The Hymns of Prudentius

by Prudentius

Blest Lord, Creator of the glowing light, At Whose behest the hours successive move, The sun has set: black darkness broods above: Christ! light Thy faithful through the coming night. Thy courts are lit with stars unnumberèd, And in the cloudless vault the pale moon rides; Yet Thou dost bid us seek the fire that hides Till swift we strike it from its flinty bed. So man may learn that in Christ's body came The hidden hope of light to mortals given: He is the Rock--'tis His own word--that riven Sends forth to all our race the eternal flame. From lamps that brim with rich and fragrant oil, Or torches dry this heaven-sent fire we feed; Or make us rushlights from the flowering reed And wax, whereon the bees have spent their toil. Bright glows the light, whether the resin thick Of pine-brand flares, or waxen tapers burn With melting radiance, or the hollow urn Yields its stored sweetness to the thirsty wick. Beneath the might of fire, in slow decay The scented tears of glowing nectar fall; Lower and lower droops the candle tall And ever dwindling weeps itself away. So by Thy gifts, great Father, hearth and hall Are all ablaze with points of twinkling light That vie with daylight spent; and vanquished Night Rends, as she flies away, her sable pall. Who knoweth not that from high Heaven first came Our light, from God Himself the rushing fire? For Moses erst, amid the prickly brier, Saw God made manifest in lambent flame. Ah, happy he! deemed worthy face to face To see heaven's Lord within that sacred brake; Bidden the sandals from his feet to take, Nor with his shoon defile that holy place. The mighty children of the chosen name, Saved by the merits of their sires, and free After long years of savage tyranny, Through the drear desert followed still that flame. Striking their camp beneath the silent night Where'er they went, to lead their darkling way, The cloud of glory lent its guiding ray And shone more splendid than the noonday light. But, mad with jealous fury, Egypt's king Calls his great host to battle for their lord: Swiftly the cohorts gather at his word, And down the mail-clad lines the clarions ring. Girding their trusty swords the warriors go To fill the ranks; hoarse bugles rend the air; These seize their massy javelins, these prepare The death-winged arrow and the Cretan bow. The footmen throng in close battalions pressed; The chariots thunder; to the saddle spring The riders of the Nile, as forth they fling Egypt's proud banner with the serpent crest. And now, forgetful of the bondage past, Thy children, tortured by the desert heat, Drag to the Red Sea's brink their weary feet, And on its sandy margin rest at last. See! with their forsworn king the savage foe Draws nigh: the threatening squadrons nearer ride; But ever onward urged the intrepid guide And through the waves bade Israel fearless go. Before that steadfast march the billows fall, Then raise on either hand their crystal mass, While through the sundered deep Thy people pass And ocean guards them with a liquid wall. But, mad with baffled rage, the dusky horde Of Egypt, by their impious despot led, Athirst the hated Hebrews' blood to shed Pursued, all reckless of the o'er-arching flood. Swift as the wind the royal squadrons ride, But swifter yet the crystal barriers break, The waves exultantly their bounds forsake And roll together in a roaring tide. 