Hymns Attributed to Saint Ambrose

Unfolding twice three hours

of the day, the sun advances,

that it may complete the same six

and close the entrance of night.

We therefore now, fellow servants,

mindful of what the prophet said,

let us loosen our mouths in songs,

prayer mingled with the Davidic.

That seven times a day, truly praying with the psalter,

and singing praises to God,

let us joyfully pay our debt.

For thus the grace of Christ

grants pardon to sinners,

and to those who often confess

wicked death will not draw near.

Remember, however, that it not be lacking

to the praying servants of God,

what the voice of the apostle Paul

foretold must be observed by us.

Whose voice deserved this,

that it should say the same to God:

I will pray with the mind unto the Lord,

I will pray also with the spirit.

Lest the voice alone sing to God,

and our sense wander elsewhere,

led astray, fluctuating,

overtaken by vain occurrences.

For then is the prayer of those singing

acceptable to God,

if a pure mind carries the same,

which the voice of the canticle unfolds.

Clouds of heaven have drawn a veil over the pole,

and hide the day, the sun put to flight,

we gather continuous nights bare of star,

and once widowed of the moon.

The upper air flashes dread with quivering fire,

and the world shudders, its hinge shaken.

The gate of heaven thunders, and you would believe

the bonds of the ethereal axis are broken and loosed.

The seas of the deep swell with rains,

nor do the straits know their own bounds any longer,

the wave floods the middle of the lands,

the wandering keel cuts through the fields.

The sailor seeks his harbors, the sailor his shores,

and the sailor seeks his own retreats,

the sailor is now a guest to the fields, a guest to the vines,

the sailor as guest sails above the harvests.

Weeping farmers abandon their tilled lands,

they watch the sad shipwreck of their labor,

the joyful harvest swims, the seed, the wealth:

children, roofs, cattle and fields migrate.

You may see the high roofs of houses carried off,

and roofs set in places changed,

fish sporting among the mournful birds,

fish sporting in the trembling roofs.

You may see nests overturned from the tree,

with the tender chicks carried through the straits,

nor does the mother, in exile, cease her cares,

and fear drives the elder young together.

The crowd watches the man, the crowd at the windows

watches, the crowd of feminine modesty,

and the crowd of petitioners bewails the hunger,

the sailor ministers sustenance by his ships.

Jesus, spare those redeemed by your death.

The former age endured the flood, that water might cleanse the crimes of the earth;

but the earth has been cleansed by your blood.

Now let the dove, sent forth, bearing in her mouth

the branch, the gift of the peace-bearing olive,

signify, gliding down in joyful flight,

that the lands are stripped of the flowing river.

Eternal Father, may glory to Christ

together with the begotten be to you, holy one, always,

The fields lie parched with much dust of the sun,

the dry field grows pale, the earth cracks;

there is no glory of the countryside, no beauty,

since no grace of flowers is green.

The hard earth thirsts, ignorant of dew;

the spring no longer knows waters, the rivers no course;

the ground knows no herb, the plough knows none,

it lies open, ugly, split with a great gaping crack.

The day burning with the sun, the fiery heat

scorches the very birds, the leafy branches

deny shelter to the weary, the sand's dust

is spat from the dry mouth of the traveler.

Wild beasts open their mouths to the winds, the beast to the winds,

and men catching the breezes with their mouths to the winds,

and even birds open their mouths to the winds,

wishing by this deceit to soothe their thirst.

The deer refuses her offspring, her pledges,

the deer, worn out with thirst, refuses her young,

the mournful deer abandons her devoted offspring,

because she does not bring the herb she sought.

Young men came, seeking the cups

of the known well, and the water fled;

and with empty vessels they return home,

drinking, alas, their own tears with their mouths.

The ox leaves his empty stall;

and, wishing to crop the grass of the meadows,

turns over the bare ground; thus every beast,

cheated, dying, sinks down for lack of grass.

The rustic folk explore the roots of the woods

bent with wretched labor,

and seek to soothe their hunger with bark,

nor does the dry wood yield tender juices.

Our sins deserve this famine,

but with your own reward, O Christ, provide,

so that the greater the fault, the greater the grace

that looses the chains of just punishment.

Now unlock the heavens, and loosen the bond,

we ask, gentle one, with a fruitful shower.

By the merits of Elijah you granted rain

to the wicked age: grant it to us also.

Eternal Father, may glory to Christ

together with the begotten holy one be to you,

equal to the Spirit, who, one God,

prevailing, glorious through everlasting ages.

Christ, who are the light and the day,

you uncover the darkness of night,

and are believed the light of light,

proclaiming a blessed light.

We pray, holy Lord,

defend us in this night,

let our rest be in you,

grant us a quiet night.

Let not heavy sleep rush upon us,

nor let the enemy snatch us away,

nor let the flesh, consenting to him,

set us as guilty before you.

Let the eyes take their sleep,

let the heart ever watch for you,

let your right hand protect

the servants who love you.

Look upon us, our defender,

restrain those who lay snares,

govern your servants

whom you have bought with your blood.

Remember us, O Lord,

in this heavy body,

you who are the defender of the soul,

be present to us, O Lord.

God of highest clemency,

maker of the fabric of the world,

one in power

and threefold in person.

Kindly receive, in your mercy,

our tears together with our songs,

so that, our heart cleansed of many stains,

we may enjoy you the more abundantly.

Sear our loins and our sickly liver

with fitting fire,

that they may be girded forever,

worst excess removed.

So that we who now, by singing,

break the hours of the nights,

may all be enriched abundantly

with the gifts of the blessed homeland.

You, unity of the Trinity,

who powerfully rule the world,

attend to the songs of praise

which we, keeping vigil, sing.

For we rise from our couch

in the quiet time of night,

that we may implore from you

healing for all our wounds.

That whatever we have failed in, by the deceit

of demons in the nights,

your power of glory

may cleanse from heaven.

Let not the body be present unclean,

nor let sluggishness beset our hearts,

nor let the ardor of the spirit

grow cold by contagion of sin.

For this, Redeemer, we ask,

fill us with your light,

through which, in the circuits of the days,

we may fall into no misdeeds.

Founder of eternal light,

yourself wholly light and day,

feeling no night at all,

by nature of perpetual light.

Now the pale night yields

at the near approach of day,

dulling the light of the stars,

and the bright morning star is here.

Now risen from our spread couch,

we sing our thanks to you,

that the sun, bringing back the day,

has conquered the blind night.

May no pleasures of the flesh, we pray,

creep upon us with their beguiling heats;

nor may the deceits of the world

overcome our mind, holy one.

Let not anger provoke quarrels,

nor gluttony incite the belly,

nor let hunger for riches pervert us,

nor foul excess take hold.

But with firm mind, sober,

remaining chaste in body,

with the whole faithful spirit,

Christ, let us pass this day.

Now the sixth hour is gradually loosed

through six turnings,

and the day, at an equal point,

looks back on both nights.

Come, suppliant servants,

with mind and mouth extol

with worthy praises the blessed

name of God with song.

For this is that time

which the sentence of mortals

handed the judge of the ages

over to unjust death.

When the sun, suddenly terrified

by the horror of so great a crime,

threatens the world with death,

and flees the impious day.

At this time also blessed

Abraham, faithfully

skilled in the mystery,

saw three and believed in one.

This hour, fitting for prayer,

the Savior handed down,

when he told the faithful

that the Father was to be asked by his servants.

And also that stubborn

enemy of the faith received the grace

which he preached to the nations,

at this very time.

But we, subjected by due love,

by just fear,

against all assaults

which the savage enemy hurls,

let us pray to the one Father,

God, and King the Son,

together with the Holy Spirit,

the Lord in Trinity.

That those whom the passion redeemed,

accomplished at this time,

prayer, offered at this very time,

might be able to preserve.

Three times the third hour is turned round,

at which Christ is wont to return,

generous with the wage of the vineyard,

to hire the laborers.

It is fitting to stand ready

lest God's wage pass by,

he who is wont to plant the vine

and fasten Christ to the heart.

This hour, which shone forth

and dissolved the clouds of the cross,

stripping the world of darkness,

restoring serene lights.

