Ecce! coeli lapsus arcu Contra saevos mentis hostes Bella pro me suscipit. Franget arcus et sagittas, Hostium saevitiam. Behold! majestic on the arch And hasting, on my soul's behalf, He breaks in sunder with His arm The arrows and the bows, And casts into eternal fire The weapons of my foes. And therefore shall I fearless stand My fiercest foemen's rage. THOMAS A CELANO Little is known of the life of Thomas of Celano, his birth and death. But it is enough to know that he is the author of the "Dies Irae," the greatest Christian hymn, with the possible exception of the "Te Deum Laudamus." A thirteenth century monk of the order of St. Francis of Assisi, he wrote a biography of that saint, and brought to the work the qualifications both of intimate friendship and close sympathy. There are a few other poetical works ascribed to him, but with little internal evidence to sustain the claim. There have been as many as one hundred and fifty English versions or translations of the "Dies Irae " and more than one hundred in German. Two considerations alone permit one more translation to be offered here; that arising from the desire for completeness, and that of nearer approach to literalness than many other translators have attempted. THOMAS A CELANO DIES IRAE Dies irae, dies illa Quantus tremor est futurus, Tuba, mirum spargens sonum Per sepulcra regionum, Coget omnes ante thronum. Mors stupebit, et natura, Liber scriptus proferetur, |