XXXIV.

A general Invocation.

(PARENESIS LIX., tom. vi., p. 519.)

O SON, begotten divinely
Of the Father spiritually!
The virgin Mary purely
Brought Him forth bodily;

And He dwelt in her bosom secretly
And appeared from her publicly;
Behold! is honoured gloriously,
Her memory constantly.

Ye martyrs who have suffered bravely, Your afflictions pleasantly,

And received your crowns completely,

As was your due righteously;

Intreat with us collectively,

The Anointed One worshipfully,
To exercise His mercy bountifully
Upon all of us continually.

Call with Thy voice commandingly,

That we may rise again quickly; Who have eaten Thy body willingly,

And drank Thy blood purely.

And when Thou comest suddenly,

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With the glory of the angels fearfully,
May we enter with Thee collectively
To the pavilion of light joyfully.

Glory to the Father eternally,
Who chose Mary purely;

And adoration to the Son perpetually,
Who strengthened the martyrs bravely;
Praise to the Spirit perfectly,

Who raiseth us from the dead surely;
And on us be mercies abundantly,
At all seasons unvaryingly!

THE singular structure of this hymn, which has been closely followed in the translation, catches the eye of a mere casual reader of the Syriac text. The metre is heptasyllabic, in strophes of eight verses. Every verse ends with an adverb, with the termination ith. Some may think that "A Hymn to the Virgin," would be a more proper title than that which has been given to it; but although she is certainly mentioned twice in it, the piece is not appropriated to her.

The Latin translator renders the passage referring to the Virgin in strophe 1 as follows:-" Quem post temporis plenitudinem intemerata Maria Virginis viscera, Divino afflante Spiritu, excepêre;" and that in strophe 4:-" Gloria Eterno Patri sit maxima, qui Beatam Virginem ad tantum honoris culmen evexit, ut in sui pectoris angustiis templum Divinæ Majestatis construeret, et in fragili humanæ carnis naturâ totam Divinitatis gloriam contineret:" to which there is little to object, except the diffuseness by which thirtytwo words are spun out of nine!

XXXV.

The Praises of Noah.

(SERMO XLIX., tom. vi., p. 89.)

OH how illustrious was Noah,

Who excelled in comparison

All the men of his age:

For they were wanting in the scale

When weighed by impartial justice ;a

And one soul alone descended in the balance,

By the armour of innocence."

They were drowned in the flood

Who were deficient in weight,

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And he was lifted up in the ark,

The innocent and honourable one !

Glory to Him who took pleasure in him !

Noah extended his ministration

Between two boundaries,

And described two types;
He sealed up the time past,
And entered upon the present:
And between two generations
He administered two mysteries.

He dismissed the men who were before him,
And invited those who should come after;
He buried the old race,

And educated the rising one :—

Praises be to Him who chose him!

Then wandered through the flood
The ship of him who was lord of all ;ƒ
It proceeded from the east,
And touched upon the west,-
It flew to the south,

And reached unto the north;
Its flying upon the waters
Prophecied to the dry land,
And proclaimed that its progeny
Would be fruitful on every side,

And become great in every

clime:

Praises be to its Redeemer!

In its course it described
The standard of its preserver,
The cross of its shipmaster,
The helm of its helmsman;
Who should come and appoint
A Church in the waters,
And by the threefold Name

Should redeem her inhabitants.

And the Spirit in the form of the dove Administered her' anointing,

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And the mystery of her redemption :--Praises be to her Redeemer!

His mysteries in the old covenant,"

And His types in the ark,

Bear witness one to the other;

For as were emptied out

The chambers of the ark,

So were made empty

The types of the Scriptures.

He who terminated by His coming
The mysteries of the Law,
Accomplished in the churches

The types of the ark:

Glory be to Thy Advent!

Behold, my mind wanders,

Having embarked upon the flood

Of our Redeemer-which is terrible!
Blessed be Noah,

Who although his ship,

Even the ark, floated on the flood,

Was yet firm in mind.

Oh Lord, let my faith be

A ship to my infirmity;

For behold the daring are sunk

In the abyss of Thy investigation:

Praises be to Him who begat Thee!

THE structure of this hymn is very complete, and serves to illustrate, in some measure, the method of using these productions. The metre is pentasyllabic, in strophes of twelve verses, the last verse of each being a doxology. It should perhaps have been placed among the Homilies, but its evident adaptation to a choral performance, and the little there is in it of a controversial character, may vindicate its place among the Hymns.