This hour, in which Jesus

raised bodies from the tombs,

commanded them to come forth free

from death, the spirit poured back in.

Ash returns into blood,

and cinder gave back flesh,

and the dead, mingled with the living,

saw the glory of Christ.

You would believe the ages renewed,

the laws of death loosed,

run with an everlasting course

by the gift of blessed life.

Let us therefore, as neighbors, say

praises to God with song:

the thief confessed his faith,

in which he was redeemed at that hour.

By this grace we are wont

to joyfully break our fasts,

as an image of the future gift,

that the proven may not know hunger.

God, who by fixed laws

distinguish night from day,

so that sleep may relax

weary bodies with ease.

We pray you, in the time

of dread night, that while sleep

holds the weary mind,

the light of faith may illumine it.

Lest the deceitful enemy incite us

with wanton cares and pleasures,

calling forth the secrets of night

into the flattering heats of the body.

Let no dread of anxious fear

steal upon our sense,

nor let a deceptive image of visions

mock the wandering mind.

But when deep sleep, knowing no cares,

has bound us,

let faith never sleep,

let our watchful sense dream of you.

It is the time of midnight,

the prophetic voice admonishes:

let us say praises to the Lord,

the Father always and the Son.

Also to the Holy Spirit:

for the Trinity is perfect,

and of one substance,

is ever to be praised by us.

This hour holds terror,

because the destroying angel

brought deaths into Egypt,

destroyed the firstborn.

This hour is salvation to the just,

because there the angel

did not dare to punish,

fearing the sign of the blood.

Egypt wept sorely

the grim funerals of her sons,

Israel alone rejoiced,

protected by the blood of the lamb.

We are the true Israel,

let us rejoice in you, O Lord,

scorning the enemy and evil,

redeemed by the blood of Christ.

It is indeed the very time

at which, by the evangelic voice,

the bridegroom is believed about to come,

the founder of the heavenly kingdom.

The holy virgins run out

then to meet his coming,

bearing bright lamps,

rejoicing with great joy.

But the foolish ones remain behind,

who have their lamps extinguished,

knocking in vain at the door,

the royal hall of the kingdom already closed.

Let us keep vigil soberly,

bearing shining minds,

that when Jesus comes

we may be worthy to run to meet him.

At the time of midnight

Paul also and Silas,

bound in prison, praising Christ,

were loosed.

This world is our prison;

we praise you, Christ God,

loose the chains of sinners

who believe in you, O Christ.

Make us worthy, holy king,

of the glory of the coming kingdom,

that we may deserve

to sing your praises forever.

Author of the shining heavens, you who founded the moon as light for the nights,

the sun for the courses of days,

by a fixed track.

The black night is now driven away,

the brightness of the world is reborn,

and now the mind's fresh vigor

rouses to sweet actions.

Now the day, having returned, admonishes us

to sound your praises,

and the more gentle face of heaven

calms our hearts.

Let us avoid every slippery thing,

let the spirit turn from what is base,

let deeds not stain life,

let the tongue not entangle itself in fault.

But while the sun completes the day,

let deep faith be fervent,

let hope call us to the promises,

let charity join us to Christ.

After the morning praises,

which we sing to the Trinity,

let us sing again, admonishes

the true father of the household.

Let us be always solicitous

lest the work of God pass by,

but let us pray diligently

as the Apostle teaches.

Let us sing to the Lord with our mind,

let us sing together with our spirit,

lest a wandering mind, in shameful things,

hide idle souls.

But seven times in this day

let us say praises to the Lord,

let us render forever to the Godhead

the glory that is due.

Holding a fixed order,

let us ask with pious heart,

at the third hour of the day,

for the glory of the threefold power.

That we may be a dwelling place

for that Holy Spirit,

who once was distributed

among the apostles at this hour.

Walking in this order,

the founder of the heavenly kingdom

adorned all things splendidly

with the rewards of eternal life.

Let us speak the praises of the Lord

Again with fervent spirit:

The hour, having turned six times,

Calls us to prayer.

Because in this hour for the faithful

The grace of true salvation,

The sacrifice of the blessed Lamb,

Is restored by the power of the cross.

By whose most bright light

The midday grows dark,

Let us take with our whole heart

The grace of so great a splendor.

The perfect number of three,

By the three limits of the hours,

Singing the praises that are due,

We chant, saying the None.

Holding the sacred mystery of God

With a pure heart,

The rule of Peter our master,

Made known by the sign of salvation.

And let us sing with spirit,

Clinging to the apostles,

Who direct our still weak steps

By the power of Christ.

Christ, King and Lord of heaven,

Greatest Savior of the world,

Who by this gift of the cross

Freed us from the guilt of death,

We now beseech thee in prayer:

Preserve thy gifts;

Which through the catholic law

Thou hast given to all nations.

Thou, the Word of the eternal Father,

Brought forth by the divine mouth,

God subsisting from God,

The Only-begotten Son.

Thee all creation

Confesses as Lord of the world,

Begun at the Father's command,

Perfected by thy powers.

To thee all the angels also

Render heavenly glory,

Thee the choir of archangels

Praise with divine voices.

Thee the multitude of elders,

Twice twelve in number,

Bearing bowls full of fragrance,

Adore as suppliants.

To thee the Cherubim and Seraphim,

Thrones of the Father's light,

With the beating of six wings,

Resound with unceasing cry:

Holy, Holy, Holy,

Lord God of Sabaoth,

All heaven and earth

Are full of thy glory.

Hosanna, Son of David,

Blessed art thou from the Father,

Who in the name of God

Hast come from on high, Lord.

Thou, the spotless Lamb,

Wast given as a victim for the earth,

Who hast washed the garments of the saints

With thy blood.

Thee the multitude of the blessed martyrs,

Placed in heaven,

Distinguished with palms and crowns,

Follow as their leader of glory.

To their number add us,

We beseech thee, Lord,

With one voice we sound thee,

With one song we praise thee.

New thanks to thee, Jesus,

Discoverer of a new gift,

I sing of Protasius, Gervasius,

Martyrs now found.

The holy victims lay hidden,

But the sacred spring lay not hidden,

Blood cannot lie hidden

Which cries out to God the Father.

Grace shining from heaven

Has revealed the sacred limbs,

We did not know them to be martyrs,

But we have found martyrs.

Say, who seeks the testimony

Of witnesses, where faith has been made a fact:

A man healed of madness

Confesses the work of the martyrs.

A blind man, having received light,

Proves the merit of their holy death,

Severus is the man's name,

A servant employed in public office.

As he touched the martyrs' garment,

And wiped his clouded eyes,

Light shone forth at once,

And blindness fled, driven away.

The crowd was freed from chains,

Loosed from the coils of serpents,

Sent forth from every city

They return home with grace.

We have seen in ancient ages

Aprons thrown in cast,

By the touch and shadow of bodies

Health restored to the sick.

Glory to thee, O Lord.

Glory to the Only-begotten

This is the true day of God,

Holy with serene light,

On which the sacred blood washed away

The shameful crimes of the world.

Pouring faith back upon the lost,

And enlightening the blind with sight:

Whom the pardon of the thief

Freed not with heavy fear.

He who, exchanging the cross for a reward,

Gains Jesus by brief faith,

And, righteous, by a preceding step

Arrives in the kingdom of God.

Even the angels marvel at the deed,

Seeing the punishment of the body,

And the guilty one clinging to Christ

Reaping a blessed life.

A wondrous mystery,

That it might wash away the world's plague,

It takes away the sins of all,

Flesh cleansing the vices of flesh.

What can be more sublime than this:

That guilt should seek grace

And love dissolve fear,

And death restore new life.

Let death devour its own hook

And bind itself in its own knots:

Let the life of all die,

That the life of all may rise again.

Since death passes through all,

Let all the dead rise:

Death, consumed by its own blow,

Groans that it alone has perished.

Now, Holy Spirit,

One with the Father and the Son,

Deign readily to be poured

Into our hearts.

Let mouth, tongue, mind, sense, and vigor

Resound in confession;

Let charity blaze with fire,

Let ardor kindle our neighbors.

Mighty Ruler, true God,

Who temperest the changes of things,

Furnishest the morning with splendor

And the noonday with fires.

