Ambrosius: Hymni

Aeterne rerum conditor,
Noctem diemque qui regis,
Et temporum das tempora,
Ut alleves fastidium,
Praeco diei jam sonat,
Noctis profundae pervigil,
Nocturna lux viantibus,
A nocte noctem segregans.
Hoc excitatus Lucifer,
Solvit polum caligine,
Hoc omnis errorum chorus,
Viam nocendi deserit.
Hoc nauta vires colligit,
Pontique mitescunt freta,
Hoc ipsa petra Ecclesiae
Canente, culpam diluit.

Eternal founder of things,
who rule night and day,
and give the times to the seasons,
that you may lighten weariness,
the herald of the day now sounds,
ever-watchful through deepest night,
a nocturnal light to wayfarers,
separating night from night.
At this, roused, Lucifer
looses the sky from gloom,
at this every chorus of errors
abandons the way of harming.
At this the sailor gathers strength,
and the straits of the sea grow mild,
at this the very rock of the Church,
as the cock sings, washes away guilt.

Surgamus ergo strenue,
Gallus jacentes excitat,
Et somnolentos increpat,
Gallus negantes arguit.
Gallo canente, spes redit,
Aegris salus refunditur,
Mucro latronis conditur,
Lapsis fides revertitur.
Jesu, labantes respice,
Et nos videndo corrige;
Si respicis, lapsus cadunt,
Fletuque culpa solvitur.

Let us then arise strenuously,
the cock awakens those lying down,
and rebukes the drowsy,
the cock convicts the deniers.
At the cock’s crow, hope returns,
for the sick health is restored,
the robber’s blade is sheathed,
for the fallen faith returns.
Jesus, look upon the wavering,
and by seeing us, correct us;
if you look upon us, lapses fall away,
and by weeping guilt is absolved.

Tu lux refulge sensibus,
Mentisque somnum discute:
Te nostra vox primum sonet,
Et vota solvamus tibi.

You, Light, refulge upon our senses,
and dispel the sleep of the mind:
let our voice first resound with you,
and let us discharge our vows to you.

HYMNUS II.

HYMN 2.

Deus creator omnium,
Polique rector, vestiens
Diem decoro lumine,
Noctem soporis gratia.
Artus solutos ut quies
Reddat laboris usui,
Mentesque fessas allevet,
Luctusque solvat anxios.
Grates peracto jam die,
Et noctis exortu preces,
Votis, reos ut adjuves,
Hymnum canentes solvimus.

God, creator of all,
and ruler of the sky, clothing
the day with decorous light,
the night with the grace of sleep.
So that rest may render relaxed limbs
for the use of labor,
and may alleviate weary minds,
and may dissolve anxious griefs.
Thanks, with the day now completed,
and, at the rising of night, prayers,
with vows, that you may aid the guilty,
singing a hymn we discharge.

Te cordis ima concinant,
Te vox canora concrepet,
Te diligat castus amor,
Te mens adoret sobria.
Ut cum profunda clauserit
Diem caligo noctium,
Fides tenebras nesciat,
Et nox fide reluceat.
Dormire mentem ne sinas,
Dormire culpa noverit,
Custos fides refrigerans,
Somni vaporem temperet.

Let the heart’s depths sing together of you,
let the tuneful voice resound with you,
let chaste love love you,
let the sober mind adore you.
So that when the profound gloom of the nights
has closed the day,
faith may know not the darkness,
and night may shine again by faith.
Do not allow the mind to sleep,
let fault learn to sleep,
let faith, refreshing guardian,
temper the vapor of sleep.

Exuta sensu lubrico,
Te cordis alta somnient;
Nec hostis invidi dolo
Pavor quietos suscitet.
Christum rogemus et Patrem,
Christi Patrisque Spiritum,
Unum potens per omnia
Fove precantes Trinitas.

With slippery sense stripped away,
may the deep places of the heart dream of you;
nor let the envious foe’s guile
rouse the peaceful with fear.
Let us beseech Christ and the Father,
the Spirit of Christ and of the Father,
one, mighty through all things—
nurture those praying, O Trinity.

HYMNUS III.

HYMN 3.

Jam surgit hora tertia,
Qua Christus ascendit crucem,
Nil insolens mens cogitet,
Intendat affectum precis.
Qui corde Christum suscipit,
Innoxium sensum gerit:
Votisque praestat sedulis,
Sanctum mereri Spiritum.
Haec hora qua finem dedit
Diri veterno criminis,
Mortisque regnum diluit,
Culpamque ab aevo sustulit.

