VII. NATIVITAS DOMINI
[English]
Splendor Patris et figura
Se conformans homini.
Potestate, non natura,
Partum dedit Virgini.
Adam vetus,
Tandem laetus,
Novum promat canticum;
Fugitivus
Et captivus
Prodeat in publicum!
Eva luctum,
Vitae fructum
Virgo gaudens edidit;
Nec sigillum
Propter illum
Castitatis perdidit.
Si crystallus sit humecta
Atque soli sit objecta,
Scintillat igniculum:
Nec crystallus rumpitur,
Nec in partu solvitur
Pudoris signaculum.
Super tali genitura
Stupet usus et natura,
Deficitque ratio;
Res est ineffabilis
Tam pia, tam humilis
Christi generatio.
Frondem, florem, nucem sicca
Virga profert, et pudica
Virgo Dei Filium.
Fert coelestem vellus rorem
Creatura Creatorem,
Creaturae pretium.
Frondis, floris, nucis, roris
Pietati Salvatoris
Congruunt mysteria.
Frons est Christus protegendo,
Flos dulcore, nux pascendo,
Ros coelesti gratia.
Cur, quod virgo peperit,
Est Judaeis scandalum,
Cum virga produxerit
Sicca sic amygdalum?
Contemplemur adhuc nucem;
Nam
Lucis est mysterium.
Trinam gerens unionem,
Tria confert: unctionem,
Lumen et edulium.
Nux est Christus, cortex nucis
Circa carnem poena crucis,
Testa corpus osseum.
Carne tecta Deitas
Et Christi suavitas
Signatur per nucleum.
Lux est caecis, et unguentum
Christus aegris, et fomentum
Piis animalibus.
O quam dulce sacramentum!
Foenum carnis in frumentum
Convertit fidelibus.
Quos sub umbra sacramenti,
Jesu, pascis in praesenti,
Tuo vultu satia.
Splendor Patri coaeterne,
Nos hinc transfer ad paternae
Claritatis gaudia. Amen.
-----
VII. CHRISTMAS
[Latin]
Fashioned as a human creature,
Christ, His Father's image clear,
By His power, and not by nature,
Caused a Virgin's womb to bear.
No more grieving,
New songs weaving,
Let old Adam sing for mirth!
Exiles flying!
Captives lying
Prison-bound! come boldly forth!
Eve bore sadness
But with gladness
Fruit of life a Virgin bears;
While unbroken
Still the token
Of her chastity appears.
If a crystal that is wetted
To the sun's rays be submitted,
It emits a little spark;
Neither doth the crystal break,
Neither doth this child-birth take
From the maid her maiden-mark.
Such begetting of a creature
Strikes experience dumb, and nature;
Reason too fails utterly;
Words could ne'er be found to show
Birth so loving, birth so low,
As at Christ's nativity.
Leaf, flower, nut, a dry rod beareth,
And a maiden pure prepareth
To produce God's Son Most High.
From a fleece heaven's dew-shower springeth;
She, He made, her Maker bringeth
Forth , what He had made to buy.
In the flower, leaf, nut, and shower
Mystic emblems of the power
Of the Saviour's love are met.
Leaf Christ is - by shelter spreading;
Flower - by sweetness; nut - by feeding;
Dew - by grace with heaven's dew wet.
Why should it offend the Jews,
That a virgin bore a son,
When a rod could thus produce
Almonds, though a sapless one?
On the nut still let us ponder;
For, if a full light brought under,
'Tis the mystic type of light.
As it three in one appeareth,
So three gifts too it conferreth;
Unction, food, effulgence bright.
Christ the nut, - its hull His passion,
Closing round his human fashion, -
And His bony frame its shell, -
The incarnate Deity
And Christ's tender sympathy
In the kernel mark ye well.
Christ is light to those not seeing,
Balm, the sick from sickness freeing,
And His loving creatures' food.
O how sweet a rite! He taketh
Grass - our flesh - and thereof maketh
Grain for those who trust in God.
Those, whose food Thou now providest,
Jesu! as 'neath rites Thou hidest,
With Thy presence satiate!
Thou, the Father's Co-eternal
Brightness! us to joys supernal
In His glory hence translate! Amen.
