LIX

Hymn on the Holy Evangelists (1.)

Christi perennes nuntii

PRAISE for Thy Saints to Thee, O Lord, Whose heavenly Scriptures, wide unfurl'd Thy sacred mysteries record,

And spread them o'er the wondering world.

The darkness far away expell'd,

The things, which, wrapt in shades of night,

Of old Thy holy seers beheld,

These now have seen in open light.

Hence, taught by Thee, their records show'd,
From age to age those records run,
What human things were borne by God,
By man what things divine were done.

I

Distinct in place, in time remote,

The selfsame Spirit ruled them all, Nor fails He, from the rolls they wrote, On us with warning voice to call.

And so to God, the One and Three, Who calls us from the gloom of night, His glory's beams reveal'd to see,

Be praise supreme and sovereign might.

LX

Hymn on the Holy Evangelists (2.)

Sina sub alto vertice

FROM thundering skies at Sinai's rock

Of old the law was given :

And trumpet loud and lightnings spoke
The present God of heaven.

But now He loves with temper'd might

A veil of flesh to wear,

And, suited to our feeble sight,

In milder form appear.

Engraved on stone, the Law defined.
Rules, but no strength convey'd ;

Writ on the heart, the Gospel join'd
Its rules with power to aid.

This was by voice and faithful pen,
This by the lives reveal'd,

Answering the voice of sainted men,
And by their life-blood seal'd.

O Thou, by whose good Spirit taught,
The words of life they bear,

Plant Thou their records in our thought,

And ever root them there.

So be, Thrice Holy God, to Thee,

Whose voice from shades of night Call'd us Thy glory's beams to see,

High praise and sovereign might !

LXI

Hymn on the Holy Martyrs (1.)

Sanctorum meritis inclyta gaudia

THE triumphs of the martyr'd saints

The joyous lay demand,

The heart delights in song to dwell

On that victorious band:

Those whom the senseless world abhorr'd,

Who cast the world aside,

Deem'd fruitless, worthless, for the sake

Of Christ, their Lord and Guide.

For Thee they braved the tyrant's rage,

The scourge's cruel smart ;

The wild-beast's claw their bodies tore,

But vanquish'd not the heart :