Extinguish the flames of strife,

Take away harmful heat,

Grant health of bodies

And true peace of hearts.

Grant this, O most loving Father

God, the enduring strength of things,

Remaining unmoved in thyself,

Determining the seasons of daylight

By their successions.

Grant us bright evening,

That life may nowhere fall,

But that the reward of holy death

May stand as everlasting glory.

Grant this, O most loving Father

Before the end of light,

We beg thee, Creator of all things,

That with thy accustomed mercy

Thou be our guardian and protector.

Let dreams flee far away

And the phantoms of the night,

And restrain our enemy,

Lest bodies be defiled.

Grant this, O almighty Father

Best Creator of all things,

And our Ruler, look upon us,

Free us, sunk in harmful sleep,

From slumber.

Thee, holy Christ, we beseech,

Forgive thou our sins,

We rise to make confession

And break the delays of night.

We lift up our minds and hands.

As the prophet bids us

To act in the night,

And Paul approved by his deeds.

Thou seest the evil we have done,

We lay open our hidden things,

We pour forth prayers with groaning,

Forgive what we have sinned.

Grant this, O most loving Father

We lift up our minds and hands.

As the prophet bids us

To act in the night,

And Paul approved by his deeds.

Thou seest the evil we have done,

We lay open our hidden things,

We pour forth prayers with groaning,

Forgive what we have sinned,

Grant this, O most loving Father

Black night covers

The colors of all the earth,

We, confessing, beseech

Thee, just judge of hearts.

That thou take away our offenses

And wash away the stains of the mind,

And grant the grace of Christ

That sins may be kept away.

Behold, the wicked mind grows numb,

Which harmful guilt gnaws,

It longs to cast off darkness,

And to seek thee, Redeemer.

Drive away the darkness

Within, as much as possible,

That it may rejoice

To be set in blessed light.

Eternal glory of heaven,

Blessed hope of mortals,

Only Son of the lofty Thunderer

And offspring of the chaste Virgin.

Give thy right hand to those rising,

Let the sober mind also arise

And, burning with the praise of God,

Render the thanks that are due.

Rising, the Daystar shines bright

And announces scattered light,

The gloom of night falls away,

Let holy light illumine us,

And, remaining in our senses,

Drive away the night of the world

And at the end of every day

Keep our hearts purified.

Let faith, once sought,

Take root in the depths of our senses,

Let hope rejoice together with it,

Where charity stands the greater.

Glory be to God the Father

Dawn now scatters across the sky,

Day glides down upon the earth,

The point of light flashes forth,

Let all that is slippery depart.

Let the phantom of night fall away,

Let the guilt of the mind be overthrown;

Whatever horror of guilt

The night has brought, let it fall.

So that that last morning

Which we await with bowed heads

May flow forth into light for us

While this song resounds.

Glory be to God the Father

Now that the star of light has risen

Let us pray God as suppliants,

That in our daily actions

He may keep us from those who harm.

Let him restrain and temper the tongue,

Lest the horror of strife sound;

Let him guard and shield the sight,

Lest it drink in vanities.

Let the inmost parts of the heart be pure,

Let folly withdraw,

Let sparing drink and food

Wear down the pride of flesh.

So that when the day has departed

And its turn has brought back night,

Through our abstinence from the world

We may sing his glory.

Glory be to God the Father

Best Creator of light,

Bringing forth the light of days,

Preparing at the first origins of new light

The beginning of the world.

Who dost bid the morning joined to evening

Be called a day,

Foul chaos glides down,

Hear our prayers with weeping.

Lest the mind, weighed down with guilt,

Be an exile from the gift of life,

While thinking on nothing eternal

And binding itself with sins.

Let it knock at the innermost heaven,

Let it seize the vital reward,

Let us avoid all that is harmful,

Let us purge all that is worst.

Grant this, O most loving Father

Immense founder of heaven,

Who, lest mixed things be confounded,

Dividing the streams of water

Gave heaven as their boundary.

Fixing a place for the heavenly waters,

And likewise for the earth's streams,

That the wave might temper the flames,

And not scatter the ground of earth.

Pour in now, most loving one,

The gift of everlasting grace,

Lest by the mishaps of a new deceit

The old error wear us down.

Let faith find light,

So bearing the light's radiance,

Let this terrify all vain things,

Let no falsehoods suppress it.

Grant this, O most loving Father

Mighty founder of the earth,

Who, uprooting the ground of the world,

Having driven off the troubles of water

Gave the earth as immovable:

That, bringing forth fitting seed,

Adorned with golden flowers,

It might stand fruitful with produce,

And give back pleasant nourishment.

Cleanse with the grace of freshness

The wounds of a scorched mind,

That weeping may wash away misdeeds

And wear down wicked impulses.

Let it obey thy commands,

Approach no evils,

Rejoice to be filled with good things,

And know not the blow of death.

Grant this, O most loving Father

Most holy God of heaven,

Who paintest the bright center of the sky

With fiery brightness,

Increasing it with becoming light.

Who, on the fourth day, setting

The fiery wheel of the sun,

Ordaining the course of the moon,

And the wandering returns of the stars.

That for nights or for light

Thou mightest give the boundary of division,

And, for the beginnings of the months,

A most well-known sign.

Illuminate the heart of men,

Wipe away the filth of minds,

Loose the bond of guilt,

Overthrow the mass of sins.

Most holy God of heaven,

Who paintest the bright regions of the sky

With fiery brightness,

Increasing it with becoming light.

Who, on the fourth day,

While kindling the sun's wheel,

Dost ordain the moon's course

And the wandering courses of the stars.

That for nights or for light

Thou mightest give the boundary of division,

And, for the beginnings of the months,

A most well-known sign.

Drive out the night of hearts,

Wipe away the filth of minds,

Loose the bond of guilt,

Overthrow the mass of sins.

Grant this, O most loving Father

God of great power,

Who, of the race born from the waters,

Send part back to the deep,

And raise part into the air.

Setting the sunken ones deep in the waters,

Assigning the borne-up ones to the skies,

That, brought forth from one stock,

They might seize on different places.

Grant to all thy little servants,

Whom the wave of blood cleanses,

Not to know the fall of sins

Nor to bear the weariness of death.

That guilt weigh down none,

That boasting exalt none,

Let not the crushed mind fall down,

Let not the exalted mind collapse.

Grant this, O most loving Father

God of great power,

Who, of those born from fruitful water,

Leave part behind in the deep,

And raise part into the air.

Setting the sunken ones deep in the waters,

Lifting the borne-up ones to the skies:

That, brought forth from one stock,

They might fill different places.

Grant to all thy little servants,

Whom the wave of blood cleanses,

Not to know the fall of sins

Nor to bear the weariness of death,

That guilt weigh down none,

That boasting exalt none:

Let not the crushed mind fall down,

Let not the exalted mind collapse.

Grant this, O most loving Father

God, fashioner of man,

Who, alone ordering all things,

Bid the ground bring forth

The race of creeping things and of beasts.

Who, subjecting the great bodies of creatures,

Made living by the word of thy command,

That they might serve in order,

Gave them to man.

Drive away from thy servants

Whatever through impurity

Suggests itself in habits

Or insinuates itself in deeds.

Give the rewards of joys,

Give the gifts of graces,

Dissolve the bonds of strife,

Bind fast the covenants of peace.

Grant this, O most loving Father

Supernal founder of man,

Who, alone ordering all things,

Bid the ground bring forth

The race of creeping things and of beasts.

And the great bodies of creatures,

Made living by the word of command,

Through the fixed changes of the seasons

To obey thy little servants.

Drive away whatever of desire

Assails us with stirring force,

Whether it suggests itself in habits

Or insinuates itself in deeds.

Give the rewards of joys,

Give the gifts of graces,

Dissolve the bonds of strife,

Bind fast the covenants of peace.

Grant this, O most loving Father

The day desired by the prayers of all

Has dawned, made holy,

On which Christ, hope of the world, God,

Ascended the lofty heavens.

The Lord, ascending on high,

Returning to his own seat,

The kingdoms of heaven rejoiced

At the return of the Only-begotten.

