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Hymn for Christmas-Day

Prudentius (348–413) · 1905

iambic tetrameter · AABB · 116 lines · from The Hymns of Prudentius

Why doth the sun re-orient takeA wider range, his limits break?Lo! Christ is born, and o'er earth's nightShineth from more to more the light!

Too swiftly did the radiant dayHer brief course run and pass away:She scarce her kindly torch had firedEre slowly fading it expired.

Now let the sky more brightly beam,The earth take up the joyous theme:The orb a broadening pathway gainsAnd with its erstwhile splendour reigns.

Sweet babe, of chastity the flower,A virgin's blest mysterious dower!Rise in Thy twofold nature's might:Rise, God and man to reunite!

Though by the Father's will aboveThou wert begot, the Son of Love,Yet in His bosom Thou didst dwell,Of Wisdom the eternal Well;

Wisdom, whereby the heavens were madeAnd light's foundations first were laid:Creative Word! all flows from Thee!The Word is God eternally.

For though with process of the sunsThe ordered whole harmonious runs,Still the Artificer DivineLeaves not the Father's inmost shrine.

The rolling wheels of Time had passedO'er their millennial journey vast,Before in judgment clad He cameUnto the world long steeped in shame.

The purblind souls of mortals crassHad trusted gods of stone and brass,To things of nought their worship paidAnd senseless blocks of wood obeyed.

And thus employed, they fell belowThe sway of man's perfidious foe:Plunged in the smoky sheer abyssThey sank bereft of their true bliss.

But that sore plight of ruined manChrist's pity could not lightly scan:Nor let God's building nobly wroughtIngloriously be brought to nought.

He wrapped Him in our fleshly guise,That from the tomb He might arise,And man released from death's grim snareHome to His Father's bosom bear.

This is the day of Thy dear birth,The bridal of the heaven and earth,When the Creator breathed on TheeThe breath of pure humanity.

Ah! glorious Maid, dost thou not guessWhat guerdon thy chaste soul shall bless,How by thy ripening pangs is boughtAn honour greater than all thought?

O what a load of joy untoldThy womb inviolate doth hold!Of thee a golden age is born,The brightness of the earth's new morn!

Hearken! doth not the infant's wailThe universal springtide hail?For now the world re-born lays byIts gloomy, frost-bound apathy.

Methinks in all her rustic bowersThe earth is spread with clustering flowers:Odours of nard and nectar sweetE'en o'er the sands of Syrtes fleet.

All places rough and deserts wildHave felt from far Thy coming, Child:Rocks to Thy gentle empire bowAnd verdure clothes the mountain brow.

Sweet honey from the boulder leaps:The sere and leafless oak-bough weepsA strange rich attar: tamarisks tooOf balsam pure distil the dew.

Blessed for ever, cradle dear,The lowly stall, the cavern drear!Men to this shrine, Eternal King,With dumb brutes adoration bring.

The ox and ass in homage lowObedient to their Maker bow:Bows too the unlearn'd heartless crowdWhose minds the sensual feast doth cloud.

Though, by the faithful Spirit impelled,Shepherds and brutes, unreasoning held,Yea, folk that did in darkness dwellDiscern their God in His poor cell:

Yet children of the sacred raceBlindly abhor the Incarnate grace:By philtres you might deem them lulledOr by some bacchic phrenzy dulled.

Why headlong thus to ruin stride?If aught of soundness in you bide,Behold in Him the Lord divineOf all your patriarchal line.

Mark you the dim-lit cave, the Maid,The humble nurse, the cradle laid,The helpless infancy forlorn:Yet thus the Gentiles' King was born!

Ah sinner, thou shalt one day seeThis Child in dreadful majesty,See Him in glorious clouds descend,While thou thy guilty heart shalt rend.

Vain all thy tears, when loud shall soundThe trump, when flames shall scorch the ground,When from its hinge the cloven worldIs loosed, in horrid tumult hurled.

