"I have no heſitation in ſaying that I look on theſe verſes of Bernard as the moſt lovely, in the ſame way that the Dies Iræ is the moſt ſublime, and the Stabat Mater the moſt pathetic of mediæval poems. They are even ſuperior to that glorious hymn on the ſame ſubject, the De Gloriâ et Gaudiis Paradiſi of St. Peter Damiani. For the ſake of compariſon, I quote ſome of the moſt ſtriking ſtanzas of the latter, availing myſelf of the admirable tranſlation of Mr. Wackerbarth (Med. Hymns, 2d Edition, London):
THE GLORY AND JOYS OF PARADISE.
There nor waxing moon, nor waning
Sun nor ſtars in courſes bright;
For the Lamb to that glad city
Shines an everlaſting light:
There the daylight beams for ever,
All unknown are time and night.
For the Saints, in beauty beaming,
Shine in light and glory pure;
Crowned in triumph's fluſhing honors,
Joy in uniſon ſecure;
And in ſafety tell their battles,
And their foes' diſcomfiture.
Freed from every ſtain of evil,
All their carnal wars are done;
For the fleſh made ſpiritual
And the foul agree in one;
Peace unbroken ſpreads enjoyment,
Sin and ſcandal are unknown.