The triumph of a great battle,

The prince of the world destroyed,

He presents before the Father's face

The glory of his victorious flesh.

He was lifted up by clouds

And gave hope to believers,

Opening paradise

Which the first-formed man had closed.

O great joy for all!

That the offspring of our virgin,

After spittle, scourging, after the cross,

Is joined to the Father's throne.

Let us then give thanks

To the avenger of our salvation,

For that he bore our body

Up to the lofty realm of heaven.

May there be for us, together with the heavenly ones,

A joy remaining in common,

For them, that he has presented himself,

For us, that he has not taken himself away.

Now, our deeds thus called forth,

It is fitting for us to await Christ;

And to live such a life

As may be able to climb the heavens.

Jesus, our redemption,

Love and desire,

God, creator of all,

Man at the end of the ages.

What mercy overcame thee

That thou shouldst bear our sins,

Suffering a cruel death

That thou mightest lift us from death.

Piercing the bars of hell,

Redeeming thy captives,

Victor with noble triumph,

Sitting at the right hand of the Father.

Let that very mercy compel thee,

That thou overcome our evils,

By sparing us, and, granting our vows,

Satisfy us with thy countenance.

Be thou our joy,

Who art to be our reward,

Let our glory be in thee

Through all ages forever.

Now Christ had ascended to the stars,

Returning whence He had come,

By the Father's promised gift

About to give the Holy Spirit.

The solemn day was pressing on,

On which, by mystic sevenfold course,

The world, turned seven times over,

Marks the blessed seasons.

While at the third hour, for all,

Suddenly the world resounds,

It announces to the praying apostles

That God has come.

From the Father's light, therefore,

A beautiful fire arrives,

Which fills the faithful hearts of Christ

With the warmth of the Word.

The hearts, filled, rejoice,

Breathed upon by the Holy Spirit,

They sound out different voices,

They speak the great works of God.

Recognized from every nation,

By Greeks, Latins, Barbarians,

And to the wonder of all,

They speak in the tongues of all.

Then unbelieving Judea,

Raging with a fierce spirit,

Cries out that Christ's disciples

Are belching forth the drunkenness of new wine.

But with signs and powers

Peter meets them and teaches

That the faithless speak falsely,

By the testimony of Joel.

O God, who art the light of heaven

And the sower of light, who dost unfold

The pole, upheld by the Father's arm,

With Thy glorious right hand.

Dawn now hides the stars,

Raising up the ruddy flood;

For with moist breezes

Baptizing the earth with dew.

Now the morning star demands its chariot

With rays and fiery wheels,

Which, mounting to the summit of heaven,

Knows no delay in its course.

Now the shadow of night is left behind,

Darkness deserts the sky,

And Lucifer, the type of Christ,

Rousing the sleeping day.

Thou art the holy Day of days

And art Thyself the light of light,

One, powerful through all things,

Powerful, Trinity in One.

Thee now, O Savior, we beseech,

And to Thee we bend the knee;

The Father, with the Holy Spirit,

We entreat with all our voices.

Father, who containest the heavens,

Let us now sing Thy name,

May Thy kingdom come

And Thy will be done.

This, I say, is Thy will

Handed down to us to be done,

That we be faithful in spirit,

Remaining chaste in body.

Give us our daily bread

To be eaten from Thee;

Forgive us our debts

As we forgive our debtors.

By deceitful temptation

Suffer us not to be led in,

But, suppliant with pure heart,

Deliver Thou us from evil.

The time of night, for those rising

To utter praises to God,

To Christ Jesus the Lord

In the glory of the Trinity.

We, the chorus of saints, sing psalms,

We bend our necks,

We prostrate our knees,

Confessing our sins.

Let us pray to God continually,

Let us overcome evil with good,

With the fruit of penitence

To render an unceasing vow.

Let us pray to Christ and the Father,

The Holy Spirit of the Father,

That He may give us help,

That we may conquer the envious foe.

With the light of day restored,

With the first voices after sleep

Let us sing the glory of God,

By the favoring grace of Christ.

Through whom the Creator of all

Established day and night,

Sanctioning by eternal law

That they should always follow one another.

Thou art the true light of the faithful,

Whom the old law does not hold,

Nor does night succeed at Thy rising,

Shining with eternal light.

O Christ, we pray, grant

To Thy servants who pray

That this iniquity of the age

May not enslave our faith.

Let us not think impiously,

Let us envy no one,

Nor return injury for injury,

Let us overcome evil with good.

Far be from our hearts

Anger, deceit, pride,

Let avarice be far off,

The root of all evils.

Let wine not seize the mind

With continual drunkenness,

But, fitting to our sense,

Let us drink Thy cup.

Let unfeigned charity

Preserve the bonds of peace,

And unstained chastity

With enduring faith.

Let there not be, for adding to estates,

Ever the misleading hunger for gain;

If riches abound,

Let the Psalm of the prophet rule us.

Grant, O unbegotten Father,

That we may spend this whole day continually

Pleasing Christ,

Filled with the Holy Spirit.

O God of eternal light,

Ineffable Splendor,

Judge who shalt come on the last day,

Who seest the secrets of the mind;

Thou holdest the kingdom of the heavens,

And Thou art wholly in the Word,

Through the Son Thou rulest all things,

Thou art the fount to the Holy Spirit.

Thou seest the threefold name on high,

One, powerful through all things,

And wondrous through the sign of the cross,

Thou, ruler of immense light.

Thou art the founder of the world.

Thou sittest on the seventh throne,

Judge from on high, humble,

Thou didst come to suffer for us.

Thou art the omnipotent Sabaoth,

Hosanna of the highest summit,

To Thee is wonderful praise,

Thou art the first resurrection.

Thou art the helper of faith

And Thou lookest upon the humble,

To Thee is the lofty seat, the throne,

To Thee is divine honor.

To Christ, the eternal Lord,

To the Father with the Holy Spirit,

Let us render the gifts of life

From age to age.

Now the splendor of light glows red,

The shadows of night put to flight,

Let us render praises to the Lord,

Who abides before the ages.

Let us drive off every harm,

Let us ask for every prosperity,

May eternal virtue continually

Defend its servants.

That with mouth in harmony

And with most devoted heart

We may at all times

Render the praises due.

O Christ, founder of the heavens,

God, ruler of all,

Look upon us in Thy mercy

As we, Thy servants, pray.

At the first hour we sing psalms,

We render praises to God,

Who has conquered blind night,

We seek Christ the King.

Glory be to God the Father,

And to His only Son,

With the Spirit, the Paraclete,

Both now and forever.

Now the third hour rises

And we run with intent,

We fulfill the work of psalm-singing,

Let us praise Christ the Lord.

At the third hour also

Christ was hung upon the cross,

He fulfilled the will of the Father,

He took away the sin of the world.

He has mounted His own seat,

He sits at the Father's right hand,

The thrones together praise the Lord

Whom the faithless had denied.

We worship Christ as God,

And we hope for Him as Judge,

Whom the prophets sang of,

Whom the apostles followed.

Going out at the third hour

The holy father of the household

For a single penny each

Hired laborers.

In Thy vineyard, O Christ,

Which we now behold with reward,

We follow the mystic work

For the sake of the excellent promise.

Behold, the hour has come forth

In which the Holy Spirit

Made the vessels of the apostles

Drunk with the Word.

Pour in understanding, O Lord,

That we may sing Thee with praises,

O Christ, Redeemer of all,

Sanctify our chorus.

By the faith of God, by which we live,

By the perennial hope, by which we believe,

Through the grace of charity

Let us sing the glory of Christ.

Who, led at the third hour

To the sacrifice of His passion,

Bearing the hanging of the cross,

Brought back the lost sheep.

Let us therefore pray, subject to Him,

Freed by redemption,

That He may snatch from the world

Those whom He has released from the bond of debt.

Glory be to Thee, O Trinity,

One equal Godhead,

Both before all ages

And now and forever.

Now the course of the sixth hour

Turns the seasons of the day,

It admonishes us in every way

To render the praises due.

Now Peter, praying on his knees,

Foresees the future faith,

Now Christ hastens to hand over

The living seeds, the streams.

