Before the ending of the day

Before the ending of the day. Latin, 5th-7th century, translated by Robert Campbell* (1814-1868) and John Mason Neale* (1818-1866). The translations of the Latin ‘Te lucis ante terminum’* by these two authors are the best known of many English versions. Campbell’s appeared in Hymns and Anthems for Use in the Holy Services of the Church within the United Diocese of St Andrews, Dunkeld, and Dunblane (Edinburgh, 1850). Neale’s appeared two years later in The Hymnal Noted Part 1 (1851). Neale’s first two lines are identical to Campbell’s: ‘Before the ending of the day/ Creator of the world, we pray’. Campbell continued: Beneath thy kind protection take And shield us for thy mercy’s sake. Neale...