Crudelis Herodes, Deum
Hymn For the Epiphany. Revised
from Hostis Herodes Impie
Derived from
Paean Alphabeticus
de Christo
Source: "Sedulius and His Abecedary," American Ecclesiastical Review, Volume 3 (Catholic University of America: Fr. Pustet & Co., 1890), p. 443
Crudelis Herodes, Deum,
Regem venire quid times?
Non eripit mortalia,
Qui regna dat cælestia.
Ibant Magi, quam viderant,
Stellam sequentes præviam;
Lumen requirunt lumine:
Deum fatentur munere.
Lavacra puri gurgitis
Cælestis Agnus attigit:
Peccata, quae non detulit,
Nos abluendo sustulit.
Novum genus potentiæ:
Aquae rubescunt hydriæ,
Vinumque jussa fundere,
Mutavit unda originem.
Jesu, tibi sit gloria,
Qui apparuisti gentibus,
Cum Patre, et almo Spiritu,
In sempiterna sæcula.
Notes from Rev. Matthew Britt, O.S.B., Hymns from the Breviary and Missal (London: Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., 1922), #46, pp. 113-114.
Author: Sedulius, 5th cent. Meter: Iambic dimeter. Translation [of Why, Impious Herod, Vainly Fear] by J. M. Neale. There are about twenty-five translations, eight of which, including both texts, are in the Annus Sanctus [see below]. Liturgical Use: Vespers hymn on the Feast of the Epiphany. First line of Original Text: Hostis Herodes Impie. The texts differ only in the first two lines [and a few words in the last verse]. In the Original Text these lines read:
Hostis Herodes impie
Christum venire quid times?
This hymn is a continuation of No. 39,
A Solis Ortus Cardine
[the full hymn is from
Paean
Alphabeticus de Christo]. The word Epiphany signifies appearance
or manifestation. This manifestation was threefold: To the Gentiles in the
persons of the Magi (Matt. 2, 1-12); to the Jews at the Baptism of Christ in the
Jordan (Mark 1, 9-11); to the Apostles when Christ wrought His first miracle at
the marriage feast at Cana (John 2, 1-11). In the hymn, it will be observed that
a stanza is devoted to each of the three manifestations.
Read the articles on Epiphany, Herod, Magi and Cana, in the
Cath. Encycl.
1. "Cruel Herod, why dost thou fear the coming of the Divine King! He taketh not
away earthly kingdoms, who bestoweth heavenly ones." Regnum meum non est de hoc
mundo (John 18, 36).
2. "The Magi proceeded, following the star, which they saw leading the way: by
the aid of light, they seek the Light: by their gifts they acknowledge Him to be
God." In the East it was customary when visiting kings or princes to offer them
appropriate gifts. The gifts offered by the Magi were expressive of their belief
in Christ's royal generation, in His divine nature, and in His human nature.
Gold, the noblest of the metals, hence a gift suitable for a king, was
symbolical of His royal generation: frankincense is a symbol of prayer, and was
therefore, an acknowledgment of His Divinity; and myrrh, which is used in
embalming, was expressive of His mortality as man.
3. "The Heavenly Lamb touched the cleansing bath of the limpid waters: by
washing us, He took away (sustulit) sins which He Himself had not
committed (detulit)." Ecce agnus Dei, ecce qui tollit peccatum mundi
(John 1, 29). "It is the teaching of St. Thomas that the Baptism of Christ was
the occasion when He gave to Christian Baptism its power of conferring grace;
but that the necessity of this Sacrament was not intimated to men till after the
Resurrection" (Father Hunter's Outlines of Dogmatic Theology, Vol. II, p.
532).
4. "A new manifestation of power: the water of the jars becomes red, and the
water which was bidden to issue forth as wine, changed its nature." Hydriæ
is the subject, and aquæ the genitive of contents. Constr.: Et unda (quæ)
jussa (est) vinum fundere, mutavit originem. The following is the Catholic poet
Crashaw's beautiful epigram on the miracle at Cana:
Lympha pudica Deum vidit et erubuit.
The modest water saw its God and blushed.
