Te lucis ante terminum
Te lucis ante terminum is an old Latin hymn in long metre. It is the hymn at Compline in the Roman Breviary.
Origin
The authorship of Ambrose of Milan, for which Pimont contends, is not admitted by the Benedictine editors or by Luigi Biraghi. The hymn is found in a hymnary in Irish script of the eighth or early ninth century; but the classical prosody of its two stanzas suggests a much earlier origin. In this hymnary it is assigned, together with the hymn Christe qui splendor et dies, to Compline.An earlier arrangement coupled with the Christe qui lux the hymn Christe precamur adnue, and assigned both to the "twelfth hour" of the day for alternate recitation throughout the year. The later introduction of the Te lucis suggests a later origin.
The two hymns Te lucis and Christe qui lux did not maintain everywhere the same relative position; the latter was used in winter, the former in summer and on festivals; while many cathedrals and monasteries replaced the Te lucis by the Christe qui lux from the first Sunday of Lent to Passion Sunday or Holy Thursday, a custom followed by the Dominicans. The old Breviary of the Carthusians used the Christe qui lux throughout the year. The Roman Breviary assigns the Te lucis daily throughout the year, except from Holy Thursday to the Friday after Easter, inclusively. Merati, in his notes on Galvanus's Thesaurus, says that it has always held without variation this place in the Roman Church. As it is sung daily, the Vatican Antiphonary gives it many plainsong settings for the varieties of season and rite.
The text given below is the original version of the hymn. It was altered by Pope Urban VIII. The 1974 Breviary of Pope Paul VI restores the earlier form of the first and last verse, but replaces the second verse with two additional verses. Pope Urban's version is still used by some, especially since the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum authorized continued use of the Roman Breviary in its 1962 form. Most monasteries adopted Pope Paul's form in the 1970s, meaning the original version is seldom sung in monasteries. The following translation by J. M. Neale is of the original Latin text, rather than of Urban VIII's revised version.
| Original Latin text | Revised Latin text | English translation |
Te lucis ante términum, rerum Creátor, póscimus, ut sólita cleméntia sis præsul ad custódiam. Procul recédant sómnia et nóctium phantásmata; hostémque nostrum cómprime, ne polluántur córpora. Præsta, Pater omnípotens, per Iesum Christum Dóminum, qui tecum in perpétuum regnat cum Sancto Spíritu. Amen. | Te lucis ante términum, rerum Creátor, póscimus, ut pro tua cleméntia sis præsul et custódia. Procul recédant sómnia et nóctium phantásmata; hostémque nostrum cómprime, ne polluántur córpora. Præsta, Pater piíssime, Patríque compar Unice, cum Spíritu Paráclito regnans per omne sǽculum. ''Amen. | To Thee before the close of day, Creator of the world, we pray That, with Thy wonted favour, Thou Wouldst be our guard and keeper now. From all ill dreams defend our sight, From fears and terrors of the night; Withhold from us our ghostly foe, That spot of sin we may not know. O Father, that we ask be done, Through Jesus Christ, Thine only Son, Who, with the Holy Ghost and Thee, Doth live and reign eternally. Amen. |
Alternatives
The 1974 revision replaces the second strophe with the following two strophes from the hymn Christe precamur adnue.| Latin text | English verse translation |
Te corda nostra sómnient, te per sopórem séntiant, tuámque semper glóriam vicína luce cóncinant. Vitam salúbrem tríbue nostrum calórum réfice, tætrum noctis calíginem tua collústret cláritas. | Lord, when we sleep, be in our hearts, Your Spirit peace and rest imparts; Then, with the light of dawn, may we Your glory praise unendingly. Your living power breathe from above, Renew in us the fire of love; And may your brightness drive away All darkness in eternal day. |