life was, germinated
much of this deeper life. As we must not judge of the life of the nation
by its kings and mighty men, so we must not judge of the life in the
Church by those who are called Rabbi. The very notion of the kingdom of
heaven implies a secret growth, secret from no affectation of mystery,
but because its goings-on are in the depths of the human nature where it
holds communion with the Divine. In the Church, as in society, we often
find that that which shows itself uppermost is but the froth, a sign, it
may be, of life beneath, but in itself worthless. When the man arises
with a servant's heart and a ruler's brain, then is the summer of the
Church's content. But whether the men who wrote the following songs moved
in some shining orbit of rank, or only knelt in some dim chapel, and
walked in some pale cloister, we cannot tell, for they have left no name
behind them.

My reader will observe that there is little of theory and much of love in
these lyrics. The recognition of a living Master is far more than any
notions about him. In the worship of him a thousand truths are working,
unknown and yet active, which, embodied in theory, and dissociated from
the living mind that was in Christ, will as certainly breed worms as any
omer of hoarded manna. Holding the skirt of his garment in one hand, we
shall in the other hold the key to all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge.

I think almost all the earliest religious poetry is about him and his
mother. Their longing after his humanity made them idolize his mother. If
we forget that only through his humanity can we approach his divinity, we
shall soon forget likewise that his mother is blessed among women.

I take the poems from one of the Percy Society publications, edited by
Mr. Wright from a manuscript in the British Museum. He adjudges them to
the reign of Edward I. Perhaps we may find in them a sign or two that in
cultivating our intellect we have in some measure neglected our heart.

But first as to the mode in which I present them to my readers: I have
followed these rules:--

1. Wherever a word differs from the modern word only in spelling, I have,
for the sake of readier comprehension, substituted the modern form, with
the following exception:--Where the spelling indicates a different
pronunciation, necessary for the rhyme or the measure, I retain such part
of the older form, marking with an acute accent any vowel now silent
which must be sounded.