st. john of damascus (676-749 - Cristo Raul

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154
ST. JOHN OF DAMASCUS.
Thy mysteries divine
Can heavenly life impart,
Yea, godlike make all those who take
In pure and honest heart.
"Who eateth of My flesh
And drinketh of My blood,
Abides in Me, and I will be
In him,"
the word hath stood.
My thoughts by this inspired
On fresher pinions soar ;
Exult to gaze with rapt amaze
On grace s boundless store.
Like straw with fire, my soul
May flame, with love illumed :
The love that burns, to dew but turns ;
The bush is not consumed.
Therefore with thankful heart
And spirit I adore,
And hymns of praise to Thee will raise,
1
My God, for evermore.
Mention has been already made of the eight tones,
or modes, used in the sacred music of the Eastern
Church. From these is derived the title of one of
the Service-books, the
Octoechos," which contains
the musical portions of the Sunday services.
Before
taking leave of St. John of Damascus as the great
1
Migne s edition, vol. iii., p. 853. In the Euchologium
it is attributed, I know not on what grounds, to Symeon the
younger. The verses are entitled Anacreontics; and Billius,
in his Latin version, has preserved this metre. But though
some of the lines may, by a little ingenuity, be scanned as
Anacreontics, it seems to me that they are in reality trochaic
dimeters, scanned by accent, not quantity.