Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 3.djvu/433

 Some hull (the grain); some take it from the mortar; Some sift it; some tread it. It is rattling in the dishes; It is distilled, and the steam floats about. We consult ; we observe the rites of purification; We take southernwood and offer it with the fat; We sacrifice a ram to the spirit of the path ; We offer roast flesh and broiled:—And thus introduce the coming year.

We load the stands with the offerings, The stands both of wood and of earthenware. As soon as the fragrance ascends, God, well pleased, smells the sweet savour. Fragrant it is, and in its due season. Hâu-kî founded our sacrifices, And no one, we presume, has given occasion for blame or regret in regard to them, Down to the present day.

This ode is given here, because it is commonly taken as a prelude to the next. Kû Hsî interprets it of the feast, given by the