Venice masks

Sunday 13 January 2019

The Fruits of Patience - Thomas à Kempis

Patience under suffering
Will to man these graces bring, —

A beauty more than of gold,
A clearness more than of glass,
A worth that can ne'er be told,
A rank that no ranks out-class;

A spirit that riseth light
O'er every taint of sin;
A mind to hold with the right
And Christ's approval win.

More saintly that man shall grow,
Better each day to the end;
Fiercer to Satan, his foe,
And dearer to Jesus, his friend.

Patiendo Fit Homo

Thomas à Kempis (1380 - 1471) The Netherlands (born in Germany but left at age 12)
Translated by Daniel Joseph Donahoe
Source: Early Christian hymns: translations of the verses of the most noted Latin writers of the early and middle ages, Daniel Joseph Donahoe, Grafton Press, 1908

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