I

Light, ere the dawn in beauty broke,

Sprang from the darkness and the gloom,

When Christ the King from death awoke,

And burst the fetters of the tomb.

II

Light of our souls! a glorious day

Broke on the darkness of our world;

Hell and his hosts, in black array,

From their usurpèd power were hurled.

III

Hope of the hearts with anguish wrung,

Light of the eyes bedimmed by woe,—

When, on the Cross forsaken, hung,

He Who had shared their life below.

IV

All hail, the Christ! Immortal, Thou!

Death and the grave are conquered quite;

Gone is the power that held us, now,

Gone are the terrors of the night.