'Mid steeds and chariots and drifting mail The drownèd lords of Egypt found a grave With all their swart retainers 'neath the wave; And in their haughty courts the mourners wail. What tongue, O Christ, Thy glories can unfold? Thine was the arm, outstretched in wrath, that made The stricken land of Pharaoh, sore afraid, Bow down before Thy minister of old. Thy pathless deep did at the voice restrain Its surging billows, till with Thee for guide Thy host passed scathless, and the refluent tide Swept down the wicked to the engulfing main. At Thy command the desert, parched and dry, Breaks into laughing rills, and water clear Wells from the smitten rock Thy flock to cheer And quench their thirst beneath that brazen sky. Then Marah's bitterness grew passing sweet, Touched by the mystic tree; so by the grace Of Thine own Tree, O Christ, our sinful race Regains its lost hopes at Thy piercèd feet. Faster than icy hail the manna falls, Like snow down drifting from a wintry sky; The feast is set: they heap the tables high With that rich food from Thy celestial halls. Fresh blow the breezes from the distant shore And bear a fluttering cloud that hides the light, Till the frail pinions, faltering in their flight, Sink in the wilderness to rise no more. How great the love of God's own Son, that shed Such wondrous bounty on His chosen race! And still to us He proffers in His grace The mystic Feast, wherewith our souls are fed. Through the world's raging sea He bids us come, And 'twixt the sundered billows guides our path, Till, spent and wearied with the ocean's wrath, He calls His storm-tossed saints to Heaven and home. There in His paradise red roses blow, With golden daffodils and lilies pale And gentle violets, and down the vale The murmuring rivulets for ever flow. Sweet balsams, welling from the slender tree, And precious spices fill the fragrant air, And, hiding by the stream, that blossom rare Whose leaves the river hurries to the sea. There the blest souls with one accord unite To hymn in dulcet song their Saviour's praise, And as the chanting quire their voices raise They tread with shining feet the lilies bright. Yea, e'en the spirits of the lost, that dwell Where the black stream of sullen Acheron flows, Rest on that holy night when Christ arose, And for a while 'tis holiday in Hell. No sun from ocean rising drives away Their darkness, with his flaming shafts far-hurled, But from the cross of Christ o'er that wan world There streams the radiance of a new-born day. The sulphurous floods with lessened fury glow, The aching limbs find respite from their pain, While, in glad freedom from the galling chain, The tortured ghosts a short-lived solace know. In holy gladness let this night be sped, As here we gather, Lord, to watch and pray; To Thee with one consent our vows we pay And on Thy altar set the sacred Bread. From pendent chains the lamps of crystal blaze; By fragrant oil sustained the clear flame glows With strength undimmed, and through the darkness throws High o'er the fretted roof a golden haze, As 'twere Heaven's starry floor our wondering eye Beheld, wherein the Bears their light display, Where Phosphor heralds the approach of day And Hesper's radiance floods the evening sky. Meet is the gift we offer here to Thee, Father of all, as falls the dewy night; Thine own most precious gift we bring--the light Whereby mankind Thy other bounties see. Thou art the Light indeed; on our dull eyes And on our inmost souls Thy rays are poured; To Thee we light our lamps: receive them, Lord, Filled with the oil of peace and sacrifice. O hear us, Father, through Thine only Son, Our Lord and Saviour, by Whose love bequeathed The Paraclete upon our hearts has breathed, With Him and Thee through endless ages one. Through Christ Thy Kingdom shall for ever be, Thy grace, might, wisdom, glory ever shine, As in the Triune majesty benign He reigns for all eternity with Thee.

