RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA
Hydroparastatae Hymnology
and others) vied with the leaders of the Methodist movement. Hymns " have consoled the sad, checked the joyful, subdued the enraged, refreshed the poor " (Nicetius of Treves, De psalmodim bono). They have been on the tongues of believers in the first ardor of their faith, and have ascended as the last fervid utterance of martyrs at the stake. They are the common heritage of believers, and bind together all ages. In them denominational distinctions are effaced. The hymns of Ambrose, John of Damascus, Luther, Tersteegen, Wesley, Toplady, Muhlenberg, and Newman stand side by side in the hymn-books, consentient in praise of the one God and in love for the one Savior. For hymn tunes, see Music, Sacred; see the sketches of prominent hymn-writers, etc.
II. Hebrew Hymns: Hebrew psalmody had an early origin. The songs of Miriam, Moses, Deborah, and Hannah (Ex. xv.; Deut. xxxii.; Judges v.; I Sam. ii. 1-10) are sacred poems full of sublime imagery and inspired with a fervid devotion to Yahweh. The Book of Psalms is the best of hymnbooks, and in all ages of the Christian Church it has been a living fountain of devotion and praise. See Psalms, Book of; Psalmody; and Hebkew Language and Literature, III.
III. Early Christian Hymns: From the threshold of the Christian dispensation have come down hymns which are known generally by their Latin titles, usually derived from the first words in the Latin versions. These are the Magnificat of Mary (Luke i. 46-55), the Benedictus of Zacharias (Luke i. 68-79), and the Nunc dimittis of Simeon (Luke ii. 29-32). Other parts of the New Testament suggest by their form that they are fragments of hymns (Acts iv. 24-30; Eph. v. 14; I Tim. iii. 16; James i. 17; Rev. xv. 3). At the institution of the Lord's Supper (Matt. xxvi. 30), Jesus and his disciples sang a hymn, possibly a part of the Hallel (q.v.; cf. C. A. Briggs, Commentary on Psalms, i., New York, 1906, pp. lxxviii-lxxix) . Christians of the Apostolic Age_ used hymns as a means of edification (I Cor. xiv. 26;" Eph. v. 19; Col. iii. 16). It seems probable that in the public assembly the hymn, like prophecy and preaching, was sometimes the spontaneous product of the moment (I Cor. xiv. 26). From the sub-apostolic age testimony to the use of hymns in Christian public service comes from heathen as well as from Christian sources. Early in the second century Pliny informed Trajan that the Christians were in the habit of meeting before daylight and singing songs to Christ as God (Epist. x. 97). Eusebius (Hist. eccl. V., xxviii. 5) quotes an author from near the end of the second century who speaks of the " many psalms and hymns, written by the faithful brethren from the beginning, [which] celebrate Christ the Word of God, speaking of him as divine " (NPNF, 2 ser., i. 247). The oldest Christian hymn in use, apart from those mentioned above, is probably " Shepherd of tender yj^hj"_lDy Clement of Alexandria (c. 200), which has gained currency in the rendering of Henry M. Dexter, made in 1846 (cf. Schaff, Christian Church, ii. 228-31). The hymn " Light of gladness, beam divine," still sung in the Greek Church, was formerly attributed to Athenagenes (d. 169); but Basil of
Caesaroa (d. 379) denies his authorship, though he refers to the hymn as an ancient composition. The Gnostics early created a body of hymns, and Origen speaks of the large number in use. Bardesanes (q.v.) and his son, Harmonius, were among the Gnostic poets (cf. E. Preuschen, Zwei gnostische Hymnen, Giessen, 1904).
IV. Hymns of the Eastern Church: The custom of singing hymns was so general and popular in the third century that one of the charges by the Third Synod of Antioch (269) against Paul of Samosata was that he had suppressed hymns in honor of Christ. Theodoret states (Hist, eccl., ii. 19; NPNF, 2 ser., iii. 85) that antiphonal singing began in Antioch and spread thence in all directions in the fourth century. While Chrysostom was bishop of Constantinople, the Trinitarian party used to assemble in the squares and then march in midnight processions through the city singing sacred songs as a means of combating the Arians, who also had their own songs. Cardinal Pitra states that the number of Greek hymns is very great, sufficient having been published to fill fifteen or twenty volumes, while an equal number survive in manuscript only. Ephraem Syrus (d. about 378) is the father of Syrian Christian hymnody. Theodoret speaks in high praise of Ephraem's hymns, which commemorate the great facts in the life of Jesus, the deaths of Christians, and the lives of martyrs (cf. H. Burgess, Select Metrical Hymns of Ephraem, London, 1853). Gregory Nazianzen (d. 390) and Anatolius (see Anatolius op Constantinople) are the two greatest writers in the earlier period of Greek hymnody. The hymn " Fierce was the wild billow " is attributed to the latter. The best hymns of this branch of the Church were written in what John Mason Neale calls the second period, 720-820. To this period are assigned Romanus (d. about 720), to whom Cardinal Pitra ascribes twenty-five hymns which exhibit originality and vigor; Andrew of Crete (d. 732); Cosmas (if there be not two writers of this name, cf. DCB, i. 694-695) ; John of Damascus, the great theologian of the Greek Church, whose " 'Tis the day of resurrection " has passed into many English hymnals; and Stephen of the monastery of Mar Saba (d. 794), whose " Art thou weary, art thou languid " is the most simple and restful lyric based on the words of Jesus, " Come unto me, all ye that labor." Three later writers are Theodore the Studite (d. 826), who wrote " That fearful day, that day of dread "; Joseph the Studite (d. about 830), who wrote " Jesus, Lord of life eternal "; and Theoctistus the Studite (d. about 890), author of " Jesus, name all names above."
V. Hymns of the Latin Church: The founders of Latin hymnology were Hilary of Poitiers (d. 368)
and Ambrose of Milan (d. 397) . Hilary i. The Ear- was banished from Gaul to Asia Minor lier Period, and so came into contact with the
Eastern Church, and on his return to his diocese made the book of hymns of which Jerome makes mention. Daniel gives six hymns as his, but it is doubtful whether there is a single hymn by Hilary extant. The singing of hymns was very popular in Milan, where Ambrose was bishop, and
Hymnologry