Clement's S. Laurence's, and S. Pancras' churches
at Rome. See another marble column destined for the same use ap.
Ciampini, Vet. mon. cap. 2.]
[Footnote 114: Martene (De antiquis Eccl. rit. lib. 4, c. 24)
maintains that this hymn was composed by S. Augustine, and this
opinion is adopted also by Baillet and Benedict XIV, and confirmed by
a MS. pontifical of the church of Pavia of the 9th century, and other
documents cited by Martene, ibid: it was corrected by S. Jerome, if
we may believe an ancient Pontifical of Poitiers (quoted ibid.) The
_chant_ of this beautiful hymn is very ancient. "I have seen," says
Baini "in many manuscripts both anterior and posterior to the 11th
century the melodies of the preface, of the _Pater noster_, of the
_Exultet_, and of the _Gloria_ precisely such as the modern" (T. 2,
p. 92). In a splendid roll of the Minerva (signed D. 1. 2) of the 9th
century, are contained the _Exultet_, the solemn benediction of the
baptismal font, and the administration of all the ecclesiastical
orders. Nor is this the only roll containing the chant precisely
similar to the modern. D'Agincourt left another to the Vatican
library. See also MS. no. 333 of the Barberini library, of the year
1503.]
[Footnote 115: Prudentius speaks of the "guttas olentes" or
odoriferous drops of the candle, and S. Paulinus of Nola of "odora
lumina": hence P. Arevalo conjectures that the grains of incense were
fixed in the paschal candle even at the time of Prudentius in the 4th
century.
Pages:
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167