Chapter 4 of 4 · 1384 words · ~7 min read

Part 4

[15] "_Be merciful_," etc. The Assistants begin with the solemn chant of the Church, and change to the supplication of anxious human hearts:

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[16] "_Sanctus fortis_, _Sanctus Deus_," etc. This is the ecstasy of faith, hope, and love. It is three Acts in one, rapidly and forcibly expressed. The energy and strength of self-forgetfulness fail when he, still in the body, sighs:

"I can no more; for now it comes again,"--

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Note the musical effect of

"And, crueller still, A fierce and restless fright begins to fill The mansion of my soul. And, worse and worse, Some bodily form of ill."

The pauses after "ill" express horror and weakness,--

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[17] (p. 29.) Holy Strong One, Holy God, From the depth I pray to Thee. Mercy, O my Judge, for me; Spare me, Lord.

In the Proper for the season of Good Friday the passage which suggested this reads, in Greek and Latin:

1st choir. Agios O Theos (O Holy God). 2d choir. Sanctus Deus (O Holy God). 1st choir. Agios Ischyros (O Holy Strong One). 2d choir. Sanctus Fortis (O Holy Strong One).

[18] (p. 30.) Death dissolves me.

[19] "_Rescue him, O Lord_," etc. The solemn chant again. Note the difference in metre between this and the "Novissima hora est; and I fain would sleep. The pain has wearied me." Note the ardor of the Priest's "Proficiscere, anima Christiana," etc.

[20] (p. 32.) The final hour is here. "Into Thy hands." The whole of this prayer for the dying is: "Into Thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit. O Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Holy Mary, pray for me. O Mary, Mother of grace, Mother of mercy, do thou protect me from the enemy and receive me at the hour of death."

[21] (p. 32.) "Go forth, O Christian soul, from this world." These words begin the prayer of the priest, recited while the soul is departing from the body. It is paraphrased in English by the Cardinal.

[22] "_I went to sleep_," etc. The soul of Gerontius has left the body:

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[23] (p. 35.) "Another marvel." According to the teaching of the Catholic Church, each soul is given at its birth in charge of a Guardian Angel. It is this angel that sings, "My work is done." "Alleluia" is from two Hebrew words united by a hyphen. It means "Praise the Lord." St. John in the Apocalypse says that he heard the angels singing it in heaven. It occurs in the last five Psalms and in Tobias.

[24] "_My work is done_, My task is o'er,"

is expressed with a joyous movement,--

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[25] Compare the thought in "Hamlet"--Act II, Scene II.--"What a piece of work is man!"

[26] (p. 41.) When the soul has departed, the priest says the prayer beginning "Subvenite, Sancti Dei; occurrite Angeli Domini," etc. ("Come to his assistance, ye saints of God," etc.).

[27] "_Low-born clods_," etc. The most marked change comes here. The solemnity and sweetness of the soul and the angel's music--their _leit-motif_--is easily discernible. Now come dissonances and discords,--the rapidity of jangled cymbals struck in scorn. The phrase "chucked down" has been censured as "inelegant." Its meaning and sound accord exactly with the spirit of the demoniac chorus.

[28] (p. 49.) "Extension," "the position of parts outside parts." See p. 366, General Metaphysics, by John Rickaby, S.J., Manuals of Catholic Philosophy.

[29] (p. 51.) St. Francis d'Assisi. In 1224, while on Mount Alvernus, keeping a fast of forty days in honor of St. Michael, a seraph appeared and marked the hands, feet, and right side of St. Francis with the five wounds of Our Lord's Passion.

[30] "_Praise to the Holiest in the height._" A movement associated by English readers with the hymn particularly:

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[31] (p. 54.) "Dreed," from the old English verb "dreogan," to suffer.

[32] "_Angel of the Agony._" Note the solemn and pathetic rhythm effect.

[33] "_Take me away_, and in the lowest deep, There let me be," etc.

The catalexis--pause--is finely used here:

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[34] (p. 64.) This appeal is paraphrased by the author from the Psalms. The words at the end are translated from the Lesser Doxology: "Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio et nunc, et in sÊcula sÊculorum. Amen." The Greater Doxology begins: "Gloria in excelsis Deo." "Doxology" is from two Greek words meaning "praise" and a "discourse."

[35] "_Softly and gently, dearly ransomed soul_, In my most loving arms I now enfold thee," etc.

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[36] (p. 66.) In Dante's Vision of Purgatory (Canto I.) hell is spoken of as a "cruel sea," and the water surrounding the Island of Purgatory as the "better waves." The spirit of Gerontius is dropped into these "better waves"--"miglior acqua."

"Per correr miglior acqua alza le vele Omai la navicella del mio ingegno Che lascia dietro a se _mar si crudele_."

"O'er better waves to speed her rapid course, The light bark of my genius lifts her sail, Well pleased to leave so cruel sea behind."

--_Cary's Translation._

[A][In compliance with a suggestion received by the Editor the full text of Father Faber's "The Eternal Years," referred to on page 14, is printed on the following pages.]

THE ETERNAL YEARS[37]

By FREDERICK WILLIAM FABER, D.D.

How shalt thou bear the Cross that now So dread a weight appears? Keep quietly to God, and think Upon the Eternal Years.

Austerity is little help, Although it somewhat cheers; Thine oil of gladness is the thought Of the Eternal Years.

Set hours and written rule are good, Long prayer can lay our fears: But it is better calm for thee To count the Eternal Years.

Rites are as balm unto the eyes, God's word unto the ears: But He will have thee rather brood Upon the Eternal Years.

Full many things are good for souls In proper times and spheres; Thy present good is in the thought Of the Eternal Years.

Thy self-upbraiding is a snare, Though meekness it appears; More humbling is it far for thee To face the Eternal Years.

Brave quiet is the thing for thee, Chiding thy scrupulous fears; Learn to be real, from the thought Of the Eternal Years.

Bear gently, suffer like a child, Nor be ashamed of tears; Kiss the sweet Cross, and in thy heart Sing of the Eternal Years.

Thy Cross is quite enough for thee, Though little it appears; For there is hid in it the weight Of the Eternal Years.

And knowst thou not how bitterness An ailing spirit cheers? Thy medicine is the strengthening thought Of the Eternal Years.

One Cross can sanctify a soul; Late saints and ancient seers Were what they were, because they mused Upon the Eternal Years.

Pass not from flower to pretty flower; Time flies, and judgment nears; Go! make thy honey from the thought Of the Eternal Years.

Death will have rainbows round it, seen Through calm contrition's tears, If tranquil hope but trims her lamp At the Eternal Years.

Keep unconstrain'dly in this thought, Thy loves, hopes, smiles, and tears; Such prison-house thine heart will make Free of the Eternal Years.

A single practice long sustained A soul to God endears: This must be thine--to weigh the thought Of the Eternal Years.

He practises all virtue well, Who his own Cross reveres, And lives in the familiar thought Of the Eternal Years.

[37] "It appears that Newman thinks so highly of that poem ["The Eternal Years"] that he asked to have it sung to him during his recent illness, and remarked: '"Lead, Kindly Light" are the words of one seeking the truth. "The Eternal Years" are those of one who has found it.'"--May, 1889, Grant Duff's _Notes from a Diary_.

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Transcriber's Notes:

Italic text is denoted by _underscores_ and bold text by =equal signs=.

All footnotes and endnotes have been reorganized into a single system of sequentially numbered footnotes.

Every effort has been made to replicate the text as faithfully as possible, including obsolete and variant spellings and other inconsistencies.

Obvious punctuation errors and minor printer errors repaired.

Both Eleison and EleÔson appear in text, left as originally printed.