John Fransham’s Antiqua Religio – An annotated transcription

The following is arguably the first text of the Pagan revival; or at least the first religious work to

have been composed in English by a modern polytheist. It is a set of hymns to the classical gods,

and it was written by John Fransham (1730-1810), a schoolteacher and writer from Norwich.

Fransham was a contemporary of two other early figures in the Pagan revival, Thomas Taylor and

Sir William Jones. But he was older than Taylor and was religiously committed to polytheism in a

way that Jones probably wasn’t.

I transcribed the text below from Fransham’s papers in the Norfolk Record Office. The numbers

embedded in the text (213 to 222) are section references which were inserted by Fransham. The line

numbers to the right of the poems are editorial additions and do not appear in Fransham’s MS.

Summary. Fransham’s paganism is presented as an alternative to both gloomy (Christian)

superstition and cold atheism. The text begins with three hymns to major gods of the classical

pantheon, a kind of pagan holy trinity: Jupiter, Minerva and Venus. Each deity represents a broad

cosmic or philosophical concept. Jupiter is the supreme deity who pervades the universe. Minerva

personifies truth and the laws of the universe. Venus is a generative and uniting power. There follow

two hymns to the hero Hercules, who is presented as a Christ-like figure. The first part of the text

ends with a general ‘Chorus’, which seems to weave together veneration of Jupiter, Minerva, Venus

and Hercules. A longer poem follows. This is where Fransham expounds his theory that multiple

‘deities’ or ‘genii’ oversee different parts of the natural world. The overall conception is one of

nature as an integrated whole, consisting of many subordinate parts. Jupiter unites the parts together

and presides over the totality. Lesser divinities regulate and preside over their individual

‘provinces’. Fransham covers both the major gods of the pantheon – Phoebus Apollo of the sun,

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Neptune of the sea, and so on – and lesser divinities such as the presiding spirits of winds, springs,

families and nations. The text ends with a short piece which seems to herald an epiphany of

Hercules, although the hero is not mentioned by name. He is presented as a liberator.

213.] A Hymn to Jupiter

With Jove begin, O heavenly Muse, thy song;

And grateful celebrate the ancient source

Invisible of thee & all thy scenes,

Of every stream of life & vital joy.

He is the nature absolute, supreme, [5]

Original to all: the common spring

Whence all beside perpetually flow

In close dependence: the uniting power

Which makes of all one comprehensive whole:

Most vital principle, of beings inmost; [10]

Soul of all souls, & of the universe,

Whose right & prosperous & happy state

By him consisteth & supported is.

To all his presence is most intimate:

All things are full of Jove, in him subsist: [15]

Pervading all, he constitutes the bounds,

Connexions & relations of all worlds.

Thro boundless heaven his reign extends, thro air

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 Earth seas & shades below. All other powers

Are his subordinates: from him deriv’d, [20]

To him they are to be attributed,

Expressive of him in peculiar lights.

1 – An invocation of the Muse, or goddess of poetic inspiration, is a commonplace of ancient

poetry (see e.g. G. Wheeler, “‘Sing, Muse’: The Introit from Homer to Apollonius”, Classical

Quarterly, vol 52, (2002), 33-49).

15 – The Presocratic Greek philosopher Thales famously held that “everything is full of gods” (see

H. Diels and W. Kranz, Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker, vol. 1 (Zurich, 1964), 11 A 22). There

also seems to be an echo here of Acts 17.28: “in him we live and move and have our being” (which

itself has been explained as a quotation of an ancient pagan source: for the scholarship on this, see

C. K. Rothschild, Paul in Athens (Tübingen, 2014), pp. 8-16).

214.] To Minerva

Be thou, Minerva, now the lofty theme,

Guide & protectress of the adventitious Muse.

Bright goddess, born of the imperial Jove,

From him effulging forth immediate ray;

Thou art, what is, the genius of all truth, [5]

Presiding in its comprehensive store,

To it conducting safe. By thee the course

Of universal destiny is known,

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 Defin’d & comprehended: in thy mind

Fix’d are the laws of nature, and ordain’d [10]

Its universal order & proportions.