VI. HYMNUS ANTE SOMNUM

Ades Pater [supreme,] quem nemo vidit unquam, Patrisque sermo Christe, et Spiritus benigne. 5O Trinitatis huius vis una, lumen unum, Deus ex Deo perennis, Deus ex utroque missus. Fluxit labor diei, 10redit et quietis hora, blandus sopor vicissim fessos relaxat artus. Mens aestuans procellis curisque sauciata 15totis bibit medullis obliviale poclum. Serpit per omne corpus Lethaea vis, nec ullum miseris doloris aegri 20patitur manere sensum. Lex haec data est caducis Deo iubente membris, ut temperet laborem medicabilis voluptas. 25Sed dum pererrat omnes quies amica venas, pectusque feriatum placat rigante somno: Liber vagat per auras 30rapido vigore sensus, variasque per figuras, quae sunt operta, cernit. Quia mens soluta curis, cui est origo caelum, 35purusque fons ab aethra iners iacere nescit. Imitata multiformes facies sibi ipsa fingit, per quas repente currens 40tenui fruatur actu. Sed sensa somniantum dispar fatigat horror, nunc splendor intererrat qui dat futura nosse. 45Plerumque dissipatis mendax imago veris animos pavore maestos ambage fallit atra. Quem rara culpa morum 50non polluit frequenter, nunc lux serena vibrans res edocet latentes. At qui coinquinatum vitiis cor inpiavit, 55lusus pavore multo species videt [tremendas.] Hoc patriarcha noster sub carceris catena geminis simul ministris 60interpres adprobavit. Quorum reversus unus dat poculum tyranno, ast alterum rapaces fixum vorant volucres. 65Ipsum deinde regem perplexa somniantem monuit famem futuram clausis cavere acervis. Mox praesul ac tetrarches 70regnum per omne iussus sociam tenere virgam dominae resedit aulae. O quam profunda iustis arcana per soporem 75aperit tuenda Christus, quam clara! quam tacenda! Evangelista summi fidissimus magistri signata quae latebant 80nebulis videt remotis: ipsum tonantis agnum de caede purpurantem, qui conscium futuri librum resignat unus. 85Huius manum potentem gladius perarmat anceps et fulgurans utrimque duplicem minatur ictum. Quaesitor ille solus 90animaeque corporisque ensisque bis timendus prima ac secunda mors est. idem tamen benignus ultor retundit iram 95paucosque non [piorum] patitur perire in aevum. Huic inclitus perenne tribuit Pater tribunal, hunc obtinere iussit 100nomen supra omne nomen. Hic praepotens cruenti extinctor antichristi, qui de furente monstro pulchrum refert tropaeum. 105Quam bestiam [capacem] populosque devorantem, quam sanguinis charybdem Ioannis execratur. Haec nempe, quae [sacratum] 110praeferre nomen ausa est, imam petit gehennam Christo perempta vero. Tali sopore iustus mentem relaxat heros, 115ut spiritu sagaci caelum peragret omne. Nos nil meremur horum, quos creber inplet error, concreta quos malarum 120vitiat cupido rerum. Sat est quiete dulci fessum fovere corpus: sat, si nihil sinistrum vanae minentur umbrae. 125Cultor Dei memento te fontis et lavacri rorem subisse [sanctum,] te chrismate [innotatum.] [Fac,] cum vocante somno 130castum petis cubile, frontem locumque cordis crucis figura signet. Crux pellit omne crimen, fugiunt crucem tenebrae: 135tali dicata signo mens fluctuare nescit. Procul, o procul vagantum portenta somniorum, procul esto pervicaci 140praestigiator astu! O tortuose serpens, qui mille per Maeandros fraudesque flexuosas agitas quieta corda, 145Discede, Christus hic est, hic Christus est, liquesce: signum quod ipse nosti damnat tuam catervam. Corpus licet fatiscens 150iaceat recline paullum, Christum tamen sub ipso meditabimur sopore.

