red in a poetic style, which, by the use of short
lines and the anapest, heightens the effect of ecstatic devotion.

Bridle of colts untamed,
Over our wills presiding;
Flight of unwandering birds,
Our flight securely guiding,-- -- -- --[75]

The modern adaptation of Clement's hymn, _Shepherd of Tender Youth_, by
Henry M. Dexter, 1846, while preserving in a measure the spirit of this
piece, in no way reproduces the original. The {Stomion polon} of Clement
is representative of a theme which pervades Christian hymnody in all
ages, the joy and enthusiasm of the initiate or the admonition and
encouragement addressed to the Christian who stands upon the threshold of
a new life. The _Odes of Solomon_ have been interpreted in these
terms.[76] Again, the theme is preserved in the so-called Amherst
papyrus, which consists of a hymn of twenty-five tripartite lines, a
catechism or liturgy for the newly baptized. Originating in the third
century, it appears in fragmentary form but sufficiently complete to make
clear its language and purport, as illustrated in the following:[77]

That thou mayest receive life eternal
Thou hast escaped the hard law of the unjust ...
. . .
Seek to live with the saints, seek to receive life,
Seek to escape the fire.
Hold the hope that thou hast learnt. The day that
the master has appointed for thee is known to no man.
. . .
Tell the glad tidings unto children saying: the poor
have received the kingdom, the children are the inheritors.[78]

The Amherst papyrus is a part of the new store of knowledge from
antiquity which has been opened up within recent years by the discovery
and study of papyri. This branch of archaeology and palaeography has made
available new fields of research in the study of early Christianity
hitherto unfamiliar. In 1920, among the Oxyrhynchus papyri was discovered
a fragment of a Christian hymn. It appears on the back of a strip which
records a grain account of the first half of the third century. The hymn
has a musical setting, the earliest example of Christian church music
extant. The fragment consists of the conclusion only, so that the length
and subject matter of the hymn as a whole are unknown. Creation is
enjoined to praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost, in the form of a doxology.
The meter is anapestic and purely quantitative.[79]

The _Hymn of Thekla_, {Anot