Page:The Works of J. W. von Goethe, Volume 9.djvu/406

372 Dropped the tears, like balsam sweet, Spite of every scornful one; By the box of ointment rare, Whence the drops so fragrant fell; By the locks, whose gentle care Dried His holy members well—

MULIER SAMARITANA (St. John iv.). By the well where Abram erst Drove his flock to drink their fill; By the bucket which the thirst Of the Saviour served to still; By the fountain, balm-exhaling, That from yon bright region flows, Ever clear and never failing, As round every world it goes—

MARIA ÆGYPTIACA (Acta Sanctorum). By the sacred spot immortal, Where the Lord's remains they placed; By the arm, that from the portal Drove me back with warning haste; By my forty years of lowly Penance in a desert land; By the farewell greetings holy That I wrote upon the sand—

Thou who ne'er thy radiant face From the greatest sinners hidest, Thou who Thine atoning grace Through eternity providest, Let this soul, by virtue stirred, Self-forgetful though when living, That perceived not that it erred, Feel thy mercy, sin forgiving!