In this age, mystically,

The patriarch entertains three,

Messengers, figures of the flesh,

Under the power of the Trinity.

Perfect in the sum of the highest reckoning,

And it stands first in its parts,

Which, given, perfects itself,

And holds the fabric of the world.

This indeed, O Christ, established

Remains by Thy power,

Whose power of glory

Reigns through all ages. Amen.

At midday one must pray,

Christ must be besought,

That He command us to eat

Of His own holy body.

That He may be praiseworthy

Among the whole people,

He Himself, the Lord of the heavens,

Who sits in the highest places:

May He give us help

Through wondrous angels

Who may ever guard us

In all the life of this age.

With fitting food resumed,

The uses of the meal completed,

To Thee, glorious Redeemer,

We come to bring forth praises.

Meet us swiftly,

Removing the heaviness of food,

Preparing the body for prayer,

Giving the pledge of confession.

That whatever we utter with our mouth

In Thy sacred praises,

May confer on us a crown,

Giving glory to God alone.

Grant, O most loving Father

The curved orbit of the sun,

Rolled through nine circles,

Having completed the path of the hour

Finishes thrice by a threefold count.

At this hour of the passion

The Author of all fulfilled it,

Now to the labor of the vineyard

He sent the called servants.

At this hour Peter, mystically,

Loosens the chains of the lame man,

Now he ponders the vision,

Ends it with a threefold recurrence.

Let us sing the glory of the hymn

With voice and pure minds,

To God, who creates prosperity

Through the ages done for the just.

By three times three hours

The number of the sacred faith is unfolded,

Now in the name of the Trinity

We pray for the gift of pardon.

Behold, the confession of the thief

Merits the grace of Christ,

Our praise, or our devotion,

Merits indulgence.

Death now perishes through the cross,

And after darkness light returns:

May the horror of crimes gape open,

May the splendor of minds shine forth.

Glory to Thee, O Trinity,

One equal Godhead,

Both before all ages,

And now and forever.

O God, who by clear light

Hast made the day, O Lord,

We entreat Thy glory,

While the day is sinking to its close.

Now the sun, pressed by evening,

Advances to its setting,

Enclosing the world in darkness,

Observing its own boundary.

But then, O Lord most high,

As Thy servants pray,

May night receive at rest

Those wearied by the day's labor.

That the day of this age

May not depart with darkened minds,

But covered by Thy grace

May we behold the prosperous light.

Kind creator of the stars,

Eternal light of believers, O Christ, redeemer of all,

Hear the prayers of the suppliants.

Who, grieving that the world

Should perish by the death of destruction,

Didst save the ailing world,

Granting remedy to the guilty.

As the world's evening drew on,

Like a bridegroom from his chamber,

Going forth from the most honorable

Enclosure of the Virgin Mother.

Before whose mighty power

Every knee is bent,

Things heavenly, things earthly

Confess themselves subject to His nod.

We beseech Thee, O Holy One,

Coming Judge of the world,

Preserve us in this time

From the dart of the treacherous foe.

Praise, honor, virtue, glory

Behold, a clear voice resounds,

It rebukes all things obscure:

Let dreams be driven far away,

From the sky Christ shines forth.

Let the sluggish mind now rise again,

Which lies wounded with filth,

A new star now shines forth

That it may take away all harm.

The Lamb is sent from on high.

To release all debt

For the sake of pardon for all

Let us give voice with tears.

That when He shines a second time

And horror shall gird the world,

He may not punish for guilt,

But may He, merciful, then protect us.

The heavenly Word, proceeding forth,

Going out once from the Father,

Who, born, comest to aid the world

By the downward course of time;

Illumine now our hearts

And burn them with Thy love,

That, having heard the proclamation,

Slippery things may at last be driven away.

And when Thou, as Judge, shalt afterward be present

To search the deeds of the heart,

Rendering recompense for hidden things

And for the just, a kingdom for good deeds.

Let us not at last be confined by evils

According to the measure of the crime,

But with the blessed, sharers together,

May we be everlasting celibates.

O Christ, Redeemer of the nations,

Only-begotten of the Father,

Alone born before the beginning,

Ineffably.

Thou art the light, Thou the splendor of the Father,

Thou the everlasting hope of all,

Hear the prayers which pour forth

From Thy servants throughout the world.

Remember, Author of salvation,

That once Thou didst take the form

Of our body, being born

Of an undefiled Virgin.

So the present day bears witness,

Running through the circle of the year,

That Thou alone, from the seat of the Father,

Didst come, the salvation of the world.

Let this heaven, this earth, this sea,

Let all that is in them,

Rejoice in song,

Praising the Author of Thy coming.

We too, who by Thy holy blood

Have been redeemed,

For the day of Thy birth

Sing a new hymn together.

The mystery of the Church,

We give back as a hymn to Christ,

Whom the childbearing mother bore,

The Word of the Father in the Son.

Alone of thy sex,

Thou art chosen in the world,

And thou didst merit to bear the Lord

Holy in thy womb.

The prophets of ancient time

Had foretold what came to pass,

That a Virgin should conceive

And bear Emmanuel.

This mystery is great,

Which was granted to Mary,

That she should see God, through whom all things are,

Come forth from herself.

Truly thou art full of grace

And thou remainest glorious,

Because from thee was born for us

Christ, through whom all things were made.

The shepherds who heard

Sang glory to the Lord,

They ran to Bethlehem

To see the newborn Lord.

So the Magi from the rising of the sun,

By the sign of the star,

Bearing the type of the nations,

Were first to offer gifts.

Let us therefore pray, O peoples,

To the Mother of God and Virgin

That she herself may obtain for us

Peace and pardon.

Glory to Thee, O Lord,

Who wast born of the Virgin

Now, drawn through thrice four hours,

The day is drawn to evening,

The setting sun foretells

That the seasons of night return.

Let us then, by the sign of the Lord,

Guard the closures of our hearts,

Lest that cunning serpent

Attempt entry through the door.

But with the arms of chastity

May the watchful mind, upheld free,

With united sobriety,

Repel the shameless foe.

But let not gluttony of foods

At last distend our bodies,

Lest through sleep it defile

The soul, mocked by violence.

Let us say a hymn to the Lord,

Praises to God with song,

Who redeemed us by His blood

On the gibbet of the cross.

The day having run its course toward evening

On which Christ was handed over to death,

The impious one came to supper

Who was the betrayer of Christ.

Jesus announces future things

To the disciples at supper:

One of those reclining at table

Shall himself betray me.

Judas, worst of traffickers,

Seeks the Lord with a kiss,

He, like an innocent lamb,

Does not refuse Judas's kiss.

For a number of coins

Christ is delivered to the Jews,

Innocent and blameless,

Whom impious Judas betrays.

The governor Pilate proclaims:

I find no fault in him;

Having washed his hands with water,

He delivered Christ to the Jews.

The deceitful, impious Jews

Ask that the robber live,

They accuse Christ gravely:

Let Him be crucified, He is guilty.

Then Barabbas is released,

Who had been guilty of death:

The life of the world is hung,

Through whom the dead rise again.

The dawn of light grows red,

Heaven thunders with praises,

The world exults and shouts for joy,

Hell groans and wails,

When that strongest king,

The powers of death having been broken,

Trampling the underworld beneath his foot,

Frees the wretched from punishment.

He who, enclosed by a stone,

Is guarded by a soldier,

Triumphing with noble pomp,

Rises victor from the tomb.

The groanings now loosed

And the sorrows of hell,

Because the Lord has risen

The shining angel proclaims.

Sad were the apostles

At the death of their Lord,

Whom, by cruel penalty of death,

Wicked servants condemned.

With gentle speech the angel

Foretold to the women:

In Galilee the Lord

Is to be seen very soon.

While they hasten swiftly

To tell this to the apostles,

Seeing him alive

They kiss the feet of the Lord.

When this was known, the disciples

Into Galilee quickly

Go, to see the longed-for

Face of the Lord.

With bright paschal joy

The sun shines upon the world with its ray,

When the apostles now

Behold Christ with bodily sight.

The wounds shown to them

In the shining flesh of Christ,

They confess with public voice

That the Lord has risen.

O Christ, most merciful king,

Possess our hearts,

That to thee the praises owed

We may render at all times.

