The Poetry Corner

Hymn Before Sleep (Hymnus Ante Somnum)

By Aurelius Clemens Prudentius

Newly Translated Into English Verse By R. Martin Pope is below this original. Hymnus Ante Somnum Ades Pater supreme, quem nemo vidit unquam, Patrisque sermo Christe, et Spiritus benigne. O Trinitatis huius vis una, lumen unum, Deus ex Deo perennis, Deus ex utroque missus. Fluxit labor diei, redit et quietis hora, blandus sopor vicissim fessos relaxat artus. Mens aestuans procellis curisque sauciata totis bibit medullis obliviale poclum. Serpit per omne corpus Lethaea vis, nec ullum miseris doloris aegri patitur manere sensum. Lex haec data est caducis Deo iubente membris, ut temperet laborem medicabilis voluptas. Sed dum pererrat omnes quies amica venas, pectusque feriatum placat rigante somno: Liber vagat per auras rapido vigore sensus, variasque per figuras, quae sunt operta, cernit. Quia mens soluta curis, cui est origo caelum, purusque fons ab aethra iners iacere nescit. Imitata multiformes facies sibi ipsa fingit, per quas repente currens tenui fruatur actu. Sed sensa somniantum dispar fatigat horror, nunc splendor intererrat qui dat futura nosse. Plerumque dissipatis mendax imago veris animos pavore maestos ambage fallit atra. Quem rara culpa morum non polluit frequenter, nunc lux serena vibrans res edocet latentes. At qui coinquinatum vitiis cor inpiavit, lusus pavore multo species videt tremendas. Hoc patriarcha noster sub carceris catena geminis simul ministris interpres adprobavit. Quorum reversus unus dat poculum tyranno, ast alterum rapaces fixum vorant volucres. Ipsum deinde regem perplexa somniantem monuit famem futuram clausis cavere acervis. Mox praesul ac tetrarches regnum per omne iussus sociam tenere virgam dominae resedit aulae. O quam profunda iustis arcana per soporem aperit tuenda Christus, quam clara! quam tacenda! Evangelista summi fidissimus magistri signata quae latebant nebulis videt remotis: ipsum tonantis agnum de caede purpurantem, qui conscium futuri librum resignat unus. Huius manum potentem gladius perarmat anceps et fulgurans utrimque duplicem minatur ictum. Quaesitor ille solus animaeque corporisque ensisque bis timendus prima ac secunda mors est. idem tamen benignus ultor retundit iram paucosque non piorum patitur perire in aevum. Huic inclitus perenne tribuit Pater tribunal, hunc obtinere iussit nomen supra omne nomen. Hic praepotens cruenti extinctor antichristi, qui de furente monstro pulchrum refert tropaeum. Quam bestiam capacem populosque devorantem, quam sanguinis charybdem Ioannis execratur. Haec nempe, quae sacratum praeferre nomen ausa est, imam petit gehennam Christo perempta vero. Tali sopore iustus mentem relaxat heros, ut spiritu sagaci caelum peragret omne. Nos nil meremur horum, quos creber inplet error, concreta quos malarum vitiat cupido rerum. Sat est quiete dulci fessum fovere corpus: sat, si nihil sinistrum vanae minentur umbrae. Cultor Dei memento te fontis et lavacri rorem subisse sanctum, te chrismate innotatum. Fac, cum vocante somno castum petis cubile, frontem locumque cordis crucis figura signet. Crux pellit omne crimen, fugiunt crucem tenebrae: tali dicata signo mens fluctuare nescit. Procul, o procul vagantum portenta somniorum, procul esto pervicaci praestigiator astu! O tortuose serpens, qui mille per Maeandros fraudesque flexuosas agitas quieta corda, Discede, Christus hic est, hic Christus est, liquesce: signum quod ipse nosti damnat tuam catervam. Corpus licet fatiscens iaceat recline paullum, Christum tamen sub ipso meditabimur sopore. Hymn Before Sleep Draw near, Almighty Father, Ne'er seen by mortal eye; Come, O Thou Word eternal, O Spirit blest, be nigh. One light of threefold Godhead, One power that all transcends; God is of God begotten, And God from both descends. The hour of rest approaches, The toils of day are past, And o'er our tired bodies Sleep's gentle charm is cast. The