A poem for those who are safe from vengeance of the king, but who cannot evade Christ
1.
Iucundantur et laetantur simul omnes reprobi,
Qui regis adventum prius exspectabant territi,
Fremunt, caedunt, intumescunt et insultant miseris.
All base men rejoice and are happy at once,
They who with terror were awaiting the coming of the king,
They bellow, they murder, they swell with pride and they mock those waiting in distress.
2.
Quique sunt lugendi totis lacrimarum fontibus,
In superbiae sublimes extolluntur cornibus,
Phrenesim robur putantes sanis rident flentibus.
And also those who ought to be mourning with all fountains of tears,
Those high men are raised up on the horns of pride,
Those men thinking madness strength mock the sane weepers.
3.
Sed quid iuvat, o perversi, o Gehennae filii,
Non vitare sed mutare tribunal iudicii?
Sub mortali rege tuti Christum non evaditis.
But why does it please you, O evil ones, O sons of hell,
Not to avoid but to change the tribunal of justice?
You who are protected under the mortal king, you are not evading Christ.
4.
Ecce veniet ut fulgur, minax ac terribilis.
Solis ardor, lunae candor involventur tenebris;
Ima terrae petent stellae caeli vulsae cardine.
Behold he will come as lightning, threatening and terrible.
The blaze of the sun, the brightness of the moon will be wrapped in shadows;
The stars plucked from heaven’s poles will make for deep within the earth.
5.
Terra funditus ardebit, caeli trement climata,
Elementa turbantur, rugient tonitrua,
Ignei micant corusci, crebra cadunt fulmina.
The earth will blaze from its foundation, all the climes of heaven will tremble,
The elements are disturbed, the thunders will bellow,
The trembling fire flashes, the lightning falls often.
6.
In furore venientis fit tempestas valida.
Tota mundi tremefacta conquassatur machina,
Aestuantis flammae globus vastum perflat aera.
He who is coming in a fury, a storm becomes strong.
The whole machine of the world having trembled shakes apart,
A globe of seething flame blows through the vast air.
7.
Tunc [qui eum pupugerunt], cernunt omnes impii ARC with postponed antecendent
Throno igneo subnixum specie terribili.
Rogant montes, orant colles, postulantes obrui.
Then they who pierced him, all the impious men saw
The one seated on a fiery throne with a terrible expression.
The mountains asking, the hills begging, demanding to be buried.
8.
Mox occulta singulorum cunctis patent cordium;
Verba, facta, mens videntur velut corpus solidum
Et amarum (in auctores) reddunt testimonium.
Soon the hidden things of the heart of each one of them all are exposed,
Words, deeds, the mind all seem as if they are a solid body
And they deliver bitter testimony to the father.
9.
Ipsi spiritus iniqui probra, quae suggesserant,
Longis exarata tomis relegentes explicant;
Loca, tempora gestorum et modos enumerant.
The same unjust shameful spirits, which they had suggested,
They unfold in large books the banished writings;
They enumerate the place, the time of the deeds and their manner.
10.
Irascuntur cuncta pravis angelorum agmina;
Adversantur elementa, caelum, terra, maria;
Omnis rerum creatura imminet contraria.
All the line of all the angels becomes angry to the crooked ones;
The elements oppose the heavens, the earth, the seas;
A hostile creature threatens all things.
11.
Ecce caput iniquorum, ferox illa bestia
Sub cunctorum denudata trahitur praesentia.
Patent artes, furta, doli, fraudes et ingenia.
Behold the chief of the unjust, that fierce beast
Is dragged away stripped bare in the presence of all.
His arts stand open, thefts, deceits, frauds, and tricks.
12.
O quam dura, quam horrenda voce iudex intonat,
Cum paratis mergi flammis maledictos imperat.
Mox degluttiens viventes Stygis olla devorat.
O what harshness, with what bristling voice the judge intones,
When he commands the evil ones to be immersed in the prepared flames.
Soon swallowing living things devours the pot of the Styx.
13.
Vaporantur infelices intus et extrinsecus;
Crepitantes strident flammae velut ardens clibanus,
Ore, naribus et ipsis proflu(u)nt luminibus.
The wretched men are being burned both inside and out;
The crackling flames sound harshly as if burning in an oven.
They blow forth from the nostrils and the eyes themselves.
14.
Immortalis mors occidit nec omnino perimit;
Ignis urit, non consumit nec defectum recipit;
Vita moritur, mors vivit, finis semper incipit.
Immortal death kills, it does not destroy entirely;
The fire burns, it does not consume nor does it accept the sin;
Life dies, death lives the end is always in sight.
15.
Rediviva septem plagae renovant supplicia:
Fumus, foetor, algor, ardor, fames, sitis ignea,
Vermes numquam satiantur qui corrodunt viscera.
The seven plagues renew the self-perpetuating punishments:
Smoke, stench, cold, heat, hunger, fiery thirst,
Worms which destroy the internal organs are never satisfied.
16.
Illic dolor, cruciatus, fletus, stidor dentium,
Adsunt fremitus leonum, sibilìi serpentium,
Quibus mixti confunduntur ululatus flentium.
There pain, torment, tears, gnashing of teeth,
The roaring of lions is there, the hissing of serpents,
With which are mixed, they intermingle with, the wailing of those who are weeping.
17.
Molis trabeae dracones laxa pandunt guttura,
(Quorum oculi sagittas iaculantur igneas),
Caudae chelas scorponium, plantae produnt viperas.
Huge scarlet striped serpents open their spacious throats,
The eyes of which throw fiery arrows,
Their tails are the claws of a scorpion, the soles of their feet give rise to snakes.
18.
Tendunt quidem ad nos esse sed non esse desinunt,
Vivunt morti, volunt mori sed omnino nequeunt.
Qui male vixere, vitam pro tormento perferunt.
Indeed they stretch out to us to be, but they do not cease to be,
They live for death, they wish to die but they are entirely unable.
Those who have lived badly, they endure life for the sake of torment.
19.
Haec prae oculis, vesani, formidantes ponite;
Haec subtili pertractantes studio revolvite
Et pravorum vinclis morum colla mentis solvite.
Place these things before your eyes, you trembling insane men;
Mull over these things with focused attention
Release the neck of the mind from the chains of depraved habits.
20.
Nam paratus est conversis indulgere veniam,
Qui perversis adhuc premit vindictae sententiam.
Salus, honor pio regi per aeterna saecula.
Amen.
For he who imposes on the sinners still the sentence of the verdict
Is prepared to give pardon to the converted.
Let there be safety and honor to the pious king through eternity.
Amen