Editor's Note:
See the extensive notes following A Sortis Ortus Cardine.
The eight translations from Shipley's Annus Sanctus include:
From the main text:
For the Epiphany. Revised from Hostis Herodes Impie. Vespers Breviary Hymn, by Sedulius.
44. Why, Ruthless Herod, Why Should Fear. Very Rev. Prior James A. Dominic Aylward, Order of Preachers, 1843-1850. 42 - Epiphany and Octave.
54. What Makes Thee, Cruel Herod, Shake, Based on the Primers of 1685 and 1706, but partly original. Evening Office, 1710. Author unknown, 49 - Third Week After Epiphany.
57. Why, Cruel Herod, Dost Thou Fear. Very Rev. Provost F. C. Husenbeth, 1840-1841. 52 - Fourth Week After Epiphany.
60. Why, Cruel Herod, Dost Thou Fear, Rev. Professor Thomas J. Potter, All Hallows College, Dublin, 1857-1858. 54 - Fifth Week After Epiphany.
From the Appendix:
Vespers Breviary Hymn, by Sedulius, for the Epiphany.
That Christ is Come Why Dost Thou Dread (Primer, 1604) ( Appendix p. 4)
O Herod, Wicked Enemy (Primer, 1619) ( Appendix p. 5)
Vespers Breviary Hymn, by Sedulius, for the Epiphany. Revised from Hostis Herodes Impie.
Most Cruel Herod, Whence Does Spring (Primer, 1685) ( Appendix p. 20)
Why, Herod, Dost Thou Fear in Vain (Primer, 1706) ( Appendix p. 21)
This hymn is discussed in conjunction with it's parent hymn by John Julian in his Dictionary of Hymnology (1892), p. :
Notes from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1892, 1907), pp. 4-5.
A solis ortûs cardine. Ad usque. Coelius Sedulius. [Christmas.] This hymn, which opens with the same first stanza as the next annotated herein, with the exception of Et for “Ad” in line 2, may be distinguished therefrom by the second stanza, which reads:—
“Beatus auctor saeculi
Servile corpus induit,
Ut carne carnem liberans
Ne perderet quos condidit.”
It is a poem, dating from the first
half of the fifth century, in 23 stanzas of 4 lines, entitled
Paean
Alphabeticus de Christo (“A triumphal
song concerning Christ, arranged according to the letters of the alphabet.”) The
subject is a devout description of the Life of Christ in verse. The full text is
found in an eighth century manuscript in the British Museum (MSS. Reg. 2 A. xx.
f. 50), and is also given in the numerous editions of Sedulius’ Works
(that of Faustus Arevalus, Rome, 1794, especially); in the works of Thomasius
from Vatican manuscripts of the 8th and 9th centuries; in Wackernagel, volume 1,
number 48 [Paean
Alphabeticus de Christo], and others. For ecclesiastical purposes it has been broken up into
two hymns, the first known as
A solis ortus
cardine, and the second,
Hostis Herodis Impie, with the Roman
Breviary form of the same,
Crudelis Herodes, Deum.
Following the order of this arrangement, the details are:—
[Notes concerning A solis ortus cardine are not reproduced here. Please see: A solis ortus cardine]
ii. The second portion of this poem is the Epiphany hymn
Hostis Herodis Impie, found in many
Breviaries, and consisting of lines 29-36, 41-44, and 49-52, or in other words,
the strophes commencing with h, i, l, n, s. The text is given in Hermann
Daniel’s Thesaurus Hymnologicus, volume 1, number 120, together with
references to various Breviaries, etc.