Then throned on high, the Judge of allShall mortals to their reckoning call:To these shall grant the prize of light,To those Gehenna's gloomy night.

Then, Israel, shalt thou learn at lengthThe Cross hath, as the lightning, strength:Doomed by thy wrath, He now is Lord,Whom Death once grasped but soon restored.

Words in this poem 49

scarce a.: Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
fading n.: An Irish dance; also, the burden of a song.
pathway n.: A footpath; a beaten track; any path or course. Also used figuratively.
erstwhile adv.: Till then or now; heretofore; formerly.
splendour n.: Great brightness; brilliant luster; brilliancy; as, the splendor ot the sun. B. Jonson. [L. fr. splendere to shine: cf. F. splendeur.]
babe n.: An infant; a young child of either sex; a baby. [Cf. Ir. bab, baban, W. baban, maban.]
reunite v. t.: To unite again; to join after separation or variance.
didst: , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
dwell v. i.: To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
eternally adv.: In an eternal manner.
inmost a.: Deepest within; farthest from the surface or external part; innermost. [OE. innemest, AS. innemest, a double superlative form fr. inne within, fr. in in. The modern form is due to confusion with most. See In, and cf. Aftermost, Fore]
millennial a.: Of or pertaining to the millennium, or to a thousand years; as, a millennial period; millennial happiness.
clad v.: To clothe. Holland.
crass a.: Cross; thick; dense; coarse; not elaborated or refined. [L. crassus thick, fat, gross, prob. orig., closely woven See Crease animal fat, and cf. Crate, Hurdle.]
plight v. t.: To weave; to braid; to fold; to plait. [OE. pliten; probably through Old French, fr. LL. plectare, L. plectere. See Plait, Ply.]
scan v. t.: To mount by steps; to go through with step by step. [L. scandere, scansum, to climb, to scan, akin to Skr. skand to spring, leap: cf. F. scander. Cf. Ascend, Descend, Scale a ladder.]
nobly adv.: Of noble extraction; as, nobly born or descended.
ingloriously adv.: In an inglorious manner; dishonorably; with shame; ignominiously; obscurely.
glorious a.: Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
guerdon n.: A reward; requital; recompense; -- used in both a good and a bad sense. [OF. guerdon, guerredon, LL. widerdonum (influenced by L. donum gift, cf. Donation ), fr. OHG. widarl; widar again, against (G. wider wieder) + lon reward, G. lo]
shall v. i.: To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
honour n.: Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
untold a.: Not told; not related; not revealed; as, untold secrets.
womb n.: The belly; the abdomen. [OE. wombe, wambe, AS. wamb, womb; akin to D. wam belly, OS. & OHG. wamba, G. wamme, wampe, Icel. vömb, Sw. v&mb, Dan. vom, Goth. wamba.]
inviolate a.: Not violated; uninjured; unhurt; unbroken. [L. inviolatus. See In- not, and Violate.]
morn n.: The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
springtide n.: The time of spring; springtime. Thomson.
methinks v.: It seems to me; I think. See Me. [AS. þyncan to seem, me þynceedh, me þuhte, OE. me thinketh, me thoughte; akin to G. dünken to seem, denken to think, and E. think. See Me, and Think.]
nard n.: An East Indian plant (Nardostachys Jatamansi) of the Valerian family, used from remote ages in Oriental perfumery. [AS., fr. L. nardus, Gr. nêrd, Per. nard, Scr. nalada.]
boulder n.: A large stone, worn smooth or rounded by the action of water; a large pebble. [Cf. Sw. bullra to roar, rattle, Dan. buldre, dial. Sw. bullersteen larger kind of pebbles; perh. akin to E. bellow.]
sere n.: Claw; talon. Chapman. [F. serre.]
attar n.: A fragrant essential oil; esp., a volatile and highly fragrant essential oil obtained from the petals of roses. [Also written otto and ottar.] [Per. 'atar perfume, essence, Ar. 'itr, fr. 'atara to smell sweet. Cf. Otto.]
drear n.: Sadness; dismalness.
heartless a.: Without a heart.
folk n.: In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
blindly adv.: Without sight, discernment, or understanding; without thought, investigation, knowledge, or purpose of one's own.
abhor v. i.: To shrink back with horror, disgust, or dislike; to be contrary or averse; -- with from.
incarnate a.: Not in the flesh; spiritual. [Pref. in- not + carnate.]
deem v. t.: To decide; to judge; to sentence; to condemn. [OE. demen to judge, condemn, AS. d, fr. d doom; akin to OFries. d, OS. ad, D. doemen, OHG. tuommen, Icel. dæma, Sw. dömma, Dan. dömme, Goth. d. See Doom, n., an]
bacchic a.: Of or relating to Bacchus; hence, jovial, or riotous,with intoxication.
stride v. t.: To walk with long steps, especially in a measured or pompous manner. [AS. stridan to stride, to strive; akin to LG. striden, OFries. strida to strive, D. strijden to strive, to contend, G. streiten, OHG. stritan; of uncertain orig]
aught n.: Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
bide v. i.: To dwell; to inhabit; to abide; to stay. [OE. biden, AS. bidan; akin to OHG. bitan, Goth. beidan, Icel. bi; perh. orig., to wait with trust, and akin to bid. See Bid, v. t., and cf. Abide.]
forlorn a.: Deserted abandoned; lost. [OE., p.p. of forlesen to lose utterly, AS. forleósan (p.p. forloren); pref. for- + leósan (in comp.) to lose; cf. D. verliezen to lose, G. verlieren, Sw. förlor]
sinner n.: One who has sinned; especially, one who has sinned without repenting; hence, a persistent and incorrigible transgressor; one condemned by the law of God.
shalt: 2d per. sing. of Shall.
dreadful a.: Full of dread or terror; fearful.
scorch v. t.: To burn superficially; to parch, or shrivel, the surface of, by heat; to subject to so much heat as changes color and texture without consuming; as, to scorch linen. [OE. scorchen, probably akin to scorcnen; cf. Norw. skrokken shrunk up, skrekka, skrökka, to shrink, to become wrinkled up, dial. Sw. skråkkla to wrinkle (see Sh]
horrid a.: Rough; rugged; bristling. [L. horridus. See Horror, and cf. Ordure.]