O eternal king, Lord,

Creator of all things,

Who wast before the ages

Ever Son with the Father.

Who at the world's first beginning

Didst fashion Adam as man,

To whom thou gavest a countenance

Like unto thine own image.

Whom the devil had deceived,

The enemy of mankind,

Whose bodily form thou

Didst deign to assume.

That thou mightest redeem the man

Whom thou hadst already fashioned before,

And join us to God

Through the fellowship of flesh.

Whom, brought forth of a virgin,

Every soul dreads,

Through whom we too to rise again

With devoted mind believe.

Who through baptisms hast granted us

Forgiveness,

We who were held in bonds

Bound by conscience.

Who for man's sake

Didst deign to take up the cross,

Thou gavest thy blood

As the price of our salvation.

For the veil of the temple was torn

And all the earth trembled:

Then many of the sleeping

Thou didst raise up, O Lord.

Thou dost crush the strength of the ancient enemy

Through the cross of death,

By which, signed on our foreheads,

We bear the standard of faith.

Mayst thou always deign

To drive him from us,

Lest he ever be able to harm

Those redeemed by thy blood.

Who for our sake to the lower regions

Didst deign to descend

That to those owing a debt to death

Thou mightest grant the gifts of life.

To thee in the night season

Weeping we sing a hymn,

Forgive us, O Lord,

Forgive us who confess.

For thou thyself art witness and judge,

Whom no one can deceive,

Seeing the hidden traces

Of our conscience.

Thou alone art the searcher

Of our hearts,

Thou the good physician

Attending our hidden wounds.

Thou art he who, at an appointed time,

Wilt give an end to the age,

Thou art the just rewarder

Of all according to their merits.

Thee therefore, O Holy One, we beseech

That thou heal our wounds,

Who art Son with the Father

Ever with the Holy Spirit.

To the supper of the provident Lamb

And bright in white robes,

After the crossing of the Red Sea,

Let us sing to Christ our prince.

Whose most holy body,

Scorched upon the altar of the cross—

By tasting his rosy blood

We live for God.

Protected on Passover evening

From the devastating angel,

Snatched from the harshest

Rule of Pharaoh.

Now Christ is our Passover,

Who has been sacrificed as the lamb,

The unleavened bread of sincerity—

His flesh has been offered.

O truly worthy sacrifice,

Through which the underworld is broken,

The captive people redeemed,

The rewards of life restored!

When Christ rises from the tomb,

Victor he returns from the abyss,

Thrusting the tyrant into chains

And opening paradise.

We beseech thee, author of all things,

In this paschal joy:

From every assault of death

Defend thy people.

To Stephen, the first martyr,

Let us sing a new song,

That it may be sweet to those who chant it,

And bring help to believers.

This one, first with holy blood,

Following Christ's glory,

Offered to others the way of salvation

Through love of death.

For he, through the apostles,

Approved in the praise of God,

Seized the banners of death

That he might be preferred above all.

O glory to be preferred,

O blessed victory,

That Stephen deserved this,

To follow the Lord!

He, lifting up his eyes,

Saw the Father with the Son,

Showing that in heaven lives

He whom the people sought to destroy.

The Jews rage the more

And seize stones in their hands,

They ran to slay

Christ's venerable soldier.

But he at once to Christ

Delivers his blessed spirit,

For the crime of his persecutors

He directs a second prayer:

God, creator of all things,

Forgive the blind this evil,

And this wickedness which thou beholdest

Pardon at my prayers.

Grant, Father, through the Son,

Grant through the kindly Spirit,

With these throughout the ages, threefold,

One God of triple name.

The crown of Stephen the martyr,

Which his name indicates,

Let us sing freely, in the praises

Of Christ's fair glory.

To Stephen, the first martyr,

Let us sing a new song,

That it may be sweet to those who chant it,

And bring help to believers.

This one, first with holy blood,

Following Christ's glory,

Offered the eternal way of salvation

Through contempt of death.

When with his last words

He brought forth the word of salvation,

Judea's manifest blindness

Rejected the way of truth.

But he, gazing upon heaven,

Saw glory prepared for him,

And, bestowing it upon our ages,

Revealed a sublime example.

Therefore the faithless people

Assail the teaching martyr,

And, still fresh from the blood of the lamb,

Stretch out bloody hands

or: raise them.

But he at once to Christ

Delivering his blessed spirit

For the crime of his persecutors

Directs a second prayer:

God, creator of all things,

Forgive the blind this evil

And this wickedness which thou beholdest

Pardon at my prayers.

Grant, Father, through the Son,

Grant through the kindly Spirit,

With these throughout the ages, threefold,

One God of triple name.

Noble through the love of Christ,

And a Son of Thunder,

John revealed the hidden things of God

By sacred utterance.

He was wont, when fish had been caught,

To feed his father's old age,

While the sea raged as he swam,

He stood with unmoved faith.

The one whom the deep had swallowed,

The Word of God he fished forth,

He cast his nets upon the waves,

He raised up the life of all.

The good fish is holy faith,

Swimming above the sea of the world,

Resting on Christ's breast,

Speaking by the Holy Spirit.

"In the beginning was the Word,

And the Word was with God,

And the Word was God,

This was in the beginning with God.

All things were made through him;"

But let him himself resound with praise,

And, crowned with the laurel of the spirit,

Be crowned with his own writings.

Suffering is common to many,

And blood that washes away sin:

This is what surpasses the death of martyrs,

That made them to be martyrs.

Yet, bound by the wicked,

In boiling oil, it is said,

He wiped away the world's dust,

And stood victor over the adversary.

Glory be to thee, O Lord

Of the blessed virgin Agnes

Is the birthday, on which she poured back

Her owed spirit to heaven,

Consecrated by holy blood.

She was ripe for martyrdom,

Not yet ripe for marriage.

The faith of men wavered,

And the weary old man gave way.

Her parents, terrified by fear,

Had increased the enclosure of modesty,

Faith, knowing no restraint,

Loosed the doors of guardianship.

Who would think she went forth to a wedding—

So joyfully with countenance is she led,

Bearing indeed new riches,

Endowed with the wealth of blood.

She is compelled to kindle

The altars of a wicked deity with torches:

She answers: Christ's virgins

Have taken up no such torches.

This fire quenches faith,

This flame steals away light,

Here, here strike, that with flowing

Blood I may put out the torches.

What pomp she bore when struck,

For she covers herself wholly with her garment,

She took care for modesty

Lest anyone see her uncovered.

In death modesty still lived:

She had covered her face with her hand,

She seeks the earth with bent knee,

Falling in a modest collapse.

Glory be to thee, O Lord

Of holy Agatha, the virgin,

We keep the feast day,

On which, the tyrant overcome,

She receives the palm of martyrdom.

Quintianus the tyrant,

Consular of Sicily,

Hearing the fame of the virgin,

Began, envious, to rage.

He vexed his envious mind

With the passions of vices,

That he might destroy with raging mouth

The virgin dedicated to God.

At once the wretched come to him,

Those willing to disclose

The most holy religion

Which she has held from infancy.

He orders the martyr to be set

Before his tribunals

And thus addresses her,

That she might bend her neck to the gods.

But when his madness avails nothing,

He tortures the virgin in the breast,

And applies sharp potsherds

Kindled with fire.

For the healing of her limbs

The holy apostle is present,

Who by his word heals the wounds

Which the tyrant had inflicted.

Then, coming to her tomb,

A most radiant youth

Proclaims her holy mind

As the greatest salvation of the homeland.

Taught by mystical custom

Let us keep this fast,

Of the well-known circle of ten days

Led out four times.

The Law and the Prophets first

Brought this forth, afterward

Christ consecrated it, King

And maker of all times.

Let us therefore use more sparingly

Words, food and drink,

Sleep, jests, and more strictly

Let us persist in watchfulness.

But let us shun the worst things,

Which undermine wandering minds;

Let us give no place to the crafty

Enemy's tyranny.

Let us all speak bowed down,

Let us all cry out together,

Let us weep before the judge,

Let us bend the avenging wrath.

By our evils we offend

Thy clemency, O God,

Pour upon us from above,

O forgiver, thy indulgence.

