A TRANSLATION.

COWPER'S "HARK, MY SOUL," IN RIMING LATIN.

King's College, London: Oct. 28, 1883.

I beg to enclose an attempt to translate into riming Latin the hymn Mr. Gladstone's Italian version of which has lately attracted the admiration of Italian scholars. It will be observed that I have preserved the metre of the original. I will only add that this hymn of Cowper's is really a poem. Of most hymns it may truly be said that they are prose itself, and prose at its worst.

Audin'? Adest Dominus;
Est Salvator proximus.
Jesus loquitur ad te:
"O peccator, amas me?
Sum qui solvi vincula,
Qui sanavi vulnera;
Rectas docui vias,
Luce mutans tenebras.
Potest esse parvuli
Mater immemor sui?
Immo potest; sed non te
Deus scit negligere.
Idem semper est amor;
Altum siquid, altior;
Nec quicquam profundius;
Mors ut ipsa validus.
Mox videbis tu meam
Purefactus gloriam ;
Mecum dominabere;
peccator, amas me?
Angit unum, Domine,
Amem quod tam languide;
Sed amore fervet cor;
O si sit fervidior."

66

JOHN W. HALES.

جوب

·

'ce Liony Ave, H5,072, Dec. 17, 18670

SACRED LATIN POETRY,

CHIEFLY LYRICAL,

SELECTED AND ARRANGED FOR USE;

WITH

NOTES AND INTRODUCTION:

BY

RICHARD CHENEVIX TRENCH, M.A.,

VICAR OF ITCHENSTOKE, HANTS, AND
LATE HULSEAN LECTURER.

=

LONDON:

JOHN W. PARKER, WEST STRAND.

M.DCCC.XLIX.

A

Barvard College Library

Oct. 22, 1912
Buqn st of

Hony V in on Haynes of o..on

PREFACE.

HE aim of the present volume is to offer to

of our English Church a collection

of the best sacred Latin poetry, such as they shall be able entirely and heartily to sympathize with and approve a collection, that is, in which they shall not be evermore liable to be offended, and to have the current of their sympathies checked, by coming upon that, which, however beautiful as poetry, in higher respects they must reject and condemn-in which, too, they shall not fear that snares are being laid for them, to entangle them unawares in admiration for ought which is inconsistent with their faith and fealty to their own spiritual mother. Such being the idea of the volume, it is needless to say that all hymns which in any way imply the Romish doctrine of transubstantiation are excluded. In like manner all are excluded, which involve any creature-worship, or which speak of the Mother of our Lord in any other language than that which Scripture has sanctioned, and our Church adopted. So too all asking of the