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

Hymn for Christmas-Day is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Hymns of Prudentius, Project Gutenberg ebook #14959; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.

Cite as: Prudentius, Hymn for Christmas-Day, in The Hymns of Prudentius (1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #14959, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/prudentius-hymns/hymn-for-christmas-day.html, id L23686.

Form and metre

Hymn for Christmas-Day is 116 lines in 29 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABB, complete in 23 of its 29 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).

See other poems in iambic tetrameter.

Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.

Rhyme words, stanza by stanza

The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.

1 AABB take^A · break^A · night^B · light^B
2 AA-- day^A · away^A · fired · expired
3 AABB beam^A · theme^A · gains^B · reigns^B
4 --AA flower · dower · might^A · reunite^A
5 AABB above^A · love^A · dwell^B · well^B
6 AA-- made^A · laid^A · thee · eternally
7 AABB suns^A · runs^A · divine^B · shrine^B
8 AABB passed^A · vast^A · came^B · shame^B
9 AABB crass^A · brass^A · paid^B · obeyed^B
10 AABB below^A · foe^A · abyss^B · bliss^B
11 AABB man^A · scan^A · wrought^B · nought^B
12 AABB guise^A · arise^A · snare^B · bear^B
13 AA-- birth^A · earth^A · thee · humanity
14 AABB guess^A · bless^A · bought^B · thought^B
15 AABB untold^A · hold^A · born^B · morn^B
16 AA-- wail^A · hail^A · by · apathy
17 AABB bowers^A · flowers^A · sweet^B · fleet^B
18 AABB wild^A · child^A · bow^B · brow^B
19 AABB leaps^A · weeps^A · too^B · dew^B
20 AABB dear^A · drear^A · king^B · bring^B
21 AABB low^A · bow^A · crowd^B · cloud^B
22 AABB impelled^A · held^A · dwell^B · cell^B
23 AABB race^A · grace^A · lulled^B · dulled^B
24 AABB stride^A · bide^A · divine^B · line^B
25 AABB maid^A · laid^A · forlorn^B · born^B
26 --AA see · majesty · descend^A · rend^A
27 AABB sound^A · ground^A · world^B · hurled^B
28 AABB all^A · call^A · light^B · night^B
29 AABB length^A · strength^A · lord^B · restored^B