Thy judgment is the standard ultimate

Of what is truly good: this to discern,

To love & to enjoy, O teach us thou,

Who art the light and guide of all the worlds: [15]

Whose reign is universal, intimate,

With silent prevalence abiding still,

Ev’n in blind tumults & the noisy rout.

Veil’d as thou art to most sagacious view

Of mortal man, from thy consummate light [20]

Thou dost impart to finite intellects,

Thy pupils far & near, O tutoring-mind.

Nor can they rightly or admire or love,

Or aim at ought, without a ray from thee,

Without thy influence or providing care. [25]

By thee instructed, sage Ulysses steer’d

Thro numerous perils to his native shore.

Inspir’d by thee, divine Lycurgus fram’d

A perfect institution for our race.

These of thy works in song we celebrate. [30]

Hail, goddess, veil’d in light! Shield us from vice

And every ill: make fortune’s gifts our own;

Or teach us happiness beyond her power.

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7 – Fransham initially wrote “the sovereign guide” for “conducting safe”.

19-20 – This recalls the well known inscription on the statue of Athena (Minerva) at Sais, as

recorded by Plutarch: “I am all that has been – all that is – and all that will be – and no mortal has

ever raised my veil” (On Isis and Osiris, 354C). In the wake of the Enlightenment, this became a

metaphor for the discovery of hidden truths. It appears in a number of writers on religion in and

after the eighteenth century, including most famously Madame Blavatsky (see J. Godwin, The

Theosophical Enlightenment (Albany, 1994), p. 32).

23 – The “or... or...” construction for “either... or...” is an imitation of Latin and Greek grammar.

28-29 – Lycurgus was a legendary Spartan lawgiver whom Fransham particularly admired. For a

connection between Lycurgus and Athena, see Pausanias, Description of Greece, 3.18.2.

30 – Fransham initially appears to have written “These of thy works we celebrate & sing”.

31-33 – These lines echo the final line of an ancient hymn to Athena: “Hail, goddess: grant us

fortune and happiness” (Homeric Hymns, 11.5).

215.] To Venus

Kind Venus, thou attractest ardent praise.

Fair offspring of the universal Jove,

Celestial regent of the realms of bliss:

Thy genial power, O Goddess, is diffus’d

Over all nature; nor is aught produc’d [5]

Without thy energy benign. By thee

Consist the strifes concordant of the world,

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 And mutual sympathy of all with all.

Thou mak’st conflicting elements conspire

To form one living happy universe. [10]

Thou art the life and grace of every scene,

The general source of beauty & delight.

No place or creature but to some is dear,

Attractive, kindly, with affection’s bands

Connected close. (How strong yet soft the bands!) [15]

From thy bland influence comes each impulsive kind,

All active goodness, each objective good,

And beauty relative. By thee benign

All streams of life with vital pleasure flow.

To every kind thus thou disposest love [20]

And genial fire: To reptiles under-ground,

To fishes in the seas, to fowls in air,

To all the animals of earth, and man

Their paramount, to heroes heavenly born,

To deities above, to those who haunt, [25]

The shades of Proserpine in close retreat,

And to all beings in the seats unknown.

Fraught with thy power high Jove in human form

Descended to the Theban dame, and mix’d

Divine with mortal. On fair Ida’s heights, [30]

To lov’d Anchises, musing on his lays,

Thou didst communicate thyself in rapture.

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 From such sublime conjunctions Heroes came:

And full of thee is our heroic-land.

But yet poor mortals, to their narrow views [35]

Confin’d, and blind to thy exalted charms,

The summit of thy bliss can poorly love,

In low attachment to subaltern forms,

And scanty portions of thy ample realm:

While beauties more sublime transcend their ken, [40]

Veil’d in a cloud, neglected, the divine.

In mortal race affections partial thus

Cause frequent discords here. Yet even these,

Of peace & order the apparent breach,

Thy influence heals benignly, and converts [45]

To ampler beauty & to happier scenes.

Hail, goddess! hear us: Let thy grace inspire:

Make lovers amiable with mutual fire.