Now rises the third hour,
at which Christ ascended the cross;
let the mind think nothing insolent,
let it direct the affect to prayer.
He who receives Christ in his heart
bears an innocuous sense;
and by sedulous vows he obtains
to merit the Holy Spirit.
This is the hour in which he gave an end
to the dire lethargy of crime,
washed away the kingdom of death,
and lifted guilt from the age.

Hinc jam beata tempora
Coepere Christi gratia:
Fide replevit veritas
Totum per orbem Ecclesias.
Celso triumphi vertice,
Matri loquebatur suae:
En filius, mater, tuus;
Apostole, en mater tua.
Praetenta nuptae foedera
Alto docens mysterio;
Ne virginis partus sacer
Matris pudorem laederet.

From here now the blessed times
began by the grace of Christ:
Truth, with faith, filled
the Churches throughout the whole orb.
On the lofty summit of the triumph,
he was speaking to his mother:
Behold, mother, your son;
Apostle, behold, your mother.
The nuptial bonds held forth to the bride,
teaching by a high mystery;
lest the sacred birth of the virgin
should wound the mother’s modesty.

Cui fidem coelestibus
Jesus dedit miraculis:
Nec credidit plebs impia;
Qui credidit, salvus erit.
Nos credimus natum Deum,
Partumque Virginis sacrae,
Peccata qui mundi tulit,
Ad dexteram sedens Patris.

To which Jesus gave credence by celestial miracles:
Nor did the impious plebs believe; he who has believed will be saved.
We believe God born, and the birth of the sacred Virgin,
who bore the sins of the world, sitting at the right hand of the Father.

HYMNUS IV.

HYMN 4.

Veni, redemptor gentium,
Ostende partum Virginis,
Miretur omne saeculum:
Talis decet partus Deum.
Non ex virili semine,
Sed mystico spiramine,
Verbum Dei factum caro,
Fructusque ventris floruit.
Alvus tumescit Virginis,
Claustrum pudoris permanet,
Vexilla virtutum micant,
Versatur in templo Deus.

Come, redeemer of the nations,
Show the birth of the Virgin,
Let every age marvel:
Such a birth befits God.
Not from male seed,
But by mystical breathing of the Spirit,
The Word of God made flesh,
And the fruit of the womb blossomed.
The womb of the Virgin swells,
The cloister of modesty remains,
The banners of virtues gleam,
God moves within the temple.

Procedens de thalamo suo,
Pudoris aula regia,
Geminae Gigas substantiae,
Alacris ut currat viam.
Egressus ejus a Patre,
Regressus ejus ad Patrem;
Excursus usque ad inferos,
Recursus ad sedem Dei.
Aequalis aeterno Patri
Carnis tropaeo accingere
Infirma nostri corporis
Virtute firmans perpeti.

Proceeding from his bridal chamber,
the royal hall of modesty,
the Giant of twin substance,
eager that he may run the way.
His egress from the Father,
his regress to the Father;
his excursion down to the infernal regions,
his recourse to the seat of God.
Equal to the eternal Father,
gird yourself with the trophy of flesh,
the infirmities of our body
strengthening with the virtue to endure.

Praesepe jam fulget tuum,
Lumenque nox spirat novum,
Quod nulla nox interpolet,
Fideque jugi luceat.

Your manger already shines,
and the night breathes a new light,
which no night may interpose,
and let it shine with continual faith.

HYMNUS V.

HYMN 5.

Illuminans Altissimus
Micantium astrorum globos,
Pax, vita, lumen, veritas,
Jesu fave precantibus.
Seu mystico baptismate
Fluenta Jordanis retro
Conversa quondam tertio
Praesente sacraris die.
Seu stella partum Virginis
Coelo micans signaveris;
Et hac adoratum die
Praesepe Magos duxeris.

Illuminating, O Most High,
the globes of twinkling stars,
Peace, Life, Light, Truth,
Jesus, favor those praying.
Whether by mystic baptism
the streams of Jordan, back
once turned, on the present third
day you consecrate;
or with a star, gleaming in heaven,
you have marked the Virgin’s childbirth;
and on this day to the adored
Manger you have led the Magi.

