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Hymns and Homilies

St Ephrem the Syrian, tr. Burgess, 1853

1. Hymn 1: On the Death of a Child

Oh my Son, tenderly beloved!
Whom grace fashioned
In his mother’s womb,
And divine goodness completely formed.
He appeared in the world
Suffering like a flower;
And Death put forth a heat
More fierce than the sun,
And scattered its leaves
And withered it, that it ceased to be.
I fear to weep for thee,
Because I am instructed
That the Son of the Kingdom hath removed thee
To His bright habitation.

Nature, in its fondness,
Disposes me to tears,
Because, my son, of thy departure.
But when I remember the bright abode
To which they have led thee,
I fear lest I should defile
The dwelling-place of the King
By weeping, which is adverse to it;
And lest I should be blamed,
For coming to the region of bliss
With tears which belong to sadness;
I will therefore rejoice,
Approaching with my pure offering.

The sound of thy sweet notes
Once moved me and caught mine ear,
And caused me much to wonder;
Again my memory listens to it,
And is affected by the tones
And harmonies of thy tenderness.
But when my spirit groans aloud
On account of these things,
My judgment recalls me.
And listens with admiration
To the voices of those who live on high;
To the song of the spiritual ones
Who cry aloud, Hosannah!
At thy marriage festival.