Remember that we are thine,

Though of frail formation,

Do not give the honor of thy name,

We pray, to another.

Loosen the evil we have done,

Increase the good we ask,

That at last we may be able to please thee

Here and forever.

Sing a praiseworthy miracle,

All ye peoples,

Which was given to the Church

Wavering in the world;

Ambrose, the great seer,

Predestined by God,

At the time when the devil

Had defiled the temples of God.

Christ, who never forsakes

Those he redeemed with his blood,

Directed the illustrious man

That he might destroy Arius.

While he bore the insignia of the world

He acquired paradise;

While he carried the right of the sword

He received the Gospel.

A mystery unknown,

Which the Most High had known,

Not yet washed in the font,

He is chosen as bishop.

He entered the church

To calm the turbulent people,

The mouths of all cry out together

Ambrose as bishop.

Then the perfidy of Arius

Is purged from the church,

All the throngs shout together,

And the gifts of Christ are not lacking.

Let dark night yield to light,

Let heretics be confounded,

The most merciful one is present,

Who cleanses faithless minds.

Power from on high was given

To Ambrose in baptism.

For as soon as he was reborn

He began to put demons to flight.

He took up the Church,

He governed it fearlessly,

He deserved to be a confessor,

While he did not yield to the Arians.

Glory be to thee, O Lord

The deeds of the holy martyrs

It is pleasant to remember,

And in their praises

To sing glory to God.

George, soldier of Christ,

Was born in Cappadocia,

Who, spurning the vain things of the world,

Purchased the things of heaven.

The money which he had gathered

For the sake of fragile honor,

Filled with faith in the Lord,

He gave as alms to the poor.

Then, compelled by the prince

To pay his vows to stones idols,

Those he, through faith in Christ,

Sank into the deep abyss.

The tyrant, inflamed with wrath,

Brought punishments upon the martyr,

Cruel scourges, prisons,

Bolts or frying pans.

These he did not tremble at,

Strengthened by the Lord.

But rather among the people

He brought forth divine fruits.

He called Queen Alexandria

To martyrdom,

She scorned the treasures of the world,

She deserved the crown of God.

In one and twenty years

He triumphs over the world's prince:

His neck cut off by the sword,

He passed to the heavens.

Holy offspring of the kindly prophet,

Illustrious from his parent, and more noble than his father,

Whom his mother's womb, unable to contain,

Betrayed as the herald of his lordly birth.

When the virginal royal glory,

By the name of the Highest Thunderer's pledge,

Bore, the noble hall, fruitful within

The inmost enclosure of unbroken modesty,

A voice, sent forth, roused the woman in childbirth

And nourished the joys of the prophetic infant,

Mothers prophesy by the gift of their offspring,

The mute one spoke in the name of his son.

This is to be written, that it may increase

Our songs, and the hard bonds

Of the mouth loosen, the ample letter of the name,

With prophetic reins of words.

For the voice of the Word is the voice of wisdom,

Greater than the prophets and less than the angels,

Who prepared the hearts of the faithful

And made straight the paths of righteousness.

An asserter of what is right, not by royal power

Nor forced by hard death to leave

The path of truth: It is not lawful, he said, for thee

To have thy brother's wife as an adulteress.

Hence the king's wrath and cruel death,

Sold for the price of a dance,

Filled the tyrant's tables and the drunken

Luxury of the maiden with sober blood.

This gift the stepfather gives, more insane

Than if he had handed over cups of poison,

It is better for a stepfather to refuse than to give,

It is better to hate; the love of these does more harm.

To the Trinity be the greatest glory,

Praise and power and wisdom,

Be strength and magnificence

To the one God through everlasting ages.

The passion of the apostles

Has consecrated the day for the ages,

Bearing forth Peter's noble triumph,

Paul's crown.

Equal blood of triumphant death

Joined the two men,

Following God as their leader,

Faith in Christ crowned them.

First, Peter the apostle,

Nor Paul unequal in grace,

The vessel of holy election

Matched Peter's faith.

With the cross's course reversed,

Simon, giving honor to God,

Ascends hanging, not unmindful

Of the oracle given.

Girded, as it is said, in old age

And lifted up by another,

He went where he did not wish, but willingly

He subdued a bitter death.

Hence Rome has raised her lofty summit

Of devotion,

Founded upon such blood

And made noble by so great a seer.

Through the circuit of so great a city,

Crowded throngs press on,

Along three roads is celebrated

The feast of the sacred martyrs.

Who would think the world goes forth,

That heaven's people run together,

The chosen head of the nations,

The seat of the teacher of the nations.

The palm of great combat

Unconquered faith has conferred;

On those fighting for Christ

A vote is given from heaven.

So the strong athlete Sixtus,

Following Peter's martyrdom,

Soon adorned the Church

With the title of confession.

Born at Athens and raised

In the studies of philosophers,

He exchanged the art of arts,

An apostolic teacher.

For the executioner of tyranny,

Roaring like a raging lion,

Bringing along with him the martyrs

Abdon and Sennen, slays them.

Then hastening to Xystus,

He threatens chains, fetters, prison,

Utter destruction,

The sentence of the little sword.

Then that devout pontiff,

Summoning Laurentius,

Commended the Church

To the most faithful deacon.

Both attained

The prize of their contest;

The sword and the gridiron

Gave the crown by their passion.

Glory to Thee, O Lord.

Glory to the Only-begotten

The equal of the Apostles,

Laurentius the archdeacon,

Roman faith consecrated

With a crown like that of the martyrs.

Following Xystus the martyr,

He brought back the seer's response:

Cease to mourn, my son,

You shall follow me after three days.

Nor was he terrified by fear of punishment,

He who was to be heir of the blood,

He beheld with pious gaze

What he himself would soon fulfill.

Already then in that martyr

He had wrought the martyr's triumph,

An equal successor holding

The bond of voice and of blood.

Yet after three days, bidden

To produce the sacred treasures,

He promises devoutly, nor refuses,

Adding cunning to his victory.

A most beautiful spectacle:

He gathers the needy throngs,

And, preaching, points to the poor:

These are the riches of the Church.

Truly the everlasting riches of the pious

Are the poor made perfect;

The greedy man, deceived, grieves,

And prepares avenging flames.

The scorched executioner flees

And yields to his own fires;

Turn me over, the martyr calls,

Eat, he bids, if it is cooked.

Glory to Thee, O Lord,

Glory to the Only-begotten

Standard-bearer of the heavenly

Mysteries, O archangel,

We who beseech thee ask

That thou, appeased, mayest visit us.

Do thou, with the holy angels,

With the just, with the apostles,

Continually illumine the place

Where we now dwell in prayer.

The prayers of all the most chaste

Doctors and pontiffs

For us, devoutly offer,

Flowing forth to the Lord.

That he may repel the fierce foe

And direct the help of peace,

And that a perfect faith

May at the same time fortify our hearts.

May our voices of glory

At once ascend to the throne,

And may He who shines resplendent on His throne

Lift up our minds.

Here let his power abide,

Here let steadfast charity burn,

Here, for the benefit of salvation,

Let him come to the aid of his servants,

Let him take away all errors,

And correct wandering senses,

And direct our footsteps

Along the path of peace.

In the shining citadel of light

May he write these sacred songs,

And likewise our names

Bring together in the book of life.

Glory to Thee, O Lord

A warrior renowned in arms,

Martin, noble in deed,

What he accomplished by miracles

Let us sing with due hymns.

He who, in the time of cold,

While he covers the naked with his cloak,

Soon Christ Himself, in the very garment he had cut,

Revealed Himself clothed.

By holy art three pale

Dead men he raised again,

A catechumen from fever,

And another from hanging.

By the compass of his prayer

A buried robber is revealed;

Where it was not falling by its own force,

A pine tree, bent back, is led aside.

While profane fire he kindled

He drove back the flame in the air,

Whereby the fires were extinguished

By the presence of rain.

By moisture he cures of palsy

A feeble maiden,

And with the ointment of holy liquid

He scraped away the boundary of disease.

Giving peace to a leprous man,

He put to flight the foulness of his sores,

And what should wash the diseased one

Was as it were the kiss of the Jordan.