29 – The “Theban dame” is probably Alcmene, the mother of Heracles (Hercules), who is about to

be addressed in the next hymn.

42 – Fransham initially wrote a different word which he crossed out and replaced with “mortal”.

The original word is difficult to make out, but it may have been “human”.

48 – The phrase “mutual fire” recalls “mutual flame” in Shakespeare’s “The Phoenix and the

Turtle”, 24.

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 216.] To Hercules

Great patron of mankind, heroic son

Of deity with human form conjoin’d:

*Thou still unweary’d in thy just intents [* = Indefessus agendo]

From mortal conflicts didst victorious rise.

No grievous labors, nor distresses dire, [5]

Inserting frail dependence, could repress

Or ‘bate thy fortitude & firm resolves,

By which the world itself was propt & safe.

From heav’n inspir’d, thy potent valor shin’d

In efforts never fail’d, but still subdu’d [10]

& quell’d the pests & tyrants of the world.

With thee what venerable beauty reigns!

Bright glory now succeeds: triumphant thou

In high Olymp eternally enjoy’st

The fairest fruit of honorable toil; [15]

The blooming graces of eternal youth,

And the best music, that of virtuous praise.

How beautiful & sweet is virtue’s fame!

Immortal thine. Nor can we ever lose

A grateful sense of thy auspicious power, [20]

Which will to us & endless time extend.

For didn’t not thou inspire our mortal race

With emanations from thy generous soul

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 What enterprise could we achieve? What way

Would lions, monsters, phantoms not infest, [25]

In forms terrific to a dastard’s mind?

Sloth’s abject languor, pleasure’s lassitude,

Would be sufficient to depress the soul,

Tho unmolested by external fear:

And in distress or hardship, thou alone [30]

Canst save us from a fall to base despair.

By thee endow’d with patient fortitude,

Calm & resolv’d & persevering still,

In virtue’s race, all difficulties feign’d

We finally surmount, and safe emerge [35]

From hostile tumults & the storms of fate.

In every scene of life, on every stage,

In every world, thy courage can support.

By thee from shades redeem’d Alceste’s love,

And friendship in Theseus immortal rose. [40]

Nor otherwise hope we the skies to claim.

For constancy in great & generous views,

Is the illustrious way, by thee prescrib’d,

To fix our interest in eternal worlds.

Hail, great Alcides! hear our ardent vows: [45]

Raise us to virtue’s heights & bliss divine.

3 – Fransham initially wrote a different version of this line, all of which he crossed out and replaced

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save for the first word “Thou”. The original words cannot be made out. The Latin phrase

“indefessus agendo” means “unwearied in action”: it is a description of Hercules taken from Ovid,

Metamorphoses, 9.71.

8-10 – These lines were heavily amended by Fransham. It is difficult to make out what he originally

wrote.

32 – Fransham initially wrote “strength [illegible word]” for “fortitude”.

35 – Fransham initially wrote “[illegible word] we” for “We finally”.

45 – Alcides was Heracles’ original name, from his (earthly) grandfather Alcaeus.

217.] The same to music, as to be sung in the high grove or sylvan temple, before the image

of Hercules leaning on a club: a bright cloud beneath him: a lustre of stars about his head:

his motto (Indefessus agendo) on a label above the whole: Hebe reclining near him on the

same cloud: Apollo & the Muses on other clouds around him: fragrant incense blazing on

the altar before him: the officiating priest & votaries crown’d with garlands of laurels &

flowers, holding branches of oak palm & poplar.]

To thee, great founder of our race,

Thou offspring of celestial Jove

United with the human form,

Our praises grateful we present.

Thou, with a force invincible [5]

Of soul sublime from heav’n deriv’d,

Did strive triumphant over all

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 The lowring scenes of mortal fate.

No grievous labour nor distress

Infesting frail dependence here [10]

Could damp thy courage, or depress

Thy fortitude & self-support.

Thy persevering mind, intent

On views benign as they were great,

Each toil sustain’d, each just emprize, [15]

In arduous efforts never foil’d.

