To man primeval, the bright god of day
Seemed lord of all things, and he bent the knee,
To adoration moved unconsciously;
And lo! the instinct which had made him pray,
Showed him the mystic fire that latent lay
Within the drying branches of the tree
And brought the earth, in all its purity,
The essence of the sun's benignant ray.
Of Nature's elements the most refined,
Free from pollution and corruption dire,
Art thou, O strong and changeless spirit kind.
Unfailing source of good, thou wast designed
To be the first, man's reverence to inspire,
And light the pathway of his groping mind.