By these and other mighty miracles

Known throughout the world,

The possessor of the lofty Spirit

Now reigns in the heavens.

Glory to Thee, O Lord

This consecrated temple of God,

The renewal of the altar:

We, as the years return,

Offer our praises to God.

This great altar of God

Was consecrated on this day,

In whose honor diligently

We all bend the knee.

Praying, moreover, to the Lord,

Who alone is invisible,

That He may bid us always

Be sanctified in this place.

Fulfilling here our vows to God

And to all His saints,

Whose sacred relics

Adorn this temple of God.

Let everyone who enters here

Go forth sanctified,

And by praying continually to the Lord

Remain purified.

Offering ceremonial sacrifices

Continually at this altar

Together, always

With devout minds.

May the Lord sanctify us

In this holy temple,

In which also we solemnly

Offer the sacred gift.

God, dearest brethren,

And Christ His Son,

And likewise the Holy Spirit

Let us praise continually with hymns.

O Christ, gracious ruler of all things, from the mouth of the eternal Father to the nations,

Behold the vows and hymn of suppliants alike, that Thou, God, in pure honor

Thy suppliant people resounds in the hall,

Whose yearly recurring times bring back

The festival to be honored.

This house is duly known to be

Dedicated to Thee, in which the people

Receives the consecrated Body, and drinks the draught

Of the blessed Blood.

Here the sacrosanct waters wash away

Old faults, and destroy sins,

That by true chrism the race of Christ's worshippers

May be created.

Here is health for the sick, medicine for the weary,

Light for the deprived, and pardon

Is brought for our offenses; all fear and grief

Is driven away.

Here the fierce plunder of the demon perishes,

The stubborn monster trembles, and leaving

The bodies it had held, flees swiftly

Into remote shadows.

This place indeed is called the hall

Of the eternal King, and the snow-white

Gate of heaven, which receives all

The saints seeking their homeland.

No whirlwind shakes it, nor do wandering

Winds destroy it, nor do storm-clouds penetrate,

Nor does the pitch-black, dreadful

Tartarus harm it with foul darkness.

We ask therefore, O God, that with serene

Countenance Thou assent, governing the servants

Who with Thy highest love celebrate

The joys of the temple.

Let no troublesome afflictions of life torment us,

Let our days be joyful and our nights peaceful,

Let none of us, when the world perishes,

Feel the fires.

This day, on which Thou seest

An altar consecrated to Thee, may it grant

Perpetual joy to us, and may it flourish

Through long use of time.

Let glory resound to the highest Parent,

Glory to the Son, and equally let us sing

The Holy Spirit with sweet hymn

Through every age.

God, the lot and crown, the reward

Of Thy soldiers:

Singing the praises of the martyr,

Loose us from the bond of sin.

He indeed, reckoning rightly

The joys of the world

And its harmful blandishments

As fleeting things,

Has arrived at the things of heaven.

He ran through his torments bravely

And endured them manfully,

Pouring out his blood for Thee,

He possesses eternal gifts.

For this, with suppliant prayer,

We beg Thee, most merciful,

In this triumph of the martyr,

Forgive the sin of Thy little servants.

Jesus, crown loftier

And truth more sublime,

Who to Thy confessing servant

Dost render everlasting reward,

Grant to the suppliant assembly,

Through the intercession of this excellent one,

Remission of sins,

Breaking the bond of the chain.

As the year's time returns,

The day has shone again with light,

On which this saint from the body

Migrated mighty to the sky.

Here, reckoning the vain joys of earth

And its muddy possessions

All as polluted things,

Rejoicing he holds the heavenly things.

Thee, O Christ, most merciful King,

Confessing Thee continually here

He trod down bravely the foe,

The proud one and his satellite.

By deeds of virtue and by faith,

In the order of confession,

Bearing fasting limbs,

He obtains the heavenly feast.

This confessor runs further in the contest,

Enduring more,

Than the martyr suffering the blow,

Shedding blood by the sword.

Therefore we all, most merciful one,

Pray to Thee as suppliants:

That by the grace of this kindly one

Thou mayest forgive us our debts.

(From an ancient book.)

Jesus, crown of virgins,

Whom that mother conceived,

Who alone as a virgin brought forth,

Receive these vows, O merciful one.

Who feedest among the lilies,

Surrounded by the choirs of virgins,

Bridegroom adorned with glory,

And rendering rewards to the brides.

Wherever Thou goest, the virgins

Follow, and with praises

Run after Thee, singing,

And sound forth sweet hymns.

We beseech Thee more abundantly,

Increase in our minds

That we may know nothing at all

Of the wounds of corruption.

The savage barbarian, bristling, sows wars,

Gnashing rage ever heaps up wars,

And, exulting, sprinkles with fresh slaughter,

Panting joyfully over much carnage.

Continually the raging wars terrify;

A wild nation, with its vast troops,

Settling with countless numbers on the surface of the sea,

Disturbs with stiff spears the fields as well.

Behold, the very host of Christ's worshippers

Turns its back to its dread enemies,

And, trembling, through pathless steep places

Flees, driven by shameful fear, exhausted.

The fierce nation harasses thousands unpunished

And, cruelly tearing, cuts down thousands:

Bodies washed in the sacred waters

Lie everywhere naked, given over to the crows.

Then the sacred buildings, the dedicated temples,

The altars sanctified to God,

Exulting in hot triumph, the proud plunderer

Advances, despoiling everything.

The devouring barbarian fire burns cities,

And burns common and kindly homes too;

The plunderer leads captive old men, youths,

Brides and widows and maidens.

The consecrated virgin weeps her cruel fall,

The virgin weeps her bitter fall,

And the virgin grieves for her lost modesty,

Willing, the virgin, to bear the toil of death.

Truly our sins, O God, holy one,

Deserve this great evil, so many of them,

But now we all suppliantly beg,

Look now, merciful one, upon Thy sorrowful servants.

Let immense weeping penetrate Olympus

And let pious cries ascend to the air,

For by the merits of Moses, Jesus, named

For glory, laid low the Amalekites.

Jesus, Son of God almighty,

True virtue, highest salvation in toil,

Peace and sure rest and every glory:

Be now the favorer of Thy own nurslings.

Spare, we beg, those bought by Thy death,

Restoring courage, drive away fear,

Crushing the enemies, scatter them in flight,

Grant the gifts of perpetual peace.

Praise and everlasting honor and glory to the Father,

Eternal praise, glory to Thee, O Son,

One glory to the Holy Spirit

As it ever was, now, and forever.

Sorrowful now the peoples, O Christ Redeemer,

Behold them suppliantly begging for peace,

Behold their laments and groans and sorrow,

Bring aid from above to the grieving.

For lo, the raging fury of a dreadful,

Neighboring nation threatens our fields,

Fiercely, with barbaric roar, to lay waste

Our lands, destroying as a wolf does lambs.

Who will be our defender, unless Thou Thyself,

Merciful, dost come to our aid, pitying us, Author of the world,

Sparest the sins of the human race,

Grantest pardon in love to those afflicted?

Once Thou didst bring to Abraham the aid

Of five kings' defeat, O maker of the age,

With not many servants indeed, bringing back

The father, his enemies prostrated.

Moses, trusting in the waters

Of the icy sea, leading the people

Through the parching way, and the returning wave

Swiftly seized and hid the whole enemy.

And with three hundred men Gideon,

Bidden to go against the Amalekites,

Cast them down, and freed the oppressed

People and nation by the sword, relying on rich help.

All these things Thou, Almighty, alone hast done,

In whose hands are all things universal,

In Thee is our salvation, in Thee our glory:

Thou dost slay again and Thou dost give life.

For greater indeed is Thy grace, O Jesus,

Than the abundance of our wickedness,

For Thou knowest not, merciful, to spurn

Contrite and sorrowful hearts, or the humble.

Save then those redeemed by Thy death,

Save suppliantly those seeking the covenant,

Break in pieces the spears, shatter the darts,

Crush the shields of those who desire war.

Now let bitter groaning climb to heaven,

Now let the voice of tears penetrate the clouds,

The contrition of the panting people is our vow,

O gentle Savior, now have mercy.