Patrick

“ The Word of God to give me speech,
⁠His heavenly host to be my guard.
Against the demon snares of sin,
⁠The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
⁠The hostile men that mar my course ”

“ But the people think the period of darkness was that in which Gurmundus and Turgesius, heathen Norwegian princes, conquered and ruled in Hibernia. For in those days the saints, like coals covered with ashes, lay hidden in caves and dens from the face of the wicked, who pursued them all the day like sheep for the slaughter. ”

“ All these upon my breast I bind
⁠Against my foes in earth and hell;
⁠Against the sorcerer's chanted spell,
And sway of idols o'er the mind;
Falsehoods of heresy, and powers
That rule the heathen in the hours
⁠Of darkness; women's evil wiles ”

“ For while he was engaged in prayer, and the heart of his mind was opened, he beheld the whole island to be as it were a flaming fire ascending unto heaven, and he heard the Angel of God saying unto him, 'Such at this time is Hibernia in the sight of the Lord.' And after a little space he beheld in all parts of the island cone-like mountains of fire stretching unto the skies. And again, after a little space, he beheld as it were candlesticks burning, and after a while darkness intervened ”

“ Against temptations of vice and evils;
Against the bad passions and wrathful will
⁠Of the reckless mind and the wicked heart;
Against every man that designs me ill,
Whether leagued with others, or plotting apart. ”

“ Whence it happened that differing rites and new sacraments, which were contrary to the ecclesiastical institutions, were introduced into the Church and by prelates of the Holy Church ignorant of the Divine law. But the light arising first from the northern part, and after long conflict exterminating the darkness, those born in Hibernia assert to be St. ”

“ Grant us, O Lord, Thy grace and salvation!
↑ The translator has here taken an unwarranted liberty with the hymn, which does not contain any reference to the Virgin Mary. The term 'immaculate' is, of course, highly objectionable, as introducing an epithet which would be interpreted by all as referring to the novel dogma of 'the immaculate conception.' The term 'immaculate' might in itself be defensible in the loose sense of 'stainless,' i.e., one whose life was pure and unspotted. ”

“ It is certainly susceptible of being explained of the light of the Reformation; and was most suitably applied to the light diffused throughout Ireland by means of Trinity College, Dublin, in the congratulatory address presented to that university on its tercentenary in 1892 by the Prorector and Senatus of the University of Heidelberg. ”

“ But thence went the holy Patrick to the spring which is called Clebach, [1] on the sides of Crochan, [2] towards the rising of the sun, before the rising of the sun, and they sat beside the springs. And behold two daughters of Loegaire, [3] Ethne the fair, and Fedelm the ruddy, came to the spring in the morning, after the custom of women, to wash, [4] and they found a holy synod of bishops with Patrick by the spring. ”

“ Whitley Stokes being used. It has been issued, pointed and accentuated for chanting, by the Irish Christian Knowledge Association. Mrs. Alexander's version is now widely used in Ireland, in the services of the Church of Ireland on St. Patrick's Day, and on other occasions. It was sung at York Minster as a processional hymn on St. Patrick's Day, 1891, when Archbishop Magee, who was an Irishman, was enthroned (see pp. 14, 15) . The version was appended to this work by the kind permission of Mrs. Alexander.
I bind unto myself to-day
The strong name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same. ”

“ Murphy's remarks:—
'In offering a new metrical version of this poem, I do not mean to challenge comparison with Mrs. Alexander's. Hers is meant to be sung as a hymn, for which purpose mine is not suitable.
'The irregular stanzas of this version represent those of the original. The Latin verses which conclude the Irish original are translated by longer lines than the rest.
'I have made this version partly from the translation in Stokes's and Wright's "Writings of St. Patrick," and partly from Dr. Todd's [see p. 15] . ”

“ The following metrical version appeared in the columns of the Irish Ecclesiastical Gazette for April 5, 1889. Its author, the late J. J. Murphy, Esq., was a well-known and valued writer, and for many years Hon. ”

“ Dr. Whitley Stokes' note on Tírechán is, 'Firu síde, "males of the síde" or terrestrial gods, corresponding, perhaps, with the θεοὶ χθόνιοι or Inferi.' ↑ The questions are somewhat transposed in the Tripartite Life, but are substantially identical. ↑ This is a conjectural translation. The Latin is [lunæ] lumen noctis ad [MS. et] notitias valat. ”

“ Nasgaim me féin, a n-diu, le neart tréan, guiḋe na Tríonóide.
Creidim a d-trí pearsanna le h-adṁáil aondaċta Chruiṫuiġṫeóra an ḃreiṫeaṁnuis.
Nasgaim me féin a n-diu le neart gine Chríosd agus le na ḃaisde,
le neart a ċroċda agus a aḋluicṫe,
le neart a eiséirġe agus a ḋeasġaḃála
le neart a ṫeaċda ċum breiṫeaṁnuis lae an ḃráṫa. ”

“ Cuirim a n-diu na nearta so uile
⁠idir me-féin agus gaċ neart naiṁdeaṁuil ead-trócaireaċ ṫiocfaḋ a n-aġaiḋ mo ċuirp nó m'anama:
⁠a n-aġaiḋ ṫairrġireaċd ḟaiḋeaḋ fallsa,
⁠a n-aġaiḋ duḃreaċda págánaċ,
⁠a n-aġaiḋ saoḃ-reaċda eiriceaċ,
⁠a n-aġaiḋ timceallaċd ioḋalaḋrioḋ,
⁠a n-aġaiḋ piseóga ban, agus gaiḃneaḋ agus druaḋ,
⁠a n-aġaiḋ gaċ feasa do ṫruaillfeaḋ corp agus anam an duine. ”

“ Crist illius, Crist isius [Bodl. MS. ipsius] , Crist inerus,
⁠Crist i cridiu cech duine imim imrorda [Bodl. MS. rodomscrutadar] ,
⁠Crist ingin cech oen [Bodl. MS. duine] ro dom labrathar,
⁠Crist in cech ruse [Bodl. MS. iruscc cech] nom dercaedar [Bodl. MS. duine rodomdecadar] ,
⁠Crist in cech cluais rodam chloathar
Atomriug indiu niurt trén, togairm Trinoit
Cretim treodataid foisitin oendatad in Dulemain dail [The Dubl. MS. has here only the initials f. o. ī. d.] ”