www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Scripture and Patristic Writings Hymns of Divine Love: Hymn No. 30

Just as a lark, I thought I would, post over a couple of days, one of St. Symeon's longer hymns and one of my favorites. It's an experiment so bear with me. Feel free to interrupt with comments for I will simply post this, then another section, then another, regardless of what else is going on. I'll begin with the hymn itself as a response to this note. This is taken from Fr. G. A. Maloney's translations of the hymns into English.

Eli

Hymn No. 30

To one of his disciples_that the divine fire of the Spirit, when it touches the souls purified by tears and repentence, seizes them and purifies them even more,illuminating all their parts still darkened by sin and healing their wounds, it leads them to a perfect cauterization as well as making them resplendent by the divine beauty.

There really does exist the divine fire
of which the Master spoke,
that which He came to cast_
on what earth, tell me?

On men in general,
those who think earthly thoughts,
He wished and still wishes
to cast this fire to inflame all.

Listen and understand, child
the depths of divine mysteries!
This divine fire then,
what kind is it, do you think?

Do you imagine it to be visible or created,
or something able to be grasped?

In no way for you have been initiated into this mystery, and you know certainly
that this fire is not a thing to be grasped.

It is uncreated, invisible,
eternal and immaterial,
completely unchangeable
as well as infinite,
inextinguishable, immortal,
absolutely illimitable
beyond all creatures,
material and immaterial,
visible and invisible,
spiritual and fleshly,
earthly and heavenly.

It is beyond all things
by its nature, by its essence;
yes, and also by its power.

This fire then, into what kind of matter
will it be cast, tell me?

Into the souls which have an abundant store of mercy and even before possessing this
and along with it,
these souls possess faith and works,
works such as solidify their faith.

Into such souls as into a lamp full of oil
and a flax wick the Master casts His fire,
which the world has not seen
and which it is incapable of seeing,
(I mean by world all those in the world
who think worldly thoughts).

Hymn No. 30 (part 2)

But as a lamp is lighted
-I speak to you in sensible images-
when you touch it with fire,
so in the same way realize that
I am speaking to you in a spiritual sense,
the divine fire touches the soul
and sets it on fire.

If it will not at first be cast,
how will it touch them?
Absolutely not; completely impossible!

But if the lamp burns
and clearly illumines all,
and then there is no more oil,
would the lamp not go out?

Attend to me for there is still
something more important
which frightens me more than everything else!

My lamp shines very brightly.
It has a full supply of oil,
also sufficient flax wick.

But a rat has come or some other animal
and either it turned over the lamp
or little by little it absorbed it.

It drank the oil
and ate there the wick,
thus extinguishing also the lamp.

But this is a thing even more strange
that the wick which is called a rush-wick,
when it falls into the oil,
the fire is extinguished at once,
and I am left with only a darkened lamp,
which shines absolutely no more.

Hymn No. 30 (part 3)

The lamp, consider, as my soul,
the oil are my virtues.
My mind is my wick
and it is in it that the divine fire
burns and illumines the soul,
as well as dwells entirely
in my whole body.

And all those in the house
namely, the reasonings and considerations
as this lamp burns,
should any jealousy hit me
or a passionate thought of bitterness
of the love of fame
or any other desire,
mingled with any pleasure or passion,
it will turn the lamp over,
that is, the determination of my soul,
or it will absorb the oil,
I speak to you of the virtues
or still the wick,
this is my mind as I said
which possesses in itself
the divine light, greatly radiant,
but it will completely eat it up
by perverse thoughts,
or again it will cast it completely
into the oil,
which refers to the reflecting
over its acts of virtues,
and, falling into vanity,
the mind is made completely blinded.

And if it happens that my lamp as a consequence
of these things mentioned,
or perhaps from something else,
nevertheless, my lamp is extinguished,
where is the fire found then,
or what is happening to it
could you tell me this?
Does it remain in the lamp?
Or does it separate from the lamp?

Hymn No. 30 (part 4)

O ignorance! O folly!
How is it possible that without
the fire the lamp can burn
or that the fire can remain in the lamp
that has no material?

Fire always desires and wishes
to lay hold of some combustible material,
but it is up to us always to prepare this
and to furnish such generously.

We ourselves as lamps
must be adorned with mercy
and all other kinds of virtues,
and the mind, the wick in this example,
must hold itself erect
so that it may touch the fire
and little by little be inflamed.