In the Hymnarium Sarisburiense, London, 1851, it is given as the Hymn at
first and second vespers on the feast of the Epiphany, and daily through the
Octave at Matins and Vespers; with various readings from the uses of York
(which assigns it to first and second vespers and Lauds on the Epiphany, and
daily through the Octave), of Evesham and Worcester (through the
Epiphany at Vespers), St. Alban’s (Vespers and Lauds), St. Andrew de
Bromholm, Norfolk (Lauds). Hermann Daniel’s Thesaurus Hymnologicus,
volume 4, 148, 370, cites it as in a Rheinau manuscript of the 9th century, and
a Bern manuscript of the 9th century. In the British Museum it is also
found in an 11th century manuscript (Jul. A. vi. f. 36) and others; and in the
Latin Hymns of the Anglo-Saxon Church, 1851, page 51, it is printed from
a Durham manuscript of the 11th century. The strophe Katerva matrum (the
troop of mothers) occurs in a manuscript of the Harleian Library, of the
11th century (2961, f. 229b), as a hymn for the Holy Innocents. In the
Mozarabic Breviary, Hostis Herodes impie is the Hymn at Lauds for the
Epiphany, the strophes h, i, l, n, q, r, s, t, v, x, y, z of the original being
used, with doxology. Strophes k, m, o, p, with two additional, and a doxology,
are used in this rite on the Feast of the Holy Innocents at Lauds; or “In
Allisione Infantium, sive Sanctorum Innocentium,” “On the dashing to pieces of
the Infants, or Holy Innocents.” (See Psalm 137:9, English version; Psalm 136:9,
in the Latin; for the idea.) In Migne’s Patrologiae cursus the hymns will
be found in col. 184, 185, and 135, 136 of tom. 86 respectively. [W. A. S.]
Translations in common use:—
1. How Vain Was Impious Herod's Dread. By Arthur Tozer Russell, in his Psalms and Hymns, 1851, number 71, and with alterations, into Benjamin Hall Kennedy’s Psalms and Hymns Selected and Arranged in the Order of the Christian Seasons, 1863, Number 226.
2. Why, Impious Herod, Vainly Fear. By John Mason Neale, in the first edition of the Hymnal Noted, 1852, number 17, from whence it passed into later editions of the same, the People’s Hymnal, 1867, the Hymner, 1882, and others. In Hymns Ancient and Modern, 1861, it is given in an altered form, as:— “Why doth that impious Herod fear?” but in the enlarged and revised edition, 1875, the opening line is again altered to, “How vain the cruel Herod’s fear.” Another form is that of the Hymnary, 1872, where it reads:— “The star proclaims the King is here.” It was thus altered by the Editors of that collection.
Translations not in common use:—
1. Herod, grim foe, whence this dismay. William John Blew, 1852.
2. Why, Herod, Impious Tyrant, Fear. John David Chambers, 1857.
3. Impious Herod, Wherefore Tremble. Hamilton Montgomerie Macgill, 1876.
Various translations of this have been made into German. The translations from
one of these are thus noted by Mr. Mearns:—
Was fürchtst du Feind Herodes
sehr. A full and faithful
translation by Martin Luther, written Dec. 12, 1541, and first published in
Klug’s Geistliche Lieder, Wittenberg, 1544. Thence in Wackernagel,
volume 3, page 25, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines. Included in Schircks’s edition of
Luther’s Geistliche Lieder, 1854, page 18, and as number 81 in the
Unverfälschter Liedersegen, 1851.
Of this the only translation in common use is, “Why
Herod Unrelenting Foe!” in
full in Richard Massie’s Martin Luther’s Spiritual Songs, 1854, page 13,
and thence in Dr. Bacon, 1884, and, altered, as number 53, in the Ohio Lutheran
Hymnal, 1880.
Other translations are:—
1. “What Dost Thou Fear, Oh, Enemy ?” by Miss Henrietta Joan Fry, 1845, page 23.
2. “Fiend Herod, why those frantic fears,” by John Anderson, 1846, page 11 (edition of 1847, page 36).
3. “Fiend Herod! why with fears art torn,” by Dr. J. Hunt, 1853, page 38.
4. “Herod, why dreadest thou a foe,” by Dr. G. Macdonald in the Sunday Magazine, 1867, page 331; and thence, altered, in his Exotics, 1876. [J.J.]
