If I ask Him to receive me,
Will He say me nay?
“Not till earth and not till heaven
Pass away.”
Another Englishman who gained renown by translations of the old classical hymns of the Church was Edward Caswall. He was a contemporary of Neale, and, like the latter, came under the influence of the “Oxford Movement,” which cost the Church of England some of its ablest men. While Neale, however, remained faithful to his own communion, Caswall resigned as a minister of the English Church and became a Romanist. He was made a priest in the Congregation of the Oratory, which Cardinal Newman had established in Birmingham, a position he continued to fill until his death in 1878.
Two of the most beautiful hymns in the English language—“Jesus, the very thought of Thee” and “O Jesus, King most wonderful”—were derived by Caswall from the famous Latin poem, De Nomine Jesu, by Bernard of Clairvaux. Of the former hymn Dr. Robinson has said: “One might call this poem the finest in the world and still be within the limits of all extravagance.”
Among other fine translations from the Latin by Caswall are “Hark! a thrilling voice is sounding” and “Glory be to Jesus.” He also has given us some hymns from the German, including the exquisite morning hymn, “When morning gilds the skies.” This is such a free rendering, however, that it may rather be regarded as an original hymn by Caswall. Three of its stanzas read:
When morning gilds the skies,
My heart, awaking, cries,
May Jesus Christ be praised!