Scansion, line by line

Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.

Line	Syl.	Stress
Why doth the sun re-orient take	9	·····/˘··
A wider range, his limits break?	8	·/˘··/˘·
Lo! Christ is born, and o'er earth's night	8	········
Shineth from more to more the light!	8	/˘······
Too swiftly did the radiant day	8	·/˘··/˘·
Her brief course run and pass away:	8	······˘/
She scarce her kindly torch had fired	9	···/˘··/˘
Ere slowly fading it expired.	8	·/˘/˘·˘/
Now let the sky more brightly beam,	8	·····/˘·
The earth take up the joyous theme:	8	·····/˘·
The orb a broadening pathway gains	8	···/˘/··
And with its erstwhile splendour reigns.	8	···/·/˘·
Sweet babe, of chastity the flower,	9	···/˘˘·/˘
A virgin's blest mysterious dower!	8	·/˘·˘/˘·
Rise in Thy twofold nature's might:	8	···///˘·
Rise, God and man to reunite!	8	······˘/
Though by the Father's will above	8	···/˘···
Thou wert begot, the Son of Love,	8	··˘/····
Yet in His bosom Thou didst dwell,	8	···/˘···
Of Wisdom the eternal Well;	8	·/˘·˘/˘·
Wisdom, whereby the heavens were made	9	/˘···/˘··
And light's foundations first were laid:	8	··˘/˘···
Creative Word! all flows from Thee!	8	˘/˘·····
The Word is God eternally.	8	····˘/˘˘
For though with process of the suns	8	···/····
The ordered whole harmonious runs,	8	·/˘·˘/˘·
Still the Artificer Divine	8	··˘/˘˘˘/
Leaves not the Father's inmost shrine.	8	···/˘/˘·
The rolling wheels of Time had passed	8	·/˘·····
O'er their millennial journey vast,	8	··˘/˘/˘·
Before in judgment clad He came	8	···/˘···
Unto the world long steeped in shame.	8	········
The purblind souls of mortals crass	8	·/˘··/˘·
Had trusted gods of stone and brass,	8	·/˘·····
To things of nought their worship paid	8	·····/˘·
And senseless blocks of wood obeyed.	8	·/˘···˘/
And thus employed, they fell below	8	··˘/····
The sway of man's perfidious foe:	9	····˘/˘˘·
Plunged in the smoky sheer abyss	8	···/˘·˘/
They sank bereft of their true bliss.	8	··˘/····
But that sore plight of ruined man	8	·····/˘·
Christ's pity could not lightly scan:	8	·/˘··/˘·
Nor let God's building nobly wrought	8	···/˘/˘·
Ingloriously be brought to nought.	9	˘/˘˘˘····
He wrapped Him in our fleshly guise,	8	····//˘·
That from the tomb He might arise,	8	······˘/
And man released from death's grim snare	8	··˘/····
Home to His Father's bosom bear.	8	···/˘/˘·
This is the day of Thy dear birth,	8	········
The bridal of the heaven and earth,	8	·/˘··/··
When the Creator breathed on Thee	8	··˘/˘···
The breath of pure humanity.	8	····˘/˘˘
Ah! glorious Maid, dost thou not guess	8	·/˘·····
What guerdon thy chaste soul shall bless,	8	·/˘·····
How by thy ripening pangs is bought	8	···/˘···
An honour greater than all thought?	8	·/˘/˘···
O what a load of joy untold	8	······˘/
Thy womb inviolate doth hold!	8	··˘/˘˘··
