Hymnus Ad Galli Cantum
Ales diei nuntiuslucem propinquam praecinit;nos excitator mentiumiam Christus ad vitam vocat.
Auferte, clamat, lectulosaegros, soporos, desides:castique recti ac sobriivigilate, iam sum proximus.
Post solis ortum fulgidiserum est cubile spernere,ni parte noctis additatempus labori adieceris.
Vox ista, qua strepunt avesstantes sub ipso culminepaulo ante quam lux emicet,nostri figura est iudicis.
Tectos tenebris horridisstratisque opertos segnibussuadet quietem linquereiam iamque venturo die.
Ut, cum coruscis flatibusaurora caelum sparserit,omnes labore exercitosconfirmet ad spem luminis.
Hic somnus ad tempus datusest forma mortis perpetis,peccata ceu nox horridacogunt iacere ac stertere.
Sed vox ab alto culmineChristi docentis praemonet,adesse iam lucem prope,ne mens sopori serviat:
Ne somnus usque ad terminosvitae socordis opprimatpectus sepultum crimineet lucis oblitum suae.
Ferunt vagantes daemonaslaetos tenebris noctium,gallo canente exterritossparsim timere et cedere.
Invisa nam vicinitaslucis, salutis, numinisrupto tenebrarum situnoctis fugat satellites.
Hoc esse signum praesciinorunt repromissae spei,qua nos soporis liberisperamus adventum Dei.
Quae vis sit huius alitis,salvator ostendit Petro,ter antequam gallus canatsese negandum praedicans.
Fit namque peccatum prius,quam praeco lucis proximaeinlustret humanum genusfinemque peccandi ferat.
Flevit negator deniqueex ore prolapsum nefas,cum mens maneret innocens,animusque servaret fidem.
Nec tale quidquam postealinguae locutus lubrico est,cantuque galli cognitopeccare iustus destitit.
Inde est quod omnes credimus,illo quietis temporequo gallus exsultans canitChristum redisse ex inferis.
Tunc mortis oppressus vigor,tunc lex subacta est tartari,tunc vis diei fortiornoctem coegit cedere.
Iam iam quiescant inproba,iam culpa furva obdormiat,iam noxa letalis suumperpessa somnum marceat.
Vigil vicissim spiritusquodcumque restat temporis,dum meta noctis clauditur,stans ac laborans excubet.
Iesum ciamus vocibusflentes, precantes, sobrii:intenta supplicatiodormire cor mundum vetat.
Sat convolutis artubussensum profunda obliviopressit, gravavit, obruitvanis vagantem somniis.
Sunt nempe falsa et frivola,quae mundiali gloriaceu dormientes egimus:vigilemus, hic est veritas.
Aurum, voluptas, gaudium,opes, honores, prospera,quaecumque nos inflant mala,fit mane, nil sunt omnia.
Tu, Christe, somnum dissice,tu rumpe noctis vincula,tu solve peccatum vetusnovumque lumen ingere.
Words in this poem
- excitator n.
- A kind of discarder. [L., one who rouses.]
- cubile n.
- The lowest course of stones in a building. [L., bed.]
- aurora n.
- The rising light of the morning; the dawn of day; the redness of the sky just before the sun rises. [L. aurora, for ausosa, akin to Gr. ushas, and E. east.]
- pectus n.
- The breast of a bird. [L., the breast.]
- vagantes
- A tribe of spiders, comprising some of those which take their prey in a web, but which also frequently run with agility, and chase and seize their prey. [NL., fr. L. vagans, p. pr. of vagari to stroll or wander.]
- sparsim adv.
- Sparsely; scatteredly; here and there. [L., fr. spargere to scatter.]
- postea n.
- The return of the judge before whom a cause was tried, after a verdict, of what was done in the cause, which is indorsed on the nisi prius record. Wharton. [L., after these or those (things), afterward.]
- inde a.
- Azure-colored; of a bright blue color. Rom. of R.
- quod v.
- Quoth; said. See Quoth.
- culpa n.
- Negligence or fault, as distinguishable from dolus (deceit, fraud), which implies intent, culpa being imputable to defect of intellect, dolus to defect of heart. Wharton. [L.]
- vigil n.
- Abstinence from sleep, whether at a time when sleep is customary or not; the act of keeping awake, or the state of being awake, or the state of being awake; sleeplessness; wakefulness; watch. [OE. vigile, L. vigilia, from vigil awake, watchful, probably akin to E. wake: cf. F. vigile. See Wake, v. i., and cf. Reveille, Surveillance, Vedette, Vegetable]
- veritas n.
- The Bureau Veritas. See under Bureau. [Cf. F. véritas. See Verity.]
- aurum n.
- Gold. Aurum fulminans (See Fulminate. [L.]
- mala n.
- Evils; wrongs; offenses against right and law. Mala in se Etym: [L.] (Law), offenses which are such from their own nature, at common law, irrespective of statute. [L.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Hymnus Ad Galli Cantum 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, Hymnus Ad Galli Cantum, in The Hymns of Prudentius (1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #14959, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/prudentius-hymns/hymnus-ad-galli-cantum.html, id L23666.
Form and metre
Hymnus Ad Galli Cantum is 100 lines in 25 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%).
See other poems in trochaic 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.
