§ 114. THE POETKY OF THE OKIENTAL CHCROH. 583
treasures, on wliicli nine centuries have wrought, liave hither to been ahnost exclusively confined to the Oriental church, and in fact yield but few grains of gold for general use. Neale has latterly made a happy effort to reproduce and make acces sible in modern English metres, with very considerable abridgments, the most valuable hymns of the Greek church.'
We give a few specimens of Neale's translations of hymns of St. Anatolius, patriarch of Constantinople, who attended the council of Chalcedon (451). The first is a Christmas hymn, fiommencing in Greek :
Meya koI irapdSo^ov ^avfUL.
"A great and mighty wonder, The festal makee secure: The Virgin bears the Infant With Virgin-honor pure.
The Word is made incarnate,
And yet remains on high : And cherubim sing anthems
To shepherds from the sky.
And we with them triumphant
Repeat the lijTan again : •To God on high be glory,
And peace on earth to men ! '
While thus they sing your Monarch,
Those bright angelic bands, Eejoice, ye vales and mountains !
Ye oceans, clap your hands !
the licnt season), and the Pentecostarion (for the Easter season). Neale (p. ilL) reckons that all these volumes together would form at least 5,000 closely-printed, double column quarto pages, of which 4,000 pages would be poetry. He adds an expression of surprise at the " marvellous ignorance in which English ecclesiastical scholars are content to remain of this huge treasure of divinity — the gradual completion of nine centuries at least." Respecting the value of these poetical and theological treasures, however, few will agree with this learned and enthusiastic Anglican venerator of the Oriental church.
' Neale, in his preface, says of his translations: "These are literally, I believe, thi' only English versions of any part of the treasures of Oriental Hymnology. There is scarcely a first or second-rate hymn of the Roman Breviary which has not been translated: of many we have six or eight versions. The eighteen quarts volumes of Greek church-poetry can only at present be known to t' e English rtadei bv mv Ut^le book." . '■
684 THIRD PEEIOD. A.D. 311-590.
Since all He comes to ransom,
By all be He adored, The Infant born in Bethlehem,
The Saviour and the Lord !
Now idol forms shall perish,
All error shall decay, And Christ shall wield His sceptre,
Our Lord and God for aye,"
Another specimen of a Christmas hymn by the same, com mencing iv BrjSXei/jL : '
" In Bethlehem is He born ! Maker of all things, everlasting God I
He opens Eden's gate. Monarch of ages ! Thence the fiery sword
Gives glorious passage ; thence. The severing mid-wall overthrown, the powers
Of earth and Heaven are one ; Angels and men renew their ancient league,
The pure rejoin the pure, In happy union ! Now the Virgin-womb
Like some cherubic throne Containeth Him, the Uncontainable:
Bears Him, whom while they bear The seraphs tremble ! bears Him, as He comes
To shower upon the world The fulness of His everlasting love ! "
One more on Clirist calming the storm, i^ocjjepa'i rpiKv/xia'i as reproduced by Neale :
" Fierce was the wild billow
Dark was the night ; Oars labor'd heavily ;
Foam gliramer'd white; Mariners trembled ;
Peril was nigh ; Then said the God of God
— ' Peace ! It is I.'
Kdge of the mountain-wave, Lower thy crest 1
« Prom the " Christian Remembrancer," I. c. p. 302. Comp. Neale, Hynms o* the Eastern Church, p. 13.
§ 115. THE LATIN HYMN. 585
Wail of Euroclydon,
Be thou at rest ! Peril can none be —
Sorrow must fly — Where saith the Light of Light,
— 'Peace! It is L'
Jesc, Deliverer !
Come Thou to me : Soothe Thou my voyaging
Over life's sea ! Thou, when the storm of death
Roars, sweeping by. Whisper, 0 Truth of Truth !
— ' Peace ! It is I,' "