Of thee a golden age is born,	8	···/˘···
The brightness of the earth's new morn!	8	·/˘·····
Hearken! doth not the infant's wail	8	/˘···/˘·
The universal springtide hail?	8	··˘/˘/˘·
For now the world re-born lays by	8	········
Its gloomy, frost-bound apathy.	8	·/˘··/˘˘
Methinks in all her rustic bowers	9	˘/···/˘/˘
The earth is spread with clustering flowers:	8	·····/˘/
Odours of nard and nectar sweet	8	/˘···/˘·
E'en o'er the sands of Syrtes fleet.	7	·······
All places rough and deserts wild	8	·/˘··/˘·
Have felt from far Thy coming, Child:	8	·····/˘·
Rocks to Thy gentle empire bow	8	···/˘/˘·
And verdure clothes the mountain brow.	8	·/˘··/˘·
Sweet honey from the boulder leaps:	8	·/˘··/˘·
The sere and leafless oak-bough weeps	8	···/˘···
A strange rich attar: tamarisks too	8	···/˘/˘·
Of balsam pure distil the dew.	8	·/˘·˘/··
Blessed for ever, cradle dear,	8	·˘·/˘/˘·
The lowly stall, the cavern drear!	8	·/˘··/˘·
Men to this shrine, Eternal King,	8	····˘/˘·
With dumb brutes adoration bring.	8	····˘/˘·
The ox and ass in homage low	8	·····/˘·
Obedient to their Maker bow:	8	˘/˘··/˘·
Bows too the unlearn'd heartless crowd	8	·····/˘·
Whose minds the sensual feast doth cloud.	8	···/˘···
Though, by the faithful Spirit impelled,	8	···/˘/˘/
Shepherds and brutes, unreasoning held,	8	/˘··˘/˘·
Yea, folk that did in darkness dwell	8	·····/˘·
Discern their God in His poor cell:	8	˘/······
Yet children of the sacred race	8	·/˘··/˘·
Blindly abhor the Incarnate grace:	9	/˘˘/·˘/˘·
By philtres you might deem them lulled	8	·······˘
Or by some bacchic phrenzy dulled.	8	········
Why headlong thus to ruin stride?	8	·/···/˘·
If aught of soundness in you bide,	8	···/˘···
Behold in Him the Lord divine	8	˘/····˘/
Of all your patriarchal line.	8	····˘/˘·
Mark you the dim-lit cave, the Maid,	8	········
The humble nurse, the cradle laid,	8	·/˘··/˘·
The helpless infancy forlorn:	8	·/˘/˘˘˘/
Yet thus the Gentiles' King was born!	8	···/····
Ah sinner, thou shalt one day see	8	·/˘·····
This Child in dreadful majesty,	8	···/˘/˘˘
See Him in glorious clouds descend,	8	···/˘·˘/
While thou thy guilty heart shalt rend.	8	···/˘···
Vain all thy tears, when loud shall sound	8	········
The trump, when flames shall scorch the ground,	8	········
When from its hinge the cloven world	8	·····/˘·
Is loosed, in horrid tumult hurled.	8	···/˘/˘·
Then throned on high, the Judge of all	8	········
Shall mortals to their reckoning call:	8	·/˘··/˘·
To these shall grant the prize of light,	8	········
To those Gehenna's gloomy night.	8	·····/˘·
Then, Israel, shalt thou learn at length	8	·/˘·····
The Cross hath, as the lightning, strength:	8	·····/˘·
Doomed by thy wrath, He now is Lord,	8	········
Whom Death once grasped but soon restored.	8	······˘/

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