Vel hydriis plenis aquae
Vini saporem infuderis:
Hausit minister conscius,
Quod ipse non impleverat.
Aquas colorari videns,
Inebriare flumina;
Mutata elementa stupent
Transire in usus alteros.
Sic quinque millibus viris
Dum quinque panes dividis,
Edentium sub dentibus
In ore crescebat cibus.

Or with hydriae full of water
you have infused the savor of wine:
the minister, privy to it, drew
what he himself had not filled.
Seeing the waters being colored,
to inebriate the rivers;
the elements, changed, stand amazed
to pass into other uses.
So for five thousand men,
while you divide five loaves,
under the teeth of those eating
the food was growing in the mouth.

Multiplicabatur magis
Dispendio panis suo:
Quis haec videns mirabitur
Juges meatus fontium?
Inter manus frangentium
Panis rigatur profluus:
Intacta quae non fregerant,
Fragmenta subrepunt viris.

It was multiplied the more by the expenditure of his bread:
Who, seeing these things, will marvel at the ever-flowing courses of the fountains?
Between the hands of those breaking, the bread is moistened in profluent flow:
Untouched, the fragments which they had not broken creep upon the men.

HYMNUS VI.

HYMN 6.

Orabo mente Dominum,
Orabo simul spiritu;
Ne vox sola Deo canat,
Sensusque noster alibi
Ductus, aberret fluctuans,
Vanis praeventus casibus.

I will pray to the Lord with mind,
I will pray likewise with spirit;
lest the voice alone sing to God,
and our sense, elsewhere led,
should stray, fluctuating,
forestalled by vain chances.

HYMNUS VII.

HYMN 7.

Splendor Paternae gloriae,
De luce lucem proferens,
Primordiis lucis novae
Diem dies illuminans.
Verusque sol illabere,
Micans nitore perpeti,
Jubarque sancti Spiritus
Infunde nostris sensibus.
Votis vocemus et Patrem,
Patrem perennis gloriae,
Patrem potentis gratiae,
Culpam releget lubricam.

Splendor of the Paternal glory,
bringing forth light from Light,
at the beginnings of new light,
the day that illumines the day.
And, true Sun, glide down,
flashing with perpetual splendor,
and the radiance of the Holy Spirit
pour into our senses.
With vows let us call upon the Father as well,
the Father of perennial glory,
the Father of potent grace,
let him relegate the slippery fault.

Informet actus strenuos,
Dentes retundat invidi,
Casus secundet asperos,
Donet gerendi gratiam.
Mentem gubernet et regat,
Casto fideli corpore,
Fides calore ferveat,
Fraudis venena nesciat.
Christusque nobis sit cibus,
Potusque noster sit fides,
Laeti bibamus sobriam
Ebrietatem Spiritus.

May he shape our strenuous acts,
may he blunt the teeth of the envious,
may he second the rough reversals,
may he grant the grace of carrying on.
May he govern and rule the mind,
within a chaste, faithful body,
may faith be fervent with warmth,
may it not know the poisons of fraud.
And may Christ be food for us,
and may faith be our drink,
let us, joyful, drink the sober
inebriation of the Spirit.

Laetus dies hic transeat,
Pudor sit ut diluculum,
Fides velut meridies,
Crepusculum mens nesciat.
Aurora cursus provehit,
Aurora totus prodeat
In Patre totus Filius
Et totus in Verbo Pater.

Let this day pass joyful,
Let modesty be as daybreak,
Faith like midday,
Let the mind not know twilight.
Dawn carries the course forward,
May the Dawn come forth whole,
All the Son in the Father,
And all the Father in the Word.

HYMNUS VIII.

HYMN 8.

Aeterna Christi munera,
Et martyrum victorias,
Laudes ferentes debitas,
Laetis canamus mentibus.
Ecclesiarum principes,
Belli triumphales duces,
Coelestis aulae milites,
Et vera mundi lumina.
Terrore victo saeculi,
Spretisque poenis corporis,
Mortis sacrae compendio,
Vitam beatam possident.

The eternal gifts of Christ,
and the victories of the martyrs,
bearing the due praises,
let us sing with joyful minds.
Princes of the churches,
triumphal leaders of war,
soldiers of the heavenly court,
and the true lights of the world.
With the terror of the age conquered,
and the punishments of the body despised,
by the sacred compendium of death,
they possess the blessed life.

