dowerThe cloud’s own virtue—change and counterchange,To show in light, and to withdraw in pall,As mortal eyes best bear. His lineage strangeFrom Zeus, Truth’s sire, and maiden May—the all-Illusive Nature. His fledged feet declareThat ’tis the nether self transdeified,And the thrice-furnaced passions, which do bearThe poet Olympusward. In him alliedBoth parents clasp; and from the womb of NatureStern Truth takes flesh in shows of lovely feature.