I. EARLY GREEK HYMNS
The reaction of the Greek Church to the hymnic attack of Arians interests us because of its influence on the general development of the Christian hymn.
Of the earliest hymn writers we know little, and their work has not come down to us. We have a hymn of Methodius (311) based on the parable of the ten virgins, of considerable vigor and merit.
The most prominent figure that greets us is that of Gregory of Nazianzus (327-389). He was called to Constantinople by the Emperor Theodosius to lead the orthodox forces against the Arian enemy. He was appointed court preacher, Patriarch of the Eastern Church, and president of the Ecumenical Council of Constantinople; but the pious, gentle monk, while a great preacher and a fertile hymn writer (it is said that he wrote thirty thousand hymns), was not fitted for the strife and intrigue rampant in the Capital; within a few years he returned to his cell at Nazianzus in Cappadocia. His hymns are ranked very high. Dr. Brownlee has given an excellent version of his “Evening Hymn”:
“O word of truth! In devious paths
My wayward feet have trod;
I have not kept the day serene
I gave at morn to God.
And now ’tis night, and night within,
O God, the light hath fled!