Reple cordis intima,
Tuorum fidelium.
O Thou Light, all pure and blest!
Fill with joy this weary breast,
Turning darkness into day.
Sine tuo numine
Nihil est in homine
Nihil est innoxium,
For without Thee nought we find,
Pure or strong in human kind,
Nought that has not gone astray.
Lava quod est sordidum,
Riga quod est aridum,
Sana quod est saucium.
Wash us from the stains of sin,
Gently soften all within,
Wounded spirits heal and stay.
Flecte quod est rigidum,
Fove quod est languidum,
Rege quod est devium.
What is hard and stubborn bend,
What is feeble soothe and tend,
What is erring gently sway.
Da tuis fidelibus,
In te confitentibus,
Sacrum septenarium;
To Thy faithful servants give,
Taught by Thee to trust and live,
Sevenfold blessing from this day;
Da virtutis meritum,
Da salutis exitum,
Da perenne gaudium.^488
Make our title clear, we pray,
When we drop this mortal clay;
Then,—O give us joy for aye.489The following is a felicitous version by an American divine.^489
Come, O Spirit! Fount of grace!
From thy heavenly dwelling-place
One bright morning beam impart:(^488) See the Latin text in Daniel II. 35; V. 69; Mone, I. 244. In ver. 8 line 2 Daniel reads frigidum for languidum.
(^489) Dr. E. A. Washburn, late rector of Calvary Church, New York, a highly accomplished scholar (d. 1881). The version
was made in 1860 and published in "Voices from a Busy Life," N. Y. 1883, p. 142.