Preces Quotidianae
A Humble Plea for a Pure Night's Rest
The petitioner, acknowledging unworthiness, asks for sleep free from sin and defiling dreams, and for inner instruction during the night.
If not—for I am not worthy, I am not worthy—at least, kind Lord, let my sleep be a rest from labor and from sin alike.1 Also, O Lord. And let me not think anything in my dreams that would offend you, nor anything that would defile me.2 Let my loins not be filled with illusions. Ps.3 37.4 7.5 But let my inmost being instruct me in the night. Ps.67 16.8
Protection from Nightly Dangers and Temptations
The prayer continues, asking for deliverance from the sleep of sin, from carnal and satanic imaginations, and for protection under God's mercy, concluding with a request to be wakened for prayer.
8. Indeed, without heavy terror.9 Keep me from the dark sleep of sin, and put to sleep in me every earthly and wicked inclination.10 Grant me easy sleep, free from every carnal and satanic imagination.11 How sleepless my invisible enemies are, you know well, Lord; and have mercy on me—on the weakness of the flesh—you who formed me.12 May the wing of your mercy protect me.13 Wake me at the right time, at the time of prayer, Ps. 32.
A Vigil of Praise at Dawn
The prayer concludes with a request to keep watch from first light in order to glorify and worship God.
7. And grant that I may keep watch for you from first light, Psalm 63. 1. to glorify you,14 and to worship you.
Read the original Latin
Sin minus, (non enim dignus, non sum dignus) Saltem, benigne Domine, Sit somnus meus, ut laboris sic peccati cessatio. Etiam, o Domine. Nec quid cogitem per somnia, quod te offendat, nee quod me polluat. Lumbi mei ne oppleantur illusionibus, Pse/. xxxvii. 7. Sed erudiant me de nocte renes mei, sal. xvi.
8. Verum absque gravi terrore. Custodi me a caliginoso Peccati somno, Omnemque terrenum, et pravum sensum in me sopito. Concede mihi somnum facilem, omnique imaginatione Carnah et Satanica liberum. Invisibiles mei hostes quam sint insomnes, probe nosti, Domine, Misereque me: carnis infirmitatem, — qui me formasti. Protegat me ala misericordie tux. Expergefacias me in tempore opportuno, in tempore orationis, Psa/. xxxii.
7. Et da ad te de luce vigilare, Psa/. lxiii. 1. ad te glonificandum,
et colendum.
Notes
- 1 ↩ut laboris sic peccati cessatio is correlative: sleep as cessation of labor, so also of sin. Rendered as 'a resting from labor and from sin alike' to keep the parallel force in natural English.
- 2 ↩Source reads 'nee'; treated as a misprint for 'nec' in the second negative pair (nec...nec).
- 3 ↩Pse/ is a psalm citation marker; completed by the following 'xxxvii.' The petition inverts/quotes the psalm line about loins filled with illusions.
- 4 ↩Roman numeral psalm number completing the preceding Ps. citation (likely Psalm 37 Vulgate).
- 5 ↩Arabic numeral appears to mark the next daily-prayer item; neighboring section begins with '8.'
- 6 ↩renes is the biblical 'reins'—the deep seat of conscience and desire. Rendered 'inmost being' for modern readability while keeping the interior sense; not the anatomical kidneys.
- 7 ↩Trailing 'sal.' is treated as a damaged psalm abbreviation (cf. neighboring 'Psa/.').
- 8 ↩Roman numeral completing the preceding psalm citation (likely Psalm 16).
- 9 ↩Verum may be affirmative ("indeed/truly") or lightly adversative ("but"). Rendered as affirmative continuation of the night-prayer petition for peaceful sleep.
- 10 ↩in me sopito is ablative and may be read as an ablative absolute ("when I am asleep") or as the desired state of the earthly/wicked inclination ("put to sleep in me"). The latter fits the petition structure better and is adopted here.
- 11 ↩Source Carnah is treated as a corruption of carnali (carnal), agreeing with imaginatione; Satanica is read as satanica with the same noun.
- 12 ↩Misereque me is nonstandard beside classical miserere mei; read as a petition for mercy (miserere-type imperative) with carnis infirmitatem as the object of pity.
- 13 ↩Source misericordie tux corrected to misericordiae tuae ("of your mercy").
- 14 ↩Source reads 'glonificandum'; translated as intended 'glorificandum' (to glorify).
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