And in this way the fire
remains at the disposition
of those who have possessed it.
For in no other way,
let nobody be mistaken,
can it be seen, can it be possessed.

For it is, as I said,
outside of and beyond all creatures.
It becomes graspable
only in an ungraspable way,
in an unspeakable union.

Likewise it becomes limited
in an illimitable manner.
But do not search these mysteries
in words only or in concepts,
but eagerly seek to receive the fire
which teaches and demonstrates
clearly to those who possessit
all these mysteries
and those even more mysterious
still in an inexpressible way.

Thank you a lot, Elitoft, for your love and kindness, posting this beautiful hymn.

I hope that many souls will read his hymns and works.

I love especially the hymns 3, 5 and 6. My heart hastes to the monastic world. The hymn you wrote is very deep, may the Most Holy Trinity enlighten the lights of our souls!

In Risen Christ, Marian +

I am going to post the entire hymn which should take about 15 segments I think if not a few more. It is one of his longer teaching pieces and it is a very powerful teaching.

You are most welcome. I hope it is of benefit.

Eli

Hymn No. 30 (part 5)

Listen, if you wish child,
to these more mystical secrets!
When this fire burns brightly,
as I said, and chases away the swarm
of passions and purifies
the interior of your soul,
then it mingles with it without merging with it
and it unites with it
in an unspeakable manner,
its essence with the essence of the soul,
absolutely in a total way,
and little by little it illumines the soul.

It sets it on fire and makes it light
and �how to express it I am unable-
the two become one,
the soul is with the Creator
and the Creator is in the soul;
alone, totally, with the soul alone,
He who holds the whole creation
in His own hand.

Do not doubt it,
This One, completely one with
the Father and the Spirit,
takes up a place in a single soul,
taking it wholly within Himself.

Think of, look at,
meditate on these things!
For I told you that this light is unbearable
and unapproachable to angels;
yet it possesses the soul within itself
while it also dwells in the soul,
and yet, it does not inflame it completely.

Hymn No. 30 (part 6)

Do you understand
the depth of this mystery?
Man who is so little
among the visible creatures,
a shadow and dust,
possesses in the center of his being
God entirely.
God from whose finger
creation comes forth
and from whom every being has its being,
its life and its movement;
every mind, every soul and every reason,
among the reasonable creatures,
has its being from Him.

But also the breath
of the irrational animals
and of all living beings,
those intellectual
and those sensate beings,
all have their existence from Him
and carries Him within
and looks upon His beauty,
how will he endure the flame of this desire?
How will he bear the fire of love?
How would he not pour out hot tears
from the depths of his heart?
How will he explain such marvels?
How will he number these things
which are being effected in him?
Yet how also can he be totally silent,
when he is forced to speak?

For he sees himself as in Hell,
I mean in comparison to
the brilliance of the light,
for no one sitting there in Hell
without this light
has any knowledge of himself.

Hymn No. 30 (part 7)

All of them are in ignorance,
in obscurity into which
they have been plunged
concerning their own corruption
and their death.

Likewise the soul
about which I am speaking,
when it sees how the light shines
and knows that itself is completely
in most terrible darkness
and in this completely
enclosed prison
of most profound ignorance,
then it sees just where it is lying,
where it is locked in
and that this place
is completely a mud hole,
full of slimy, poisonous snakes;
that itself is chained,
both hands and feet bound by shackles
and that it is covered
with dust and filth;
that it is also wounded
by the bites of the reptiles
and that its own flesh is puffed up
and also covered with numerous worms.
Seeing this how will the soul not shudder?
How will in not weep?
And how will it not cry out?
And ardently be repentant
and beg to be rescued
from such terrible fetters?
Yes, all who see such
indeed will lament and groan
and will want to follow after Christ
who makes the light so radiant

Hymn No. 30 (part 8)

Thus doing this as I said
and falling at the feet of Him
who has illumined me
-give me your attention
to what I am going to say!

He who has illumined me
touches with His hands
my fetters and my wounds.
There where His hand touches
or where with His finger
He approaches,
at once the bonds fall away,
the worms die,
the wounds disappear
as well as the filth covering them
and the disfigurement
in my flesh diminishes
and the healing takes place
all over at once,
so that one no longer sees
any cut on a given spot,
but rather He makes that spot
completely brilliant,
similar to His divine hand.