[VI. HYMN BEFORE SLEEP]

Draw near, Almighty Father, Ne'er seen by mortal eye; Come, O Thou Word eternal, O Spirit blest, be nigh. One light of threefold Godhead, One power that all transcends; God is of God begotten, And God from both descends. The hour of rest approaches, The toils of day are past, And o'er our tired bodies Sleep's gentle charm is cast. The mind, by cares tormented Amid life's storm and stress, Drinks deep the wondrous potion That brings forgetfulness. O'er weary, toil-worn mortals The spells of Lethe steal; Sad hearts lose all their sorrow, Nor pain nor anguish feel. For to His frail creation God gave this law to keep, That labour should be lightened By soft and healing sleep. But while sweet languor wanders Through all the pulsing veins, And, wrapt in dewy slumber, The heart at rest remains, The soul, in wakeful vigour, Aloft in freedom flies, And sees in many a semblance The hidden mysteries. For, freed from care, the spirit That came from out the sky, Born of the stainless aether, Can never idle lie. A thousand changing phantoms She fashions through the night, And 'midst a world of fancy Pursues her rapid flight. But divers are the visions That night to dreamers shows; Rare gleams of straying splendour The future may disclose; More oft the truth is darkened, And lying fantasy Deceives the affrighted sleeper With cunning treachery. To him whose life is holy The things that are concealed Lie open to his spirit In radiant light revealed; But he whose heart is blackened, With many a sin imbued, Sees phantoms grim and ghastly That beckon and delude. So in the Egyptian dungeon The patriarch of old Unto the king's two servants Their fateful visions told: And one is brought from prison The monarch's wine to pour, One, on the gibbet hanging, Foul birds of prey devour, He warned the king, distracted By riddles of the night, To hoard the plenteous harvests Against the years of blight. Soon, lord of half a kingdom, A mighty potentate, He shares the royal sceptre And dwells in princely state. But ah! how deep the secrets The holy sleeper sees To whom Christ shows His highest, Most sacred mysteries. For God's most faithful servant The clouds were rolled away, And John beheld the wonders That sealed from mortals lay. The Lamb of God, encrimsoned With sacrificial stains, Alone the Book can open That destiny contains. By His strong hand is wielded A keen, two-edgèd brand That, flashing like the lightning, Smites swift on either hand. Before His bar of judgment Both soul and body lie; He whom that dread sword smiteth The second death shall die. Yet mercy tempers justice, And few the Avenger sends (Whose guilt is past all pardon) To death that never ends. To Him the Father yieldeth The judgment-seat of Heaven; To Him a Name excelling All other names is given. For by His strength transcendent Shall Antichrist be slain, And from that raging monster Fair trophies shall He gain: That all-devouring Dragon, With blood of martyrs red, On whose abhorrèd power John's solemn curse is laid. And thus the proud usurper Of His high name is cast By Him, the true Christ, vanquished To deepest hell at last. Upon the saint heroic Such wondrous slumber falls That, in the spirit roaming, He treads heaven's highest halls. We may not, in our weakness, To dreams like these aspire, Whose souls are steeped in error And evil things desire. Enough, if weary bodies In peaceful sleep may rest; Enough, if no dark powers Our slumbering souls molest. Christian! the font remember, The sacramental vow, The holy water sprinkled, The oil that marked thy brow! When at sleep's call thou seekest To rest in slumber chaste, Let first the sacred emblem On breast and brow be traced. The Cross dispels all darkness, All sin before it flies, And by that sign protected The mind all fear defies. Avaunt! ye fleeting phantoms That mock our midnight hours; Avaunt! thou great Deceiver With all thy guileful powers. Thou Serpent, old and crafty, Who by a thousand arts And manifold temptations Dost vex our sleeping hearts, Vanish! for Christ is with us; Away! 'tis Christ the Lord: The sign thou must acknowledge Condemns thy hellish horde. And, though the weary body Relaxed in sleep may be, Our hearts, Lord, e'en in slumber, Shall meditate on Thee.

