Whether admissible as a hymn or not, this passage blends, in a most striking way, oriental and Greek elements employed in the expression of Christian belief.
Authentic Greek hymnody begins with Clement of Alexandria, 170-220. He is the author of a work of instruction for catechumens, the Paedagogus, to which is appended a Hymn to Christ the Savior, Ὕμνος τοῦ σωτῆρος Χριστοῦ, beginning, Στόμιον πώλων. It is a hymn of praise and thanksgiving on the part of those newly received into the Church. Christ is addressed in the familiar oriental imagery of the guide and shepherd, but the theme is rendered in a poetic style, which, by the use of short lines and the anapest, heightens the effect of ecstatic devotion.
Bridle of colts untamed,
Over our wills presiding;
Flight of unwandering birds,
Our flight securely guiding,— — — —[75]
The modern adaptation of Clement’s hymn, Shepherd of Tender Youth, by Henry M. Dexter, 1846, while preserving in a measure the spirit of this piece, in no way reproduces the original. The Στόμιον πώλων of Clement is representative of a theme which pervades Christian hymnody in all ages, the joy and enthusiasm of the initiate or the admonition and encouragement addressed to the Christian who stands upon the threshold of a new life. The Odes of Solomon have been interpreted in these terms.[76] Again, the theme is preserved in the so-called Amherst papyrus, which consists of a hymn of twenty-five tripartite lines, a catechism or liturgy for the newly baptized. Originating in the third century, it appears in fragmentary form but sufficiently complete to make clear its language and purport, as illustrated in the following:[77]
That thou mayest receive life eternal
Thou hast escaped the hard law of the unjust ...
. . .