-----
INDEX
[English]
Splendor Patris et figura
Se conformans homini.
Potestate, non natura,
Partum dedit Virgini.
Adam vetus,
Tandem laetus,
Novum promat canticum;
Fugitivus
Et captivus
Prodeat in publicum!
Eva luctum,
Vitae fructum
Virgo gaudens edidit;
Nec sigillum
Propter illum
Castitatis perdidit.
Si crystallus sit humecta
Atque soli sit objecta,
Scintillat igniculum:
Nec crystallus rumpitur,
Nec in partu solvitur
Pudoris signaculum.
Super tali genitura
Stupet usus et natura,
Deficitque ratio;
Res est ineffabilis
Tam pia, tam humilis
Christi generatio.
Frondem, florem, nucem sicca
Virga profert, et pudica
Virgo Dei Filium.
Fert coelestem vellus rorem
Creatura Creatorem,
Creaturae pretium.
Frondis, floris, nucis, roris
Pietati Salvatoris
Congruunt mysteria.
Frons est Christus protegendo,
Flos dulcore, nux pascendo,
Ros coelesti gratia.
Cur, quod virgo peperit,
Est Judaeis scandalum,
Cum virga produxerit
Sicca sic amygdalum?
Contemplemur adhuc nucem;
Lucis est mysterium.
Trinam gerens unionem,
Tria confert: unctionem,
Lumen et edulium.
Nux est Christus, cortex nucis
Circa carnem poena crucis,
Testa corpus osseum.
Carne tecta Deitas
Et Christi suavitas
Signatur per nucleum.
Lux est caecis, et unguentum
Christus aegris, et fomentum
Piis animalibus.
O quam dulce sacramentum!
Foenum carnis in frumentum
Convertit fidelibus.
Quos sub umbra sacramenti,
Jesu, pascis in praesenti,
Tuo vultu satia.
Splendor Patri coaeterne,
Nos hinc transfer ad paternae
Claritatis gaudia. Amen.
-----
VII. CHRISTMAS
[Latin]
Fashioned as a human creature,
Christ, His Father's image clear,
By His power, and not by nature,
Caused a Virgin's womb to bear.
No more grieving,
New songs weaving,
Let old Adam sing for mirth!
Exiles flying!
Captives lying
Prison-bound! come boldly forth!
Eve bore sadness
But with gladness
Fruit of life a Virgin bears;
While unbroken
Still the token
Of her chastity appears.
If a crystal that is wetted
To the sun's rays be submitted,
It emits a little spark;
Neither doth the crystal break,
Neither doth this child-birth take
From the maid her maiden-mark.
Such begetting of a creature
Strikes experience dumb, and nature;
Reason too fails utterly;
Words could ne'er be found to show
Birth so loving, birth so low,
As at Christ's nativity.
Leaf, flower, nut, a dry rod beareth,
And a maiden pure prepareth
To produce God's Son Most High.
From a fleece heaven's dew-shower springeth;
She, He made, her Maker bringeth
In the flower, leaf, nut, and shower
Mystic emblems of the power
Of the Saviour's love are met.
Leaf Christ is - by shelter spreading;
Flower - by sweetness; nut - by feeding;
Dew - by grace with heaven's dew wet.
Why should it offend the Jews,
That a virgin bore a son,
When a rod could thus produce
Almonds, though a sapless one?
On the nut still let us ponder;
For, if a full light brought under,
'Tis the mystic type of light.
As it three in one appeareth,
So three gifts too it conferreth;
Unction, food, effulgence bright.
Christ the nut, - its hull His passion,
Closing round his human fashion, -
And His bony frame its shell, -
The incarnate Deity
And Christ's tender sympathy
In the kernel mark ye well.
Christ is light to those not seeing,
Balm, the sick from sickness freeing,
And His loving creatures' food.
O how sweet a rite! He taketh
Grass - our flesh - and thereof maketh
Grain for those who trust in God.
Those, whose food Thou now providest,
Jesu! as 'neath rites Thou hidest,
With Thy presence satiate!
Thou, the Father's Co-eternal
Brightness! us to joys supernal
In His glory hence translate! Amen.
-----
INDEX
No comments:
Post a Comment