Ad Virginem
The Celestial Queen
The poet invokes the Virgin Mary using exalted titles that highlight her unique role as the Mother and Bride of the Divine.
Hail, Queen, glorious Virgin, on whose brow the Sun takes its light, Mother of the One to whom honor is given, and of His Father the sweet daughter and bride:1 Triumph in heaven, valiant lamp, still shining on the world and into the abyss; a worth so high the age cannot grasp it; precious celestial gem of the East:23
A Plea for Mercy
The speaker shifts from praise to personal petition, asking Mary to look upon his unworthiness and guide him toward the narrow path.
Virgin, I beg you, look upon me!4 Turn your beautiful eyes, if ever that first Ave was dear to you—the one that came from heaven into these lowly places;5 Don't look at my failings, which are grave. Show me the path the few take, for I am now giving you the key to my heart.
Read the original Latin
Salve, Regina, virgo gloriosa, Ne la cui fronte el Sol soa luce prende, Madre di quel a cui l’onor si rende, E del suo Padre dolce figlia e sposa:
Nel ciel trionfo, lampa valorosa, Che al mondo e ne lo abisso ancor risplende; Alto valor, ch’el secol non comprende; Celeste oriental gemma preziosa:
Vergene, in me dhe! volgi i toi bei ochi, Se mai a te fo grato quel primo Ave, Che dal ciel venne in questi bassi lochi;
Non riguardar al mio fallir, ch’è grave; La via mi mostra dove vanno i pochi; Chè del mio cor ormai ti do la chiave.
Notes
- 1 ↩Opening "Ne" is Tuscan/archaic for "Nella" ("in/on"), not Latin negative-purpose ne; "soa" = sua ("its").
- 2 ↩“Nel ciel trionfo” is taken as a Marian vocative epithet (“Triumph in heaven”), parallel to the following titles (lamp, worth, gem). A first-person verbal reading (“I triumph in heaven”) is less likely in this catalog of praises.
- 3 ↩“ne lo abisso” is the older form of “nello abisso” (“in/into the abyss”), not negative-purpose “ne.” The candidate gloss that tags “ne” as negative-purpose is rejected.
- 4 ↩Archaic Tuscan 'Vergene, in me dhe!' read as 'Vergine, in me deh!': 'dhe' is the pleading interjection deh (ah / I pray), and 'in me' is the appeal that she turn her attention toward the speaker. The next sentence supplies the explicit verb of turning the eyes.
- 5 ↩'quel primo Ave' is Gabriel's greeting at the Annunciation (Ave Maria), treated here as Mary's first and dearest Ave.
Lauds companion
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