He descends from heaven to earth:
By the Holy Ghost conceived,
God and man by us believed.

Wondrous birth! O wondrous child
Of the virgin undefiled!
Though by all the world disowned,
Still to be in heaven enthroned.

From the Father forth He came,
And returneth to the same;
Captive leading death and hell--
High the song of triumph swell!

Equal to the Father now,
Though to dust Thou once didst bow,
Boundless shall Thy kingdom be;
When shall we its glories see?

Brightly doth Thy manger shine!
Glorious in its light divine:
Let not sin o'ercloud this light,
Ever be our faith thus bright.

Aurelius Ambrose (340-397 A.D.)

THE RISE OF LATIN HYMNODY

The first hymns and canticles used in the Western churches came from the
East. They were sung in their original Greek form. It was not until the
beginning of the fourth century that any record of Latin hymns is found.
Isadore of Seville, who died in the year 636 A.D., tells us that "Hilary
of Gaul, bishop of Poitiers, was the first who flourished in composing
hymns in verse." Hilary, who died in the year 368, himself records the
fact that he brought some of them from the East. His most famous Latin
hymn is _Lucis largitor splendide_.

The father of Latin hymnody, however, was the great church father,
Aurelius Ambrose, bishop of Milan. It was he who taught the Western
Church to glorify God in song. Concerning this remarkable bishop,
Mabillon writes:

"St. Ambrose took care that, after the manner of the Eastern Fathers,
psalms and hymns should be sung by the people also, when previously they
had only been recited by individuals singly, and among the Italians by
clerks only."

The father of Ambrose was prefect of the Gauls, and it is believed that
the future bishop was born at Treves about 340 A.D. The youthful Ambrose,
like his father, was trained for government service, and in 374 A.D. he
was appointed Consular of Liguria and Aemilia. During the election of a
bishop in Milan, a bitter conflict raged between the orthodox Christians
and the Arians, and Ambrose found it necessary to attend the church where
the election was taking place in order to calm the excited assembly.

According to tradition, a child's voice was heard to cry out in the
church, "Ambrosius!" This was accepted at once by the multitude as an act
of divine guidance and