(iv) MODERN WRITERS 187
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HITHER, and with one accord
Sing the servants of the Lord:
Sing each great ascetic sire;
Antony shall lead the choir.
. . . . . . . . . .
Egypt, hail, thou faithful strand!
Hail, thou holy Libyan land!
Nurturing for the realm on high
Such a glorious company!
. . . . . . . . . .
By what skill of mortal tongue
Shall your wondrous acts be sung?
All the conflicts of the soul,
All your struggles to the goal;
And your virtue's prize immense,
And your victories over sense,
How perpetual watch ye kept
Over passions, prayed and wept;
Yea, like very angels came,
Visible in earthly frame.
Hymn for the Friday before Quinquagesima. St. Theophanes. Translated by J. M. Neale.
INTRODUCTION