[VII. HYMNUS IEIUNANTIUM]

O Nazarene, lux Bethlem, verbum [Patris,] quem partus alvi virginalis protulit, adesto castis Christe parsimoniis, [festumque] nostrum rex serenus adspice, 5ieiuniorum dum litamus victimam. Nil hoc profecto purius mysterio, quo fibra cordis expiatur uvidi, intemperata quo domantur viscera, arvina putrem ne resudans crapulam 10obstrangulatae mentis ingenium premat. Hinc subiugatur luxus et turpis gula, vini atque somni degener socordia, libido sordens, inverecundus lepos, variaeque pestes languidorum sensuum 15parcam subactae disciplinam sentiunt. [Nam] si licenter diffluens potu et cibo ieiuna rite membra non coerceas, sequitur frequenti marcida oblectamine scintilla mentis ut tepescat nobilis, 20animusque pigris stertat in praecordiis. Frenentur ergo corporum cupidines, detersa et intus emicet prudentia: sic excitato perspicax acumine liberque flatu laxiore spiritus 25rerum parentem rectius precabitur. Elia tali crevit observantia, vetus sacerdos, ruris hospes [aridi:] fragore ab omni quem remotum et segregem sprevisse tradunt criminum frequentiam, 30casto fruentem syrtium silentio. Sed mox in auras igneis iugalibus curruque raptus evolavit praepete, ne de propinquo sordium contagio dirus quietum mundus adflaret virum, 35olim probatis inclitum ieiuniis. Non ante caeli principem septemplicis Moyses tremendi fidus interpres throni potuit videre, quam decem recursibus quater volutis sol peragrans sidera 40omni carentem cerneret substantia. Victus precanti solus in lacrimis fuit: nam flendo pernox inrigatum pulverem humi madentis ore pressit cernuo, donec loquentis voce praestrictus Dei 45expavit ignem non ferendum visibus. Ioannis huius artis hand minus potens, Dei perennis praecucurrit filium, curvos viarum qui retorsit tramites et flexuosa conrigens dispendia 50dedit sequendam calle recto lineam. Hanc obsequelam praeparabat nuntius mox adfuturo construens iter Deo, clivosa planis, confragosa ut lenibus converterentur, neve quidquam devium 55inlapsa terris inveniret veritas. Non usitatis ortus his natalibus oblita lactis iam vieto in pectore matris tetendit serus infans ubera: nec ante partu de senili effusus est, 60quam praedicaret virginem plenam Deo. Post in patentes ille solitudines amictus hirtis bestiarum pellibus setisve tectus hispida et lanugine secessit, horrens inquinari et pollui 65contaminatis oppidorum moribus. Illic dicata parcus abstinentia potum cibumque vir severae industriae in usque serum respuebat vesperum, parvum locustis et favorum [agrestium] 70liquore pastum corpori suetus dare. Hortator ille primus et doctor novae fuit salutis, nam sacrato in flumine [veterum] piatas lavit errorum notas: sed tincta postquam membra defaecaverat, 75caelo refulgens influebat spiritus. Hoc ex lavacro labe dempta [criminum] ibant renati non secus, quam si rudis auri recocta vena pulchrum splendeat, micet metalli sive lux argentei, 80sudum polito praenitens purgamine. Referre prisci stemma mine ieiunii libet fideli proditum volumine, ut diruendae civitatis incolis fulmen benigni mansuefactum Patris 85pie repressis ignibus pepercerit. Gens insolenti praepotens iactantia pollebat olim, quam fluentem nequiter conrupta vulgo solverat lascivia, et inde bruto contumax fastidio 90cultum superni negligebat numinis. Offensa tandem iugis indulgentiae censura iustis excitatur motibus, dextram perarmat rhompheali incendio nimbos crepantes et fragosos turbines 95vibrans tonantum nube flammarum quatit. Sed paenitendi dum datur diecula, si forte vellent inprobam libidinem veteresque nugas condomare ac frangere, suspendit ictum terror exorabilis 100paullumque dicta substitit [sententia.] Ionam prophetam mitis ultor excitat, paenae inminentis iret ut praenuntius, sed nosset ille qui minacem iudicem servare malle, quam ferire ac plectere, 105tectam latenter vertit in Tharsos fugam. Celsam paratis pontibus