THE GREEK FATHERS

By John Henry Newman

Let heathen sing thy heathen praise,Fall’n Greece! the thought of holier daysIn my sad heart abides;For sons of thine in Truth’s first hourWere tongues and weapons of His power,Born of the Spirit’s fiery shower,Our fathers and our guides.All thine is Clement’s varied page;And Dionysius, ruler sage,In days of doubt and pain;And Origen with eagle eye;And saintly Basil’s purpose highTo smite imperial heresy,And cleanse the Altar’s stain.From thee the glorious preacher came,With soul of zeal and lips of flame,A court’s stern martyr-guest;And thine, O inexhaustive race!Was Nazianzen’s heaven-taught grace;And royal-hearted Athanase,With Paul’s own mantel blessed.

Let heathen sing thy heathen praise,

Fall’n Greece! the thought of holier days

In my sad heart abides;

For sons of thine in Truth’s first hour

Were tongues and weapons of His power,

Born of the Spirit’s fiery shower,

Our fathers and our guides.

All thine is Clement’s varied page;And Dionysius, ruler sage,In days of doubt and pain;And Origen with eagle eye;And saintly Basil’s purpose highTo smite imperial heresy,And cleanse the Altar’s stain.

All thine is Clement’s varied page;

And Dionysius, ruler sage,

In days of doubt and pain;

And Origen with eagle eye;

And saintly Basil’s purpose high

To smite imperial heresy,

And cleanse the Altar’s stain.

From thee the glorious preacher came,With soul of zeal and lips of flame,A court’s stern martyr-guest;And thine, O inexhaustive race!Was Nazianzen’s heaven-taught grace;And royal-hearted Athanase,With Paul’s own mantel blessed.

From thee the glorious preacher came,

With soul of zeal and lips of flame,

A court’s stern martyr-guest;

And thine, O inexhaustive race!

Was Nazianzen’s heaven-taught grace;

And royal-hearted Athanase,

With Paul’s own mantel blessed.

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