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Chapter 8PrecesPriv.1.8

Preces Quotidianae

Think on These Things

The prayer opens by invoking Philippians 4:8, asking the Lord to grant a life of virtue and a peaceful end.

Whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute—if there is any virtue, if there is any praise—think about these things and do these things (Phil.✦1 4.✦ 8.)✦ Grant this, Lord. for us Christians—an end to our life free from sin, from shame, and—if it seems good to You—from pain, and a good defense before the fearful and terrible judgment seat—2

A Good Defense at Judgment

The prayer continues by asking for a blameless defense before the judgment seat of Christ.

the judgment seat of Jesus Christ our Lord. Grant this, Lord.3

Lifting the Soul to God

The worshiper sets the Lord before them, lifts up their soul, humbles themselves, and stretches out their hands in longing.

Superessential Essence, uncreated Nature, Creator of the universe: I set you before me, O Lord, in my sight.4 Psalm 16. 9.5 And to you I lift up my soul.✦ I adore you on my knees, and I humble myself under your mighty hand.✦6 1. I stretch out my hands to you; my soul is for you like a land without water.✦7 Psalm 143.

The Tax Collector's Plea

Striking the breast, the worshiper confesses utter sinfulness and begs for mercy like the tax collector.

6. I strike my breast and say with the tax collector,✦8 . I am truly a sinner: God, be merciful to me; I am the worst of sinners.9 1. 7). 1. 1: Beyond the tax collector as a sinner—be merciful to me as you were to the tax collector.10

Father of Mercies, Do Not Despise Me

The prayer concludes by begging the Father's compassion for an unclean worm, a dead dog, and a rotting corpse.

O Father of mercies, I beg you by your fatherly compassion for this unclean worm,11 22.12 6.]13 O Do not despise me.14 A dead dog.15 2.16 A rotting corpse.

Read the original Latin

quzeeunque casta, quzeeunque amabilia, quzeeunque bon:ze famse, si qua virtus, si qua laus, hzc cogitare et h:zec facere, | (PAil. iv. 8.) Concede, Domine. Christianos vit:e nostre exitus, Peccati, pudoris, et, 51 tibi videbitur, doloris expertes, Et defensionem bonam ante tremendum et terribile tri-

bunal Jzsu CunisTI Domini nostri Concede, Domine.

ESSENTIA superessentialis, natura increata, Universi creatrix, Provideo te, Domine, in conspectu meo, Psa/. xvi. 9. Et ad te levo animam meam. Adoro te positis genibus, Et humilior sub potenti manu tua. 1. Expando manus meas ad te, Anima mea sieut terra sine aqua tibi, Psa/. cxliii.

6. Percutio pectus meum, Et dico eum Publicano, £1 . . fpeceatori admodum, Deus propitius esto mihi ; Oe peccatorum primo. 1. 7). 1. 1: Supra Publicanum peccatori Propitius esto tanquam Publicano.

O Pater misericordiarum, Obsecro paterna tua viscera, Vermem immundum, ( Ps. xxii. 6.] o

Ne me despicias 4. Caneni mortuum. 2.

Cadaver putridum.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Phil.4.8;Phil.4.8 — Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise—think on these things. Phil.4.8 — Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise—think on these things.
  2. ↩Phil.4.8 — Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise—think on these things.
  3. ↩Phil.4.8 — Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise—think on these things.
  4. ↩Ps.25.1;Ps.25.1 — Of David. To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul. Ps.25.1 — Of David. To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul.
  5. ↩1Pet.5.6 — Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time.
  6. ↩Ps.143.6;Ps.143.6 — I spread out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a weary land. Selah. Ps.143.6 — I spread out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a weary land. Selah.
  7. ↩Luke.18.13 — But the tax collector, standing far off, was not even willing to lift his eyes to heaven, but kept beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner.'

Notes

  1. 1 ↩Normalized heavy OCR corruption: quzeeunque→quaecumque; bon:ze famse→bonae famae; hzc/h:zec→haec; (PAil.→(Phil.
  2. 2 ↩Reconstructed OCR: vit:e nostre→vitae nostrae; 51→si; sentence truncates mid-word at tri- (tribunal), completed from sense and next-section continuation.
  3. 3 ↩Normalized source is heavily corrupt OCR: 'bunal Jzsu CunisTI Domini nostri Concede, Domine.' Read with the previous section's trailing 'tri-' as 'tribunal Jesu Christi Domini nostri. Concede, Domine.'
  4. 4 ↩ESSENTIA superessentialis is a Dionysian-style address (essence beyond essence). Rendered as Superessential Essence to keep the technical force without pseudo-archaic diction.
  5. 5 ↩Bare numeral 9. may be a prayer-item number in the printed Preces Quotidianae sequence, or a verse marker; the preceding psalm echo is closer to Ps 16:8 than 16:9.
  6. 6 ↩humilior is comparative/adjectival in form; sense in prayer is first-person self-humbling (cf. humiliamini sub potenti manu Dei), not comparative praise of humility.
  7. 7 ↩Normalized sieut as sicut (as/like); otherwise the simile is unreadable.
  8. 8 ↩Reading 'eum Publicano' as 'cum Publicano' (with the tax collector); 'eum' is almost certainly OCR corruption of 'cum'. The trailing '£1' looks like a garbled citation marker, not Latin text.
  9. 9 ↩Corrected 'fpeceatori' to 'peccatori' (long-s/OCR error). Read 'Oe peccatorum primo' as 'O me peccatorum primo' (O me, first of sinners), the natural expansion of the publican's prayer and 1 Timothy 1:15 diction.
  10. 10 ↩'Supra Publicanum peccatori' taken as comparative self-abasement: more a sinner than the publican. 'Propitius esto tanquam Publicano' as petition for the same mercy shown to him.
  11. 11 ↩paterna tua viscera: rendered as fatherly compassion (biblical 'bowels of mercy'); vermem immundum taken as the petitioner's self-description in the accusative.
  12. 12 ↩Fragment of the Psalm citation begun in s1: '(Ps. xxii.' — roman numeral for 22.
  13. 13 ↩Closes the broken citation as Ps. xxii. 6]; verse 6 is the vermis line in the Hebrew/English numbering.
  14. 14 ↩Trailing '4.' in the source is almost certainly a printed note or apparatus mark, not part of the petition; it is omitted from the English surface.
  15. 15 ↩Latin 'Caneni' is almost certainly a corruption of 'Canem' (accusative of canis). Rendered as 'a dead dog' to match neighboring self-abasement epithets ('unclean worm' … 'putrid corpse').
  16. 16 ↩Bare numeral only; almost certainly a printed note, verse, or apparatus mark rather than continuous prayer text.

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