Thou e’en the world itself didst prop:

Since all the injur’d & oppress’d

Within thy ken, or man or beast,

In thee a potent patron found. [20]

By thee oppressors were subdu’d:

By thee the fiercest pests were quell’d:

To thee the proudest tyrants bow’d:

Envy herself to thee did yield.

With thee what beauty reigns rever’d! [25]

Bright glory now succeeds: and thou

In high Olymp secure enjoy’st

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 The fairest fruit of generous toil.

How sweet & fair is virtue’s fame!

Its praise the noblest music makes: [30]

And thine immortal as thyself

With ever-blooming youth shall reign.

Nor can the grateful memory

Of thy beneficence diffus’d

Fall in obscurity, but will [35]

To us & endless time extend.

For here if thou dost not dispense

Some portion of thy strength of mind,

Tho unmolested from abroad,

Our hearts are impotent within. [40]

Indulgences of sloth & ease

To helpless languor chain the soul,

The sense voluptuous faintly please,

But all our nobler powers controul.

And in distress, or perils dire, [45]

Or toils by fate severe impos’d,

Thy genius only can support

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 Courage & dignity serene.

By thee with potent patience arm’d,

Obdurate to the shocks of pain, [50]

All difficulties we surmount,

And sloth’s huge phantoms threat in vain.

The clouds of envy, folly’s hate,

The frowns of fortune disappear:

Virtue thro all the storms of fate [55]

With beauty shines our hearts to chear.

With fortitude & zeal divine,

From shades below thou didst redeem

Alceste’s tender faithful love:

And friendship thus immortal rose. [60]

Thus let us hope to fix our fate:

For, constancy in generous views,

In the bright way, by thee prescrib’d,

To make eternity our own.

Heroic genius, who presidest here, [65]

Inspire and make invincible our souls.

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5-6 – These lines were heavily amended by Fransham. It is difficult to make out what he originally

wrote.

13-16 – These lines were heavily amended by Fransham. The original version seems to have ended

“And great attempts were never foil’d”.

19 – As in the hymn to Minerva, the “or... or...” construction for “either... or...” is an imitation of

Latin and Greek grammar.

218.] Chorus

Prime source of all existence life & joy:

Do thou dispense to us Minerva’s aid,

To know ourselves, & what is truly good.

Let Venus kindly give us to enjoy

Beauty & concord & consummate grace. [5]

And let the genius of great Hercules

Preserve us free, & victors over ills.

Thus may your fame united & secure

In human race from age to age endure.

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3 – The phrase “know ourselves”, although linked here with Minerva, closely resembles “know

thyself” (gnóthi seauton), a famous tag associated with Apollo’s temple at Delphi.

To other Deities.

219.] Of nature infinite each finite part

Is member of the whole, subordinate,

Dependent on its source, and with the rest,

Its fellow-branches of a common stock,

Duly connected: yet it is withal [5]

A system in itself, compos’d & fram’d

Of parts concurring relative & fit,

Which as less branches all to it belong.

And as the universal whole is form’d,

United & supported by its mind; [10]

So lesser systems, provinces, or spheres

Have also their uniting principles,

Subaltern deities or genii,

Which make them units, constitute their life,

Preside amidst them, and their various parts [15]

In vital union fix, combine, adjust.

All nature lives, the whole & every part:

So to its proper soul each sphere belongs;

Tho still subordinate to one supreme

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 Or universal comprehending all. [20]

And just as Love itself hath been of old

Deemed the same to all;* so we presume [* = Amor omnibus idem. Virg]

One common mind or principle of love

Subsisting still, and with immortal reign,

Diffusing its extensive influence bland [25]

To the successive growths of mortal race.

Rejecting therefore superstitious fears,

And atheism of consolation void,

Let us indulge the natural genial hope

Of the protection of benignant powers. [30]

220.] Remembering Jove presiding over all;

Let us not then unmindful be of thee,

Bright Phoebus, of the Sun immediate Lord;

Nor of thy heavenly choir of beauteous Nymphs,

Who with thee over muse-like men preside, [35]

Dispensing light & harmony around.