mind, by cares tormented Amid life's storm and stress, Drinks deep the wondrous potion That brings forgetfulness. O'er weary, toil-worn mortals The spells of Lethe steal; Sad hearts lose all their sorrow, Nor pain nor anguish feel. For to His frail creation God gave this law to keep, That labour should be lightened By soft and healing sleep. But while sweet languor wanders Through all the pulsing veins, And, wrapt in dewy slumber, The heart at rest remains, The soul, in wakeful vigour, Aloft in freedom flies, And sees in many a semblance The hidden mysteries. For, freed from care, the spirit That came from out the sky, Born of the stainless aether, Can never idle lie. A thousand changing phantoms She fashions through the night, And 'midst a world of fancy Pursues her rapid flight. But divers are the visions That night to dreamers shows; Rare gleams of straying splendour The future may disclose; More oft the truth is darkened, And lying fantasy Deceives the affrighted sleeper With cunning treachery. To him whose life is holy The things that are concealed Lie open to his spirit In radiant light revealed; But he whose heart is blackened, With many a sin imbued, Sees phantoms grim and ghastly That beckon and delude. So in the Egyptian dungeon The patriarch of old Unto the king's two servants Their fateful visions told: And one is brought from prison The monarch's wine to pour, One, on the gibbet hanging, Foul birds of prey devour, He warned the king, distracted By riddles of the night, To hoard the plenteous harvests Against the years of blight. Soon, lord of half a kingdom, A mighty potentate, He shares the royal sceptre And dwells in princely state. But ah! how deep the secrets The holy sleeper sees To whom Christ shows His highest, Most sacred mysteries. For God's most faithful servant The clouds were rolled away, And John beheld the wonders That sealed from mortals lay. The Lamb of God, encrimsoned With sacrificial stains, Alone the Book can open That destiny contains. By His strong hand is wielded A keen, two-edgd brand That, flashing like the lightning, Smites swift on either hand. Before His bar of judgment Both soul and body lie; He whom that dread sword smiteth The second death shall die. Yet mercy tempers justice, And few the Avenger sends (Whose guilt is past all pardon) To death that never ends. To Him the Father yieldeth The judgment-seat of Heaven; To Him a Name excelling All other names is given. For by His strength transcendent Shall Antichrist be slain, And from that raging monster Fair trophies shall He gain: That all-devouring Dragon, With blood of martyrs red, On whose abhorrd power John's solemn curse is laid. And thus the proud usurper Of His high name is cast By Him, the true Christ, vanquished To deepest hell at last. Upon the saint heroic Such wondrous slumber falls That, in the spirit roaming, He treads heaven's highest halls. We may not, in our weakness, To dreams like these aspire, Whose souls are steeped in error And evil things desire. Enough, if weary bodies In peaceful sleep may rest; Enough, if no dark powers Our slumbering souls molest. Christian! the font remember, The sacramental vow, The holy water sprinkled, The oil that marked thy brow! When at sleep's call thou seekest To rest in slumber chaste, Let first the sacred emblem On breast and brow be traced. The Cross dispels all darkness, All sin before it flies, And by that sign protected The mind all fear defies. Avaunt! ye fleeting phantoms That mock our midnight hours; Avaunt! thou great Deceiver With all thy guileful powers. Thou Serpent, old and crafty, Who by a thousand arts And manifold temptations Dost vex our sleeping hearts, Vanish! for Christ is with us; Away! 'tis Christ the Lord: The sign thou must acknowledge Condemns thy hellish horde. And, though the weary body Relaxed in sleep may be, Our hearts, Lord, e'en in slumber, Shall meditate on Thee.