Go out hence quickly, my letter

 

 

 Venus, Cupid, and Time (Allegory of the Triumph of Venus), Agnolo Bronzino, 1540-45

 

A Letter to an Idyllic Monastery

Ms. of Monte Cassino “Ad Paulum Diaconum” = Waddell, Mediaeval Latin Lyrics p. 100 (anonymous, before 795; variously attributed to Charlemagne and Alcuin)

Go out hence quickly, my letter, with an easy flight,
Winging headlong through woods, through hills, and valleys too-
Seek out the loving building of Benedict dear to God.
For sure rest is at hand for those who arrive there weary;
In that place guests have vegetables, fish, and bread too in abundance;
One finds there pious peace, humble minds, beautiful concord among the brothers,
Praise, love, and worship of Christ at every hour alike.

Hinc celer egrediens facili, mea charta, volatu
per silvas, colles, valles quoque praepete cursu
alma deo cari Benedicti tecta require.
Est nam certa quies fessis venientibus illuc,
hic olus hospitibus, piscis hic, panis abundans;
pax pia, mens humilis, pulchra et concordia fratrum,
laus, amor et cultus Christi simul omnibus horis.