Smile praises, O sky!
Soft breathe them, O air,
Below and on high,
And everywhere!
Awake thee, O spring!
Ye flowers, come forth,
With thousand hues tinting
The soft green earth!
Ye violets tender,
And sweet roses bright,
Gay Lent-lilies blended
With pure lilies white.
Sweep tides of rich music
The new world along,
And pour in full measure,
Sweet lyres, your song!
The black troop of storms
Has yielded to calm;
Tufted blossoms are peeping,
And early palm.
Sing, sing, for He liveth!
He lives, as He said;—
The Lord has arisen,
Unharmed, from the dead!
Clap, clap your hands, mountains!
Ye valleys, resound!
Leap, leap for joy, fountains!
Ye hills, catch the sound!
All triumph; He liveth!
He lives, as He said:—
The Lord has arisen,
Unharmed, from the dead!
Lo, the gates of death are broken,
And the strong man armed is spoiled,
Of his armour, which he trusted,
By the stronger Arm despoiled.
Vanquished is the Prince of Hell;
Smitten by the cross, he fell.
That the sinner might not perish,
For him the Creator dies;
By whose death, our dark lot changing,
Life again for us doth rise,
Mundi renovatio
Nova parit gaudia,
Resurgente Domino
Conresurgunt omnia;
Elementa serviunt,
Et auctoris sentiunt,
Quanta sint solemnia.
&c. &c. &c.
(The translation only is given above.)
[12] Adam of St. Victor, twelfth century.
[13] A friend has translated it thus:—