To Antinous the Lover

You have the power to set us free, and so

we hail you as Liberator. You have the wisdom

to guide, and so we hail you as Navigator.

Yet wisdom and power are not enough to satisfy

us, and so, Antinous, we hail you as Lover.

For you do love, intimately, personally,

individually, even as you loved Hadrian,

or your parents, or your friends. And you are

supremely lovable, as beautiful boy, as

faithful friend, as glorious god who is Victor

over the archons, Star of the Eagle,

Emperor of Peace.

 

To the powerless grant power, God Man,

and to the foolish grant wisdom, but above all,

grant love to those who are without it. May those

who are unloved know the ever-flowing waters

of your grace; may those who are unable to love

know the sting of desire, of sympathy, and of

compassion. May I, your devotee, love you

with all that I am and all that I may be, and

in your love, may I become all that I may

to be loved by and to love you forever.