Rhytmus de die mortis
On the Day of My Death
1.
Gravi me terrore pulsas, vitae dies ultima;
Maeret cor, solvuntur renes, laesa tremunt viscera,
Tui speciem dum sibi mens depingit anxia.
O last day of my life, you strike me with grave terror,
My heart sorrows, my kidneys are let go, my wounded organs tremble,
While my disordered mind imagines your appearance.
2.
Quis enim pavendum illud explicet spectaculum,
Cum dimenso vitae cursu carnis aegrae nexibus
Anima luctatur solvi propinquans ad exitum?
Who could describe that sight which must be feared,
When the soul approaching its exit is struggling
To be free from life’s bonds, the way of sick flesh?
3.
Perit sensus, lingua riget, revolvuntur oculi,
Pectus palpitat, anhelat raucum guttur hominis,
Stupent membra, pallent ora, decor abit corporis.
Feeling slips away, the tongue is numb, the eyes roll,
The chest trembles, the husky throat of man pants,
Limbs stunned, face pales any decent form of body flown.
4.
Ecce diversorum partes confluunt spiritum,
Hinc angelicae virtutes, illinc turba daemonum.
Illi propius accedunt, quos invitat meritum.
Behold opposing factions converging on the soul,
Here virtues of an angel, there a crowd of demons.
They approach more closely whom merit doth invite.
5.
Praesto sunt et cogitatus, verba, cursus, opera,
Et prae oculis nolentis glomerantur omnia;
Illuc tendat, huc se vertat, coram videt posita.
At hand also are thoughts, words, courses, works,
All clustered before the unwilling sufferer;
There it holds out, here it turns about, he sees all things in me.
6.
Torquet ipsa reum suum mordax conscientia,
Plorat apta corrigendi defluxisse tempora.
Plena luctu caret fructu sera paenitentia.
The biting conscience itself twists itself,
Laments having flown, the time now suited to correcting.
Late repentance, full of mourning, lacks the fruit.
7.
Falsa tunc dulcendo carnis in amarum vertitur,
Quando brevem voluptatem perpes poena sequitur.
Iam quod magnum credebatur, nil fuisse cernitur.
Then the false sweetness of the flesh turns bitter,
When everlasting punishment follows brief pleasure.
Then it was believed to be great, now it is seems as naught.
8.
At quae mens in summae lucis gloriam sustollitur,
Aspernatur lutum carnis, quo mersa provolvitur,
Et ut carcerali nexu laetabunda solvitur.
But what mind is raised up to the glory of the supreme light?
It rejects the flesh’s dirt, sunk in which it rolls along,
And is joyfully released as from a prison bond.
9.
Sed egressa durum iter experitur anima,
Quam incursant furiosa dirae pestis agmina
Et diversa suis locis instruunt certamina.
Come from the body, the soul’s journey’s hard,
That soul which the enraged soldiers of dreadful disease attack
Preparing diverse struggles for the different parts.
10.
Nam hic incentores gulae, illic avaritiae,
Alibi fautores irae, alibi superbiae;
Vitii cuiusque globus suas parat acies.
Here are those that excite the gullet, there the ones that incite greed,
Elsewhere the servile promote to anger, elsewhere to arrogance;
The band of each vice prepares its troops.
11.
Iam si cedat una turma, mox insurgit altera.
Omnis ars temptatur belli, omnis pugnae machina,
Ne ad hostium pudorem sic evadat anima.
Now if one squadron should withdraw, another rises up.
Every art of war is tried, every weapon is employed,
In order that the soul does not escape to the shame the enemy.
12.
O quam torva bellatorum monstra sunt feralium!
Taetri, truces, truculenti flammas efflant naribus,
Dracontea tument colla, virus stilant faucibus.
O how savage are the monsters of these beastly warriors!
Disgraceful, savage, fierce their nostrils breathe forth flames,
Their snakelike necks do swell dripping venom from their throats.
13.
Serpentinis armant spiris manus doctas proeliis;
His oppugnant adventates telis velut ferreis,
His quos attrahunt, aeternis mancipant incen
They arm their battle-hardened troops with snake-like coils;
To attack those souls released, as if with spears of iron
These whom they drag off, they handcuff with eternal fire.
14.
Quaeso, Christe, rex invicte, tu succurre misero
Sub extremae sortis hora, cum iussus obiero.
Nullum in me ius tyranno praebeatur impio.
I beg, O Christ, unconquerable king, come to the aid of wretched me
In this last hour of fate, when I will meet death as ordered.
No jurisdiction over me ought be given to the impious tyrant.
15.
Cadat princeps tenebrarum, cedat pars Tartarea.
Pastor, ovem iam redemptam tunc reduc ad patriam,
Ubi te vivendi causa perfruar in saecula.
Amen.
May the prince of darkness fall, let the faction of hell withdraw.
Shepherd, now bring back your redeemed sheep to the Father,
Where I hope I shall enjoy you living in eternity.
Amen.
