III OF THE NAME OF JESUS O Jesus, sweet remembrance Thou, No tenderer song is ever sung, Nor e'en is heard a gentler tone, Ne'er dwells a sweeter thought in mind Than Jesus, Son of God alone. O Jesus, hope to sorrowful, To those who pray, surpassing kind; How good to those who seek Thy face, But what to those blest souls who find? O Jesus, sweetness of our hearts, The living Fount, the soul's bright Fire, Exceeding every transient joy And every heart's most fond desire. Nec lingua valet dicere, Cum Maria diluculo, Iesum quaeram in tumulo, Cordis clamore querulo Mente quaeram, non oculo. No tongue is able to declare, Nor any words can fitly tell, He only who has tried can know How sweet it is to love Thee well. With Mary, at the early dawn, In spirit, not by sight, I'll come. BERNARDUS CLUNIACENSIS Bernard of Cluny was a contemporary of Bernard of Clairvaux. He was born at Morlaix in Brittany, but the exact date of his birth is not known. He was a monk of Cluny between 1122 and 1156. Little is known of his life; but it is enough to claim for him the high place he holds, that he is the author of the hymns "Hora Novissima" and "Hic breve vivitur," if indeed these are not parts of one single hymn. No translator has succeeded in rendering these into their metrical equivalent in English verse. Dr. Neale has perhaps more nearly than any other caught their spirit, and given it to us in his "Jerusalem, the Golden," which it would be idle to attempt to surpass or equal. The rendering of "Hora Novissima" which is here given is felt to be far below the original. |