Strange marvel my flesh,
I mean, the essence of my soul,
yes, also my body,
participates in the divine glory
and radiates
with a divine brilliance.
Seeing this which was effected
in a part of my body,
how could I not desire it
to effect my whole being?
How could I not beg that my body
would be free from all its evils
and be granted likewise health
about which I spoke and glory?

Hymn No. 30 (part 9)

While I was doing so
and even with greater ardor,
being so overwhelmed,
proportionally to these wonders,
the good Master, stretches out His hand,
runs it over the rest of my body,
and I see that all of it has been purified
in the way I had said,
and it was covered all over
with the divine glory.

After I had then been cleansed
and freed from my fetters,
He extends to me His divine hand,
and lifts me out of the mud hole.
He thoroughly embraces me.
He throws himself upon my neck.
Ah how shall I bear these wonders!
And He kisses me over and over.
And He lifts me upon his shoulders
me who has been
so completely worn out
and had lost all my strength.
Ah me! how shall I ever
describe adequately these favors!
What love, what goodness!

And He leads me out of Hell,
out of that place and its darkness,
and leads me into another place,
whether it is still this world
or up in the air someplace,
I really am not able to say.
This I know, that it is a light
and it carries me and sustains me
and leads me
toward a great light.

This great divine marvel
not even angels could describe
or speak about among themselves,
in no way, so it seems to me.

Hymn No. 30 (part 10)

He has freed me from corruption
and has liberated me completely
from death with a new awareness
and has give me immortal life.
He has separated me
from the corrupt world
and from all
the things of the world.
He has put on me a robe
that is immaterial and radiant.
He has given me also sandals
and a ring and a crown
incorruptible and eternal,
all completely foreign
to the things here below.
He has made me intangible,
untouchable, O wonder!
And likewise invisible,
united to the invisible things.
After having rendered me thus,
the Creator led me into a tent,
a sensible one, that of my body.

There he enclosed me
and he completely locked me in.
Having put me back again
in the sensible and visible world,
again He decided that I should live
with those who dwell in darkness,
and that I should be
locked up with them,
those I mean who live in the mud hole.
And more that I should teach them,
that I should lead them to knowledge
of the wounds that cover them
and of the shackles
that held them fast.

Having order me to do such,
He departed.
I was then abandoned alone.
I refer to the former darkness
that I had been in.

Hymn No. 30 (part 11)

I was displeased because
He had given me all those things
which I described, ineffable blessings;
for he had completely re-newed me,
making me completely immortal
and transforming me into Christ.

But being deprived of Him
made me forget all those benefits,
those that I mentioned,
for which it seemed now
that I was deprived of.
For this reason, as though
I had been smashed
into pieces by
the former evil actions,
I was sorely afflicted.

I sat in the middle of the tent
as though I were locked
in a basket or a jar.
I wept, I groaned vehemently
completely unconcerned
as to my exterior conduct.
For eagerly I was searching for Him,
Him whom I loved,
for whom I had a passion,
by whose splendid beauty
I was wounded.
I was inflamed, I burned,
my whole being was on fire!

As I then so continued,
weeping together with
pining away, as though
I were being terribly flogged
and crying out in real pain,
He heard my cry,
From unimaginable heights,
He leaned over and saw me.

Hymn No. 30 (part 12)

He had pity on me
and again He
who is invisible to all
made me worth to see Him
as far as it is possible
for man to see Him.

On seeing Him I was
struck with awe,
as I sat locked into my house
and enclosed in my jar,
in the midst of so much darkness,
I mean between Heaven and earth,
I call those things darkness,
using sensible terms,
since they seriously darken
all men who are catives
of their senses as well as
their thoughts that are immersed
in the senses.

However, I who was in the midst
of these worldly realities
saw Him who was before all,
as I said, and who now is beyond all
in a spiritual way.
I was filled with amazement,
I was in ecstasy,
filled with fear, also with joy
and I pondered on this marvel:
how He is outside of all things,
while I am so much inside everything.
I alone see Him; He sees me.

Where He is, His size,
or the origin of Him whom I see
or how I see Him or what I see?
Likewise seeing the things
which I have seen and groaning
that I am not able to know this manner
or completely comprehend
nor to understand even a little
how He whom I see, sees me.