scandit ratem, udo revincta fune puppis solvitur, itur per altum, fit procellosum mare: tum causa tanti quaeritur periculi, 110sors in fugacem missa vatem decidit. Iussus perire solus e cunctis reus, cuius voluta crimen urna expresserat, praeceps rotatur et profundo inmergitur: exceptus inde beluinis faucibus 115alvi capacis vivus hauritur [specu.] * * * * * Intactus exin tertiae noctis vice monstri vomentis pellitur singultibus, qua murmuranti fine fluctus frangitur, salsosque candens spuma tundit pumices, 130ructatus exit seque servatum stupet. In Ninivitas se coactus percito gressu reflectit, quos ut increpaverat pudenda censor inputans opprobria; Inpendet, inquit, ira summi vindicis, 135urbemque flamma mox cremabit, credite. Apicem deinceps ardui montis petit visurus inde conglobatum turbidae fumum ruinae cladis et dirae struem, tectus flagellis multinodis germinis, 140nato et repente perfruens umbraculo. Sed maesta postquam civitas vulnus novi hausit doloris, heu supremum palpitat: cursant per ampla congregatim moenia plebs et senatus, omnis aetas civium, 145pallens iuventus, eiulantes feminae. Placet frementem publicis ieiuniis placare Christum, mos edendi spernitur, glaucos amictus induit monilibus matrona demptis, proque gemma et serico 150crinem fluentem sordidus spargit cinis. Squalent recincta veste bullati patres, setasque plangens turba sumit textiles, inpexa villis virgo bestialibus nigrante vultum contegit velamine, 155iacens arenis et puer provolvitur. Rex ipse Coos aestuantem murices laenam revulsa dissipabat fibula, gemmas virentes et lapillos sutiles, insigne frontis exuebat vinculum 160turpi capillos inpeditus pulvere. Nullus bibendi, nemo vescendi memor, ieiuna mensas pubis omnis liquerat, quin et negato lacte vagientium fletu madescunt parvulorum cunulae, 165sucum papillae parca nutrix derogat. Greges et ipsos claudit armentalium sollers virorum cura, ne vagum pecus contingat ore rorulenta gramina, potum strepentis neve fontis hauriant, 170vacuis querelae personant praesepibus. Mollitus his et talibus brevem Deus iram refrenat temperans oraculum prosper sinistrum, prona nam clementia haud difficulter supplicem mortalium 175solvit reatum fitque fautrix flentium. Sed cur vetustae gentis exemplum oquor? pridem caducis cum gravatus artubus Iesus dicato corde ieiunaverit, praenuncupatus ore qui prophetico 180Emanuel est, sive NOBISCUM DEUS. Qui corpus istud molle naturaliter captumque laxo sub voluptatum iugo virtutis arta lege fecit liberum: emancipator servientis plasmatis 185regnantis ante victor et cupidinis. Inhospitali namque secretus loco quinis diebus octies labentibus nullam ciborum vindicavit gratiam, firmans salubri scilicet ieiunio 190vas adpetendis inbecillum gaudiis. Miratus hostis posse limum tabidum tantum laboris sustinere ac perpeti, explorat arte sciscitator callida, Deusne membris sit receptus [terreis,] 195sed increpata fraude post tergum ruit. Hoc nos sequamur quisque nunc pro viribus, quod consecrati tu magister dogmatis tuis dedisti Christe sectatoribus, ut, cum vorandi vicerit libidinem, 200late triumphet inperator spiritus. Hoc est, quod atri livor hostis invidet, mundi polique quod gubernator probat, altaris aram quod facit placabilem, quod dormientis excitat cordis fidem, 205quod limat aegram pectoris rubiginem. Perfusa non sic amne flamma extinguitur, nec sic calente sole tabescunt nives, ut turbidarum scabra culparum seges vanescit almo trita sub ieiunio, 210si blanda semper misceatur largitas. Est quippe et illud grande virtutis genus operire nudos, indigentes pascere, opem benignam ferre supplicantibus, unam paremque sortis humanae vicem 215inter potentes atque egenos ducere. Satis beatus quisque dextram porrigit, laudis rapacem, prodigam pecuniae, cuius sinistra dulce factum nesciat: illum perennes protinus conplent opes, 220ditatque fructus faenerantem centuplex.

