© 2013 Anatole France
© 2013 French-speaking Association of Readers of the Urantia Book
In the nebulous swarm of constellations,
Oh you who were born first,
O nurse of flowers and fruits, O Light,
White mother of visions,
You come to us from the sun through the soft veils
Floating vapors in the air:
Life then comes alive and, under your clear shiver,
Smile, oh daughter of the stars!
Hello! because before you things were not.
Hello! sweet; hello! powerful.
Hello! from my looks innocent driver
And adviser of my steps.
By you are the divine colors and forms,
Through you, all that we love.
You make the snow shine on the tops of the mountains,
You charm the edge of ravines.
You make the hummingbirds bloom under the blue sky
In perfumes and dew;
And decent grace with you has arisen
On the things you cherish.
The morning is joyful with your kind caresses;
You give sweetness to the nights,
In the woods the moving shadow and the soft thickness
What young tenderness seeks.
Through you the deep sea has living flowers
And blond swimmers that you gild.
In the still humid and pure sky, your meteors
Lend the brilliance of the seven colors.
Light, it is through you that women are beautiful
Under your glorious garment;
And your dear lights, passing through their eyes,
Pour out new delights.
Their ears make you an oriental throne
Where you shine in a gem,
And wherever you shine, you remain, you whom I love,
Virgo as on your birth day.
Be my strength, O Light! and may my thoughts,
Beautiful and simple like you,
In grace and peace, unfold under your faith
Their shapes always rhythmic!
Give my happy eyes the ability to see for a long time to come,
In a serene pleasure,
Beauty standing up walking like a queen
Under your chaste golden crown.
And, when in its bosom the Nature of things
Will shape my future destinies,
Come back to bathe, come back to nourish yourself with your pure waters
My new metamorphoses. (1844-1924)