at. Here are verses from a psalm of
the ancient Babylonians, which "heathen" chant is identical in spirit
and purpose with the utterances of Job:

The Sin that I have wrought, I know not;
The unclean that I have eaten, I know not;
The offense into which I have walked, I know not....
The lord, in the wrath of his heart, hath regarded me;
The god, in the anger of his heart, hath surrounded me;
A goddess, known or unknown, hath wrought me sorrow....
I sought for help, but no one took my hand;
I wept, but no one harkened to me....
The feet of my goddess I kiss, I touch them;
To the god, known or unknown, I utter my prayer;
O god, known or unknown, turn thy countenance, accept my sacrifice;
O goddess, known or unknown, look mercifully on me, accept my sacrifice!

#Salve Regina!#

And now let the reader leap three thousand years of human history, of
toil and triumph of the intellect of man; and instead of a Hebrew
manuscript or a Babylonian brick there confronts him a little
publication, printed on a modern rotary press in the capital of the
United States of America, bearing the date of October, 1914, and the
title "Salve Regina". In it we find "a beautiful prayer", composed by
the late cardinal Rampolla; we are told that "Pius X attached to it an
indulgence of 100 days, each time it is piously recited, applicable to
the souls in purgatory."

O Blessed Virgin, Mother of God, cast a glance from Heaven,
where thou sittest as Queen, upon this poor sinner, your
servant. Though conscious of his unworthiness.... he blesses
and exalts thee from his whole heart as the purest, the most
beautiful and the most holy of creatures. He blesses thy
holy name. He blesses thy sublime prerogatives as real
Mother of God, ever Virgin, conceived without stain of sin,
as co-Redemptress of the human race. He blesses the Eternal
Father who chose you, etc. He blesses the Incarnate Word,
etc. He blesses the Divine Spirit, etc. He blesses, exalts
and thanks the most august Trinity, etc. O Virgin, holy and
merciful.... be pleased to accept this little homage of your
servant, and obtain for him also from your divine Son pardon
for his sins, Amen.

And then, looking more closely, we discover the purpose of this
"beautiful prayer", and of the neat little paper which prints it.
"Salve Regina" is raising funds for the "National Shrine of the
Immaculate Conc