Traduntur igni martyres,
Et bestiarum dentibus,
Armata saevit ungulis
Tortoris insani manus,
Nudata pendent viscera,
Sanguis sacratus funditur,
Sed permanent immobiles
Vitae perennis gratia.
Devota sanctorum fides,
Invicta spes credentium;
Perfecta Christi charitas,
Mundi triumphat principem.
In his Paterna gloria,
In his voluntas Filii,
Exsultat in his Spiritus,
Coelum repletur gaudiis.

Martyrs are delivered to the fire,
and to the teeth of beasts,
the hand of the insane torturer, armed with claws, rages,
the stripped viscera hang,
consecrated blood is poured out,
but they remain unmoved
by the grace of perennial life.
The devout faith of the saints,
the unconquered hope of believers;
the perfected charity of Christ
triumphs over the prince of the world.
In these is the Paternal glory,
in these is the will of the Son,
in these the Spirit exults,
Heaven is filled with joys.

Te nunc, Redemptor, quaesumus,
Ut ipsorum consortio
Jungas precantes servulos,
In sempiterna saecula. Amen.

You now, Redeemer, we beseech,
that to their fellowship
you may join your supplicant servants who pray,
into the everlasting ages. Amen.

HYMNUS IX.

HYMN 9.

Somno refectis artubus,
Spreto cubili surgimus,
Nobis, Pater, canentibus
Adesse te deposcimus.
Te lingua primum concinat,
Te mentis ardor ambiat;
Ut actuum sequentium
Tu, sancte, sis exordium.
Cedant tenebrae lumini,
Et nox diurno sideri;
Ut culpa quam nox intulit,
Lucis labascat munere.

With limbs restored by sleep,
spurning the couch we rise,
for us, Father, as we sing
we beseech you to be present.
You, let the tongue first sing,
you, let the ardor of the mind court;
that of the acts that follow
you, Holy One, may be the beginning.
Let the shadows yield to the light,
and night to the diurnal star;
that the guilt which night brought in
may wane by the gift of light.

Precamur iidem supplices,
Noxas ut omnes amputes;
Ne ore te canentium
Lauderis in perpetuum.
Praesta, Pater piissime,
Patrique compar unice,
Cum Spiritu paraclito
Regnans per omne saeculum.

We likewise, as suppliants, pray,
that you may amputate all offenses;
lest by the mouth of those singing you
you be praised forever.
Grant, most pious Father,
and, Only One equal to the Father,
with the Paraclete Spirit,
reigning through every age.

HYMNUS X.

HYMN 10.

Consors paterni luminis,
Lux ipse lucis, et dies,
Noctem canendo rumpimus,
Assiste postulantibus.
Aufer tenebras mentium,
Fuga catervas daemonum:
Expelle somnolentiam,
Ne pigritantes obruat.
Sic, Christe, nobis omnibus
Indulgeas credentibus;
Ut prosit exorantibus,
Quod praecinentes psallimus.

Co-sharer of the paternal light,
Light itself of the Light, and Day,
we break the night by singing;
assist the petitioners.
Remove the darknesses of minds,
put to flight the cohorts of daemons:
expel somnolence,
lest it overwhelm the slothful.
Thus, O Christ, to us all
be indulgent, believing;
that it may profit those beseeching,
what we, pre-chanting, psalm.

HYMNUS XI.

HYMN 11.

O Lux beata Trinitas,
Et principalis unitas,
Jam sol recedit igneus,
Infunde lumen cordibus.
Te mane laudum carmine,
Te deprecamur vespere,
Te nostra supplex gloria,
Per cuncta laudet saecula.

O blessed Light, O Trinity,
And principal Unity,
Now the fiery sun recedes,
Pour light into hearts.
Thee, in the morning, with a song of praises,
Thee we beseech in the evening,
Thee may our suppliant glory,
Through all ages praise.

HYMNUS XII.

HYMN 12.

Fit porta Christi pervia,
Referta plena gratia,
Transitque Rex, et permanet,
Clausa, ut fuit, per saecula.
Genus superni luminis,
Processit aula virginis,
Sponsus, redemptor, conditor,
Suae gigas Ecclesiae.
Honor matris et gaudium,
Immensa spes credentium,
Per atra mortis pocula,
Resolvit nostra crimina.

The gate of Christ becomes passable,
replete, full of grace,
and the King passes through, and remains,
closed, as it was, through the ages.
The offspring of the supernal light
went forth from the virgin’s hall,
the Bridegroom, Redeemer, Founder,
the giant of his Church.
The honor of the mother and joy,
the immense hope of believers,
through the black cups of death,
he dissolved our crimes.