[VII. HYMN FOR THOSE WHO FAST]

O Jesus, Light of Bethlehem, True Son of God, Incarnate Word; Thou offspring of a Virgin's womb, Be present at our frugal board; Accept our fast, our sacrifice, And smile upon us, gracious Lord. For by this holiest mystery The inward parts are cleansed from stain, And, taming all the unbridled lusts, Our sinful flesh we thus restrain, Lest gluttony and drunkenness Should choke the soul and cloud the brain. Hence appetite and luxury Are forced their empire to resign; The wanton sport, the jest obscene, The ignoble sway of sleep and wine, And all the plagues of languid sense Feel the strict bonds of discipline. For if, full fed with meat and drink, The flesh thou ne'er dost mortify, The mind, that spark of sacred flame, By pleasure dulled, must fail and die, And pent in its gross prison-house The soul in shameful torpor lie. So be thy carnal lusts controlled, So be thy judgment clear and bright; Then shall thy spirit, swift and free, Be gifted with a keener sight, And breathing in an ampler air To the All-Father pray aright. Elias by such abstinence, Seer of the desert, grew in grace, Who left the madding haunts of men And found a peaceful resting-place, Where, far from sinful crowds, he trod The pure and silent wilderness. Till by those fiery coursers drawn The swift car bore him through the air, Lest earth's defiling touch should mar The holiness it might not share, Or some polluting breath disturb The peace attained by fast and prayer. Moses, through whom from His dread throne The will of God to man was told, No food might touch till through the sky The sun full forty times had rolled, Ere God before him stood revealed, Lord of the heavens sevenfold. Tears were his meat, while bent in prayer Through the long night he bowed his head E'en to the thirsty dust, that drank The drops in bitter weeping shed; Till, at God's call, he saw the flame No eye may bear, and was afraid. The Baptist, too, was strong in fast-- Forerunner in a later day Of God's Eternal Son--who made The byepaths plain, the crooked way A road direct, wherein His feet Might travel on without delay. This was the messenger's great task Who for God's advent zealously Prepared the way, the rough made smooth, The mountain levelled to the sea; That, when Truth came from heaven to earth, All fair and straight His path should be. He was not born in common wise, For dry and wrinkled was the breast Of her that bare him late in years, Nor found she from her labour rest, Till she had hailed with lips inspired The Maid with unborn Godhead blest. For him the hairy skins of beasts Furnished a raiment rude and wild, As forth into the lonely waste He fared, an unbefriended child, Who dwelt apart, lest he should be By evil city-life defiled. There, vowed to abstinence, he grew To manhood, and with stern disdain He turned from meat and drink, until He saw night's shadow fall again; And locusts and the wild bees' store Sufficed his vigour to sustain. The first was he to testify Of that new life which man might win; In Jordan's consecrating stream He purged the stains of ancient sin, And, as he made the body clean, The radiant Spirit entered in. Forth from the holy tide they came Reborn, from guilt's pollution free, As bright from out the cleansing fire Flows the rough gold, or as we see The glittering silver, purged of dross, Flash into polished purity. Now let us tell, from Holy Writ, Of olden fasts the fairest crown; How God in pity stayed His hand, And spared a doomed and guilty town, In clemency the flames withheld And laid His vengeful lightnings down. A mighty race of ancient time Waxed arrogant in boastful pride; Debauched were they, and borne along On foul corruption's loathsome tide, Till in their stiff-necked self-conceit They e'en the God of Heaven denied. At last Eternal Mercy turns To righteous judgment, swift and dire; He shakes the clouds; the mighty sword Flames in His hand, and in His ire He wields the roaring hurricane 'Mid murky gloom and flashing fire. Yet in His clemency He grants To penitence a brief delay, That they might burst the bonds of lust And put their vanities away; His sentence given, He waits awhile And stays the hand upraised to slay. To warn them of the wrath to come The Avenger in His mercy sent Jonah the seer; but,--though he knew The threatening Judge would fain relent Nor wished to strike,--towards Tarshish town The prophet's furtive course was bent. As up the galley's