XVII.

On the Death of a Woman.

(CANON XXXII., tom. vi., p. 289.)

TEARS are in the eyes,

In the ears are sounds of woe,

In the mouth is wailing,

And sadness in the heart :

Comfort me, oh Lord!

This day separates

A woman from her house,

And it bows down and falls prostrate,a
Having lost its order :-

Let it be arranged by Thy light!

This day hath clothed

This house in mourning,

And hung upon its walls
Affliction and sadness :-

Let Thy consolation give it light!

In the day of her birth she became mortal ;' In her life there was trouble;

The day of her death caused mourning

To the company of her friends :

Glory to Him who hath taken her away!

In the grave which hath swallowed up
The dead of all generations,

Her body sees corruption,

And becomes but dust :

Let Thy resurrection raise her up!

Death hath entered-hath snatched her
And put her forth from her dwelling,
And in the habitation of the tomb

Hath deposited her :—

Till the day of her rising.

Her soul hath gone away,
As Thy command hath decreed ;
Behold! she hath become dust,

As Thy command hath decreed :—

Lord, make her live anew!

away,

THE metre is pentasyllabic, in strophes of five verses, the last being antiphonal.

a "And it bows down and falls prostrate."-The translator in vain endeavoured to lessen the harshness of this figure, or to

ܘܕܟܦܐ ܐܦ ܐܫܝܕ deduce any other meaning from the original

The words would apply to a tent, which in the absence of the mistress might have its pegs loosened and its lines relaxed, but this idea is scarcely reconcilable with historical truth, or with the rest of the poem. Benedict renders the verse, "Domus idcirco tota jacet, squalido turpis situ."

"In the day of her birth she became mortal.”—Literally, there was death.

D

"As Thy command hath decreed."-The reiteration of this verse in the last strophe is an indication of some artistic design, to be developed by the choir. A writer so diffuse as Ephraem would otherwise scarcely have allowed the tautology.

XVIII.

On the Death of an aged Alan.

(CANON LXXIV., tom. vi., p. 345.)

THE only-begotten Son whom thou hast loved

From thy youth to thine old age,

Will remember thee in Eden,

Among the upright and righteous.

Thou wast perfect in thy faith,
And chaste in thine aspect;"

Behold thy honourable name is diffused

Among us as a sweet odour.

Behold thy communion is with the angels,

And thy memorial in Paradise;

And with a crown of glory thou art adorned
In the heavenly Jerusalem.

The voice which called to Lazarus,

с

And to the maid, the daughter of Jairus,

Will call thee and raise thee up,

And clothe thee with spotless glory.d

THIS hymn is heptasyllabic, in strophes of four verses.

a “Chaste in thine aspect.”—12 visus, conspectus, has here a much wider significance than any single English word can

convey. It means the appearance of a man presented to others, or the whole course of external conduct. Thus Benedict has well paraphrased it:—“ Pudicus ac decorus ubique status, incessus, vultus; oculi citra omnem petulantiæ notam." The English word conversation in the New Testament sense would nearly convey the idea of the Syriac text.

"Sweet odour."-There is no verbal resemblance in this passage to the sentiment of Eccles. vii. 1, as it exists in the Peschito. "And to the maid."-Talitho, appears to be used here as a proper name. In Mark v. 41, where the raising the daughter of Jairus is related, the Syriac word is retained in a manner difficult to account for. May not Talitha have been a proper name among the Jews? If so, both the peculiarity of Mark and the phraseology of our text are explained.

d "Spotless glory."- purus, sincerus; here it means unmixed, untarnished. Benedict conveys the idea :-" Secretis malis omnibus, cumulatâ bonorum complexione munerabitur."