New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-02-14
THE GREAT HYMN or ABELARD.
THE ROMANTIC HISTORY OF 80 QUANTA QUALIA
"A NEW TRANSLATION OF THE HYMN.

THE ROMANTIC HISTORY OF 80 QUANTA QUALIA"
"A NEW TRANSLATION OF THE HYMN.
ia me Edfter OF The Tribune.
SIR: In THE TRIBUNE of this morning appears a
communication from S. L." with reference to a
certain old Latin hymn. That hymn" o quanta
oualia stunt lila Sabbath HAS romantic history
which "S L." and others may oe glad to know 1t
is found in None Il: 2S2) in an anonymous and In.
correct FORM being evidently taken from some cas-
nal Ms But for its true text and its proper order
of sanzas il is necessary to consult the Immense
compilation which passes under The name OF ). T.
Mipne-yolume IT'S of the "Patrilog@ Cursus
ComnlctusD 1t is the "XXVIII. AID Vesperas" of the
niuety-tlree hymns written by the unfortunate
Abeard for the Abbey of the Paracete, to be sung
tbe,e by the sweet voices of Heoise and her nuns.
For many wears these hymns utterly lost, ex-
cent "a they were to be detected floating around
ANONYMOUSLY and ascribed to an earlier or later
date. We now know that they must have been
written about the year 1850, and that this present
spendid lyric was therefore not " OF the thirteenth
century, at all. 1t illustrates the comparatively
sun.rdcial character of a good deal OF LAIN hymn
noiogy when we discover that Archbishop Trench
and Professor March--excellent scholars, both OF
tboo-haye selected a specimen apiece from tins
very same little collection aud yet have both OF
tbc,n neglected to identify the " o quanta qualia."
DIR. Neale did not know whose 1t was when he
re.,dered il for the Hymnal Noted" In Hymns
Ancient and Modern" which is more familiar to
American eyes, il is Hymn 343,' but must con-
feSs that the translati0n-cOnfessedy made from
Mone's Lateinische Hymnen des Mittelalters -
does not ante please me, although to after
Neale is always like coming after the king"
And now.for the romance of the hymn itself.
When the French occupied Belgium thes ninety
three hymns tucked safely away IN
the ROYAL Library at Brussels in codce quin-
cnncialin-probably box about five inches high
Other manuscripts were with them and they were
TRANSPORTED to Paris untouched and unopened and
so remained during the days Of Napoleon Bonaparte.
Wber his empire fell the box went back to Bel
gium Upon it wer9 the seals of the French Repub-
lie and the French Empire and the stamp of the
ROYAL Library at Brussels. One day rummaging
German student named Oehler Glanced TO investi-
gate the "codex" and found IN it libeus .
which lbellus, q little book, contained the lost
HYMNS of Abelard These are in three and
are arranged for all the religious hours and principal
festivals of the church, and their author
shin Is undoubted. Oeher published eight
of them at once and. having described
the rest. Mons Cousins, hearing of 1t, bought full
transcript " at fair price " from the discOyerer.
Rnt this was not all. A certain Emile Gachet, a
ReIoian. also happened to hit on the q" codex," and
,,naartbod the companion 10 the hbeus" III an
en;stle of Abelard to Heoise. In this he tells hei
that ne sends these hymns of his own composition
and gives her the sketch which she had requested
of the origin of Latin hymnology dating 1t bach
TO Hilary of Poictiers and Ambrose OF Milan I'M
of course sets the authorship of the " . quanta
oualia" beyond tho shadow of question
So that this hymn has the pathetic
interest OF having been composed by the
most brilliant and unhappy man of his age, at
xvha he
despair and had learned his hope of heaven from
the horrors of earth. And whoever wills may reaC
this touching story ID MorisoRs Life and lime,
translation OF this fine hymn, following the true
order of the sfanzas and kerping as closely as pos
sibie TO the original text and metre. IL wac pre-