Hymns on this site based on Hostis Herodis Impie:
How Vain The Cruel Herod's Fear, John Mason Neale & Editors, Hymns Ancient and Modern
How Vain Was Impious Herod's Dread, Arthur Tozer Russell, 1851
Impious Herod, Wherefore Tremble, Hamilton Montgomerie Macgill, 1876
O Herod, Wicked Enemy, Primer, 1619
That Christ is Come Why Dost Thou Dread, Primer, 1604
The Star Proclaims The King Is Here, John Mason Neale
Was fürchtst du Feind Herodes sehr, Martin Luther;
What Dost Thou Fear, Oh, Enemy ? translation by Henrietta Joan Fry, 1845 of Luther's "Was fürchtst du Feind Herodes sehr"
When Christ's Appearing Was Made Known, John Mason Neale
When Christ's Appearing Was Made Known (The first verse in this version is trans. The Hymn Book of the Anglican Church of Canada and the United Church of Canada, Copyright, 1971)
Why Doth That Impius Herod Fear. Hymns Ancient And Modern
Why Herod, Unrelenting Foe, Richard Massie, Martin Luther's Spiritual Songs; This is Massie's translation of Luther's "Was fürchtst du Feind Herodes sehr"
Why, Impious Herod Shouldst Thou Fear, Percy Dearmer
Why, Impious Herod, Vainly Fear, John Mason Neale
Why, Herod, Impious Tyrant, Fear, John David Chambers
iii. The Roman Breviary form of
Hostis Herodis is
Crudelis Herodes, Deum.
The alterations in the text are stanza 1, lines 1-2, and the doxology only
[which is a later addition]. In
the Roman Breviary it is appointed for the first and second Vespers of
the Feast of the Epiphany. The text is in Hermann Daniel’s Thesaurus
Hymnologicus, volume 1, number 120; Cardinal Newman’s Hymni Ecclesiaè,
1838-65, and other collections. [W. A. S.]
Translations in common use:—
1. Why, Herod, Why The Godhead Fear! By Bishop Richard Mant, in his Ancient Hymns, 1837, page 43; and in Chope’s Hymnal, 1864, and others as:— “In vain doth Herod rage and fear.”
2. Why, Ruthless King, This Frantic Fear! By William John Copeland, in his Hymns for the Week, 1848, page 70. In 1868 it was given as, “Why doth the wicked Herod fear?” in the Sarum Hymnal, number 66.
3. O Cruel Herod! Why Thus Fear? By Edward Caswall. First published in his Lyra Catholica, 1849, page 53, and his Hymns and Poems, 1873, page 30. This is the translation in common use in Roman Catholic collections for Schools and Missions.
4. Why, Cruel Herod, Why In Fear? By Jame Aitken Johnston, in the English Hymnal, 1852, and later editions. This is based upon older translations.
5. Why, Cruel Herod, Dost Thou Fear? By Richard Corbet Singleton, made for and first published in his Anglican Hymn Book, 1868, number 58. In the second edition, 1871, number 73, it was altered to, “Why Should The Cruel Herod Fear?”
6. Why doth that cruel Herod fear? This, which is number 120 in the St. John’s Hymnal, Aberdeen, 1865 and 1870, is a cento from Copeland (stanza 2) and Neale, with alterations in the text of each.
Translations not in common use:—
1. Why, Herod, Dost Thou Fear in Vain. Primer, 1706.
2. Cruel Herod, wherefore fearest thou? Hope, 1844.
3. Why, Herod, shakes thy soul with fears. F. Trappes, 1865.
4. Why, cruel Herod, dost thou fear. James Cowden Wallace, 1874. [J. J.]
Hymns on this site based on Crudelis Herodes, Deum
Why, Cruel Herod, Dost Thou Fear - Husenbeth, 1840-1841
Why Cruel Herod Dost Thou Fear - Parsons, ca. 1844
Why, Cruel Herod, Dost Thou Fear - Potter, 1857-1858
Why, Cruel Herod, Dost Thou Fear - Singleton, 1857
Why, Herod, Dost Thou Fear in Vain (Primer, 1706)
Why Should The Cruel Herod Fear? - Robert Corbet Singleton; Original 1858 title was "Why, Cruel Herod, Dost Thou Fear," (above).
If you would like to help support Hymns and Carols of Christmas, please click on the button below and make a donation.
Related Hymns and Carols