- 12 -A-A praescii · speiA · liberi · deiA
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Ales diei nuntius | 4 | ···· |
| lucem propinquam praecinit; | 8 | ········ |
| nos excitator mentium | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| iam Christus ad vitam vocat. | 8 | ········ |
| Auferte, clamat, lectulos | 7 | ······· |
| aegros, soporos, desides: | 7 | ······· |
| castique recti ac sobrii | 8 | ··/˘//·· |
| vigilate, iam sum proximus. | 8 | ········ |
| Post solis ortum fulgidi | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| serum est cubile spernere, | 9 | /˘˘/˘/˘·· |
| ni parte noctis addita | 7 | ······· |
| tempus labori adieceris. | 9 | ········· |
| Vox ista, qua strepunt aves | 8 | ······/˘ |
| stantes sub ipso culmine | 6 | ······ |
| paulo ante quam lux emicet, | 9 | /˘/˘····· |
| nostri figura est iudicis. | 10 | ··˘/˘˘/··· |
| Tectos tenebris horridis | 8 | ········ |
| stratisque opertos segnibus | 8 | ········ |
| suadet quietem linquere | 6 | ······ |
| iam iamque venturo die. | 6 | ······ |
| Ut, cum coruscis flatibus | 8 | ········ |
| aurora caelum sparserit, | 8 | ········ |
| omnes labore exercitos | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| confirmet ad spem luminis. | 8 | ········ |
| Hic somnus ad tempus datus | 8 | ········ |
| est forma mortis perpetis, | 9 | ˘//˘/˘··· |
| peccata ceu nox horrida | 8 | ········ |
| cogunt iacere ac stertere. | 8 | ····//·· |
| Sed vox ab alto culmine | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Christi docentis praemonet, | 8 | /˘······ |
| adesse iam lucem prope, | 5 | ····· |
| ne mens sopori serviat: | 7 | ······· |
| Ne somnus usque ad terminos | 8 | ········ |
| vitae socordis opprimat | 8 | /˘······ |
| pectus sepultum crimine | 7 | /˘····· |
| et lucis oblitum suae. | 7 | ······· |
| Ferunt vagantes daemonas | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| laetos tenebris noctium, | 7 | ······· |
| gallo canente exterritos | 8 | /˘······ |
| sparsim timere et cedere. | 7 | /˘····· |
| Invisa nam vicinitas | 8 | ········ |
| lucis, salutis, numinis | 8 | ········ |
| rupto tenebrarum situ | 8 | ········ |
| noctis fugat satellites. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Hoc esse signum praescii | 6 | ······ |
| norunt repromissae spei, | 6 | ······ |
| qua nos soporis liberi | 8 | ········ |
| speramus adventum Dei. | 7 | ······· |
| Quae vis sit huius alitis, | 7 | ······· |
| salvator ostendit Petro, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| ter antequam gallus canat | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| sese negandum praedicans. | 8 | /˘······ |
| Fit namque peccatum prius, | 6 | ······ |
| quam praeco lucis proximae | 7 | ······· |
| inlustret humanum genus | 8 | ······/˘ |
| finemque peccandi ferat. | 7 | ······· |
| Flevit negator denique | 7 | ······· |
| ex ore prolapsum nefas, | 7 | ······· |
| cum mens maneret innocens, | 8 | ········ |
| animusque servaret fidem. | 8 | ········ |
| Nec tale quidquam postea | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| linguae locutus lubrico est, | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| cantuque galli cognito | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| peccare iustus destitit. | 7 | ······· |
| Inde est quod omnes credimus, | 8 | ·˘/····· |
| illo quietis tempore | 6 | ····/˘ |
| quo gallus exsultans canit | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Christum redisse ex inferis. | 8 | ········ |
| Tunc mortis oppressus vigor, | 8 | ·/˘···/˘ |
| tunc lex subacta est tartari, | 10 | ·····˘/··· |
| tunc vis diei fortior | 5 | ····· |
| noctem coegit cedere. | 6 | ······ |
| Iam iam quiescant inproba, | 7 | ······· |
| iam culpa furva obdormiat, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| iam noxa letalis suum | 7 | ······· |
| perpessa somnum marceat. | 7 | ······· |
| Vigil vicissim spiritus | 8 | /˘······ |
| quodcumque restat temporis, | 7 | ······· |
| dum meta noctis clauditur, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| stans ac laborans excubet. | 9 | ·//······ |
| Iesum ciamus vocibus | 7 | ······· |
| flentes, precantes, sobrii: | 5 | ····· |
| intenta supplicatio | 7 | ······· |
| dormire cor mundum vetat. | 7 | ······· |
| Sat convolutis artubus | 8 | ········ |
| sensum profunda oblivio | 8 | ········ |
| pressit, gravavit, obruit | 7 | ······· |
| vanis vagantem somniis. | 7 | ······· |
| Sunt nempe falsa et frivola, | 8 | ········ |
| quae mundiali gloria | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| ceu dormientes egimus: | 6 | ······ |
| vigilemus, hic est veritas. | 10 | ·····˘//˘˘ |
| Aurum, voluptas, gaudium, | 7 | /˘····· |
| opes, honores, prospera, | 6 | ·/˘˘/˘ |
| quaecumque nos inflant mala, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| fit mane, nil sunt omnia. | 6 | ······ |
| Tu, Christe, somnum dissice, | 6 | ······ |
| tu rumpe noctis vincula, | 7 | ······· |
| tu solve peccatum vetus | 7 | ······· |
| novumque lumen ingere. | 6 | ··/˘·· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.