72 PANGE, LINGUA, GLORIOSI, PRŒLIUM CERTAMINIS
This, “one of the first of the Latin mediæval hymns,” has been credited to St. Hilary. It has also been ascribed to Claudianus Mamertus, who died in 474. But by the majority of authorities it is regarded as the composition of Fortunatus, and ranks next to the Vexilla Regis prodeunt in their estimate. A rendering of it by Keble will be found in his “Miscellaneous Poems,” beginning, “Sing, my tongue, of glorious warfare,” which is Dr. Neale’s “Sing, my tongue, the glorious battle,” in a somewhat altered form.
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| Tell, my tongue, the glorious conflict, Crowned with victory nobly won;— More than all the spoil of battle, Praise the triumph of God’s Son; How by death the crown of conquest Graced Him when the strife was done. | | Grieving sore o’er Eden’s sorrow When our race in Adam fell; 73 And the fatal fruit he tasted, Welcomed sin, and death, and hell; God ordained a tree in Zion, Eden’s poison to dispel. | | In the work of our Redemption Wisdom met the tempter’s foils;— On the ground he claimed, the Victor Fought, and bore away the spoils; And the bane became the blessing, Freedom sprang amid his toils. | | From the bosom of the Father, Where He shared the regal crown, At the time by God appointed, Came the world’s Creator down— God incarnate, born of Virgin, Shorn of glory and renown. | | List! the voice of infant weeping, Cradled where the oxen stand, 74 And the Virgin mother watches, Tending Him with loving hand,— Hands and feet of God she bindeth, Folding them in swaddling band. | | Blessing, blessing everlasting, To the glorious Trinity; To the Father, Son, and Spirit, Equal glory let there be; Universal praise be given, To the Blessed One in Three. | |