The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-08-02
LITERARY NOTES.
III v NJ n S.

The General Convention of the Episco pal
Church, which met in our city last fall, adopted
a resolution appointing Joint committee to
revise the hymns OF the Church. This collection
is a horrid mutilaton of the beautiful Episcopal
Hymns, and deserves the reprobation OF all
lovers of either syntaX or melody. The Nation
contains an admirable review of its merits:-
First OF the list stands the renowned 'Dies
Ir9." 1t may startle some people 10 learn that
the "Great Hymn" the famous sequence of the
Romish burial service, has its eighteen stanzas
spread out to their fullest extent III this brief
addition to the Protestant Episcopal Prayer
BOOK.
Yet we do not object to this; for, although the
'Dies Irte" will not be used by congregations as
a hymn, still there will be great occasions in
great churches when ambitious choIrs will di,
play their talents on It, and when the people
below will need a copy OF the hymn as a
'hbretto.n But when such a hymn as this is to
be inserted in a book which will bring 1t to the
homes OF thousands, VINO will see no other
translation, then the very best, if possible the
standard version alone, should be employed. The
Catholics have shown good sense and good taste
by selecting for the st. Vincent ManuaI'
the Translation of the Protestant Rose Jmmon.
Our compilers had three versions from which to
choose. They might have taken that of General
Dix, which would have Oeen gratifying to the
loyal members of the Church and a graceful
con pliment to so distinguished a lay member,
and would have secured also to the Church the
DeSU metTlCdl IdnSldIlOn Oh Jne 'DleS lI&." UT
they might have taken the British version OF
DR.. Irons, which would have had the advantage
OF conforming the words OF the Prayer-Book TO
the words and music of the 'Hymnal Noted"
Or they might have taken the old, es ablsned,
ana Obe-admired translation of Roscom.
mon. What have the compilers given to the
Church, Their version opens with three false
English rhymes:-
"Day of wrath! that dav of mourning,
See fulfilled the prophets warning,
Heaven and earth III hes burning"
Examining it Iurther, we find that the body of
the hymn is the version OF DR.. Irons, but
altered, patched, and mutilated. Some of these
changes are bad, and all are needless. The
only alteration which Is iustitiable is the change
of the Lat "Jesu" to its English form. Cor
reCtions are often worse than the faults they
seek to remove, and the amount of the injury
can never be measured by the amount OF the
alteration. In the third stanZa the compilers
have but part of the last line. in the fifth they
] change but a single word. Yet the latter is
worse than the former. This alteration fur
nlShes an instance OF the madness OF tinkering.
The stanza in the original refers to the last judg-
ment. and the translation OF DR.. Irons correctly
! expresses that idea. Upon the day oil jltdgmept
is to be brought the book OF judgment, and from
its record JUDGMENT is to oe awarded. The com
| pliers change JUDGMENT" to 'justice" and make
nonsense OF the verse.
The thirteenth slanZa is not by DR.. Irons, but
! has been taken from the version OF General DIX.
| Yet, even when Interpolating a solitary stanza
| from another author the mania for tinkerng
| could not be resisted. We quote it to illustrate
the needlessness and pad taste of the atera
| hons:-
| GENERAL Blk.
| "ThOu to Mary gaV'st remission,
Heardst the dying thief s petition,
Bad'st me hope in my contr1Uon."
| THE HASH.
Thou the harot gavst remission,
Heard'st the diving thIefs petition;
| Hopeless else were my condition"
The word which is substituted in The first iint
is NOT in the original, and is not IN the BIOle;
is needless. coarse, and repulsiVe; IT does no
contain a new idea, but repeats the old idea il
a low form There are people who seem 10 sup
pose that such words can be used with impunity
So long as it is religious composition into which
they stuffed. 1t is time that this suppositioI
be eXtinguished, and people taught that low anC
vulgar words needlessly used remain coarse anC
vulgar wherever placed or by WhomsoeVe
spoken.
What, then, lis the version of the great "Die
Ire." which the Joint committee mas placed il
the bymnal of the Episcopal Church, to stant
forever in her hook OF prayer, and 10 be sai(
and sung daily and hourly by her children? l
may be analyzed thus;-SiX stanzas are iron
the version or DIR. Irons, unkered; the thin
teenth is by General DIX, also tinkered; whll
the three false rhymes OF the first are origlna
with the Joint committee.
When great name is attached to a hymn tn
ordinary suppositon is that the hymn wa
written by the owner OF the name. TINS suppC
stiOn is almost groundless when applied 10 TN
additional Hymns" For when the member
OF the joint committee have exercised the extra
ordinary selt-denial of not tinkering an author
lines, they still have been unaOle to resist tn
temptation OF transposing invertlng, and rt
arranging them. The medieval hymns are no
classical Latin, but many OF their translation
are classical English. One would think tha
the most ruthless committee would, at least