Hail, roseate goddess of the morn! benign

Regard thy votaries, O Aurora fair:

Salubrious be thy influence, and impart

Serene & ruddy youth, & length of days. [40]

Hail, Phoebe, gently bright, with lustre mild,

Regent of night, guide of the moon-light-dance:

Whose aspect multiform, in crescent & in wane,

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 In miniature doth aptly represent

The incessant revolutions of the world. [45]

Thou art Diana call’d & Hecate:

For in thy ample & incessant course,

Thou dost suggest, that pure & calm delights

Fade not with age: that light may fresh emerge

Even in the midst of Pluto’s gloomy reign. [50]

Hail, king of night & all the vast unknown!

Thy realm is dark to those who live without.

But still the great majorities, ev’n there,

May their felicities & solace find,

With kind Proserpina in peaceful shadow. [55]

Hail, Neptune, agitator of the earth,

Lord of the seas & all depending streams,

Where Amphitrite, Nereids, Naides dwell;

Whose ample washes, with aërial-powers,

Still purge & animate the massy globe. [60]

Hail, Proteus, changing like the floating clouds

Thy borrow’d forms; but in thy real self

Amidst inconstancy abiding still.

Hail, active Mercury, who dost maintain

The correspondencies of gods & men. [65]

Mars, guard the balance of confounding powers;

And merit love & fame from all the world.

Hail, antient venerable matron, Earth,

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 Tellus, Cybele, Ops, whate’er thy name,

Antient of days, yet youthful in thy fruits, [70]

Parent of men who celebrate the gods:

On thee we all depend for our support.

The stated seasons of the changing year,

Fraught each with proper beauties & delights,

Spring from the force of their respective minds. [75]

Not even winds or tempests come without

Their animating & intending powers.

Each nation hath its genius tutelar,

Each house & family: Hail, these of ours.

Hail, Pan & Ceres, guardians of our lands [80]

And rural scenes, With all your cheerful trains

Of frisky Nymps & Fauns: To you we owe

Herds, milk, & fruits, the comforts of our life.

Bless’d be the sanctuaries where you dwell,

And all your scenes of rustic innocence. [85]

Solace & cheer be with you, Naides fair,

Sweet gentle Nymphs of springs & limpid streams,

Refreshing, genial. Hail, ye Sylvan-Nymphs,

Ye secret Genii of peaceful groves,

Who animate the tall & blooming trees, [90]

Or in their fading state majestic pine

With solemn stillness; to your musing haunts

And hospitable seats receive a mind

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 At once replete with reverence & love.

Fair Dryade, beneath thy spreading arms [95]

Let me contemplative recline & rest:

While meditating on the various forms,

Each I refer to one prime origin,

In Saturn’s endless ring encircling all.

221.] Lost in immensity, & efforts vain [100]

To explore & comprehend the mighty whole,

The abyss of deity sublime profound,

In shades we find repose. To fancy here,

Enwrapt in nature’s intimate recess,

Silence itself seems pregnant with design: [105]

Counsels of heaven & fate are forming now,

In nature’s womb, teeming with great events,

Referring us to scenes of active life.

22 – The quotation is from Virgil, Georgics, 3.244. In its original context, it refers to the

universality of the sexual instinct.

99 – This reference to Saturn (the father of Jupiter) is somewhat enigmatic, although it may attest to

the fact that it had been known since the work of Christiaan Huygens (1655) that the planet Saturn

has literal rings.

222.] The Prelude.

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 Ye wretched souls that feel

The galling yoke of vice,

And struggle to be free

From sordid cares & strife;

Lift up your heads, the signs appear [5]

Of virtue’s fam’d heroic-genius near.

Long over abject souls

Hath folly tyrant sway’d:

But wisdom, by her laws,

Shall liberty secure. [10]

Lift up your heads, &c.

This great deliverer, guide,

And pastor of mankind,

From slavery will redeem,

And generous virtue bless. [15]

Lift up your heads, &c.

He comes,* the hero comes; [* = A great light appears in the temple.]

All error’s clouds dispels,

And makes fair truth to shine

Thro heaven serene & bright. [20]

Lift up your heads, the signs appear:

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 Behold the great heroic-genius here.

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