side he climbed, They loosed the dripping rope, and passed The harbour bar: then on them burst The sudden fury of the blast; And when their peril's cause they sought, The lot was on the recreant cast. The man whose guilt the urn declares Alone must die, the rest to save; Hurled headlong from the deck, he falls And sinks beneath the engulfing wave, Then, seized by monstrous jaws, is plunged Into a vast and living grave. * * * * * At last the monster hurls him forth, As the third night had rolled away; Before its roar the billows break And lash the cliffs with briny spray; Unhurt the wondering prophet stands And hails the unexpected day. Thus turned again to duty's path To Nineveh he swiftly came, Their lusts rebuked and boldly preached God's judgment on their sin and shame; "Believe!" he cried, "the Judge draws nigh Whose wrath shall wrap your streets in flame." Thence to the lofty mount withdrew, Where he might watch the smoke-cloud lower O'er blasted homes and ruined halls, And rest beneath the shady bower Upspringing in swift luxury Of twining tendril, leaf and flower. But when the guilty burghers heard The impending doom, a dull despair Possessed their souls; proud senators, Poor craftsmen, throng the highways fair; Pale youth with tottering age unites, And women's wailing rends the air. A public fast they now decree, If they may thus Christ's anger stay: No food they touch: each haughty dame Puts silken robes and gems away, In sable garbed, and ashes casts Upon her tresses' disarray. In dark and squalid vesture clad The Fathers go: the mourning crowd Dons rough attire: in shaggy skins Enwrapped, fair maids their faces shroud With dusky veils, and boyish heads E'en to the very dust are bowed. The King tears off his jewelled brooch And rends the robe of Coan hue; Bright emeralds and lustrous pearls Are flung aside, and ashes strew The royal head, discrowned and bent, As low he kneels God's grace to sue. None thought to drink, none thought to eat; All from the table turned aside, And in their cradles wet with tears Starved babes in bitter anguish cried, For e'en the foster-mother stern To little lips the breast denied. The very flocks are closely penned By careful hands, lest they should gain Sweet water from the babbling stream Or wandering crop the dewy plain; And bleating sheep and lowing kine Within their barren stalls complain. Moved by such penitence, full soon God's grace repealed the stern decree And curbed His righteous wrath; for aye, When man repents, His clemency Is swift to pardon and to hear His children weeping bitterly. Yet wherefore of that bygone race Should we anew the story tell? For Christ's pure soul by fasting long The clogging bonds of flesh did quell; He Whom the prophet's voice foretold As GOD WITH US, Emmanuel. Man's body--frail by nature's law And bound by pleasure's easy chain-- He freed by virtue's strong restraint, And gave it liberty again: He broke the bonds of flesh, and Lust Was driven from his old domain. Deep in the inhospitable wild For forty days He dwelt alone Nor tasted food, till, thus prepared, All human weakness overthrown By fasting's power, His mortal frame Rejoiced the spirit's sway to own. The Adversary, marvelling To see this creature of a day Endure such toil, spent all his guile To learn if God in human clay Had come indeed; but soon rebuked Behind His back fled shamed away. Therefore let each with all his might Follow the way the Master taught, The law of consecrated life Which Christ unto His servants brought; Till, with the lusts of flesh subdued, The spirit reigns o'er act and thought. 'Tis this our jealous foe abhors, 'Tis this the Lord of earth and sky Approves; by this the soul is made Thy holy altar, God Most High: Faith stirs within the slumbering heart And sin's corroding power must fly. Swifter than water quenches fire, Swifter than sunshine melts the snow, Crushed out by soul-restoring fast Vanish the sins that rankly grow, If hand in hand with Abstinence Sweet Charity doth ever go. This too is Virtue's noble task, To clothe the naked, and to feed The destitute, with kindly care To visit sufferers in their need; For king and beggar each must bear The lot by changeless Fate decreed. Happy the man whose good right hand Seeks but God's praise, and flings his gold Broadcast, nor lets his left hand know The gracious deed; for wealth untold Shall crown him through eternal years With usury an hundredfold.

[VIII. HYMNUS POST IEIUNIUM]