O Deus Ego Amo Te
Encyclopedia
O Deus Ego Amo Te - the first line of two Latin lyrics sometimes attributed to St. Francis Xavier, but of uncertain date and authorship. The one whose first stanza runs:
O Deus ego amo te,
Nam prior tu amasti me;
En libertate privo me
Ut sponte vinctus sequar te
has four additional stanzas in similar rhythm, the last three being apparently a paraphrase of part of a prayer in the "Contemplatio ad amorem spiritualem in nobis excitandum" of St. Ignatius Loyola's Spiritual: "Take, O Lord, my entire liberty … whatever I have or possess you have bestowed on me; back to thee I give it all, and to the rule of thy will deliver it absolutely. Give me only thy love and thy grace and I am rich enough; nor do I ask anything more." The hymn (probably first printed in the "Symphonia Sirenum", Cologne
, 1695) received in Zabuesnig's "Katholische Kirchengesänge" (Augsburg, 1822), the title of "The Desire of St. Ignatius". Father Caswall
's beautiful version appeared in his "Masque of Mary" etc. (1858), and in his "Hymns and Poems" (1873); also in various Catholic
hymnbooks (e.g. "Roman Hymnal", New York
, 1884; Toner's "Catholic Church Hymnal", New York
, 1905; and in Ould's "The Book of Hymns", Edinburgh
, 1910). The hymn was translated by J. Keble, J.W. Hewett, E.C. Benedict, H. M. Macgill, S.W. Duffield.
The first stanza of the companion hymn is:–
There are four additional stanzas in irregular rhythm, while a variant form adds as a final line: "Et solum quia Deus es" (this given in Moorson's "A Historical Companion to Hymns Ancient and Modern", 2nd ed., Cambridge
, 1903, p. 176). The hymn has been appropriately styled the "love-sigh" of St. Francis Xavier , who, it is fairly certain, composed the original Spanish
sonnet "No me meuve, mi Dios, para quererte" –on which the various Latin versions are based, about the year 1546. There is not, however, sufficient reason for crediting to him any Latin version. The form given above appeared in the "Cœleste Palmetum" (Cologne, 1696). An earlier Latin version by Joannes Nadasi in his "Pretiosæ occupationes morientium" (Rome
, 1657), beginning: "Non me movet, Domine, ad amandum te". Nadasi again translated it in 1665. F. X. Drebitka ("Hymnus Francisci Faludi", Budapest
, 1899) gives these versions, and one by Petrus Possinus in 1667. In 1668 J. Scheffler gave, in his "Heilige Seelenlust", a German
translation–"Ich liebe Gott, und zwar unsonst" – of a version beginning "Amo Deum, sed libere". The form of the hymn indicated above has been translated into English
verse about twenty-five times, is found in Catholic and non-Catholic hymn-books, and is evidently highly prized by non-Catholics. Thus, the Rev. Dr. Duffield, a Presbyterian, speaks of both hymns in glowing terms, in his "Latin Hymn Writers and Their Hymns" (New York
, 1889): "From the higher critical standpoint, then, these hymns are not unacceptable as Xavier's own work. They feel as if they belonged to his age and to his life. They are transfused and shot through by a personal sense of absorption into divine love, which has fused and crystallized them in its fiercest heat" (p. 300). The Scriptural
text for both hymns might well be II Cor., v, 14, 15, or perhaps better still I John, iv, 19 – "Let us therefore love God, because God hath first loved us". The text of both hymns is given in Daniel's "Thesaurus Hymnologicus", II, 335; of the second hymn, with notes, in March's "Latin Hymns", 190, 307 etc.
O Deus ego amo te,
Nam prior tu amasti me;
En libertate privo me
Ut sponte vinctus sequar te
has four additional stanzas in similar rhythm, the last three being apparently a paraphrase of part of a prayer in the "Contemplatio ad amorem spiritualem in nobis excitandum" of St. Ignatius Loyola's Spiritual: "Take, O Lord, my entire liberty … whatever I have or possess you have bestowed on me; back to thee I give it all, and to the rule of thy will deliver it absolutely. Give me only thy love and thy grace and I am rich enough; nor do I ask anything more." The hymn (probably first printed in the "Symphonia Sirenum", Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, 1695) received in Zabuesnig's "Katholische Kirchengesänge" (Augsburg, 1822), the title of "The Desire of St. Ignatius". Father Caswall
Edward Caswall
Edward Caswall was an Anglican clergyman and hymn writer who converted to Roman Catholicism.He was born at Yateley, Hampshire, July 15, 1814 son of Rev. R. C. Caswall, sometime Vicar of Yateley, Hampshire...
's beautiful version appeared in his "Masque of Mary" etc. (1858), and in his "Hymns and Poems" (1873); also in various Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
hymnbooks (e.g. "Roman Hymnal", New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, 1884; Toner's "Catholic Church Hymnal", New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, 1905; and in Ould's "The Book of Hymns", Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, 1910). The hymn was translated by J. Keble, J.W. Hewett, E.C. Benedict, H. M. Macgill, S.W. Duffield.
The first stanza of the companion hymn is:–
- O Deus ego amo te,
- Nec amo te ut salves me,
- Aut quia non amantes te
- Æterno punis igne.
There are four additional stanzas in irregular rhythm, while a variant form adds as a final line: "Et solum quia Deus es" (this given in Moorson's "A Historical Companion to Hymns Ancient and Modern", 2nd ed., Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, 1903, p. 176). The hymn has been appropriately styled the "love-sigh" of St. Francis Xavier , who, it is fairly certain, composed the original Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
sonnet "No me meuve, mi Dios, para quererte" –on which the various Latin versions are based, about the year 1546. There is not, however, sufficient reason for crediting to him any Latin version. The form given above appeared in the "Cœleste Palmetum" (Cologne, 1696). An earlier Latin version by Joannes Nadasi in his "Pretiosæ occupationes morientium" (Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, 1657), beginning: "Non me movet, Domine, ad amandum te". Nadasi again translated it in 1665. F. X. Drebitka ("Hymnus Francisci Faludi", Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, 1899) gives these versions, and one by Petrus Possinus in 1667. In 1668 J. Scheffler gave, in his "Heilige Seelenlust", a German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
translation–"Ich liebe Gott, und zwar unsonst" – of a version beginning "Amo Deum, sed libere". The form of the hymn indicated above has been translated into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
verse about twenty-five times, is found in Catholic and non-Catholic hymn-books, and is evidently highly prized by non-Catholics. Thus, the Rev. Dr. Duffield, a Presbyterian, speaks of both hymns in glowing terms, in his "Latin Hymn Writers and Their Hymns" (New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, 1889): "From the higher critical standpoint, then, these hymns are not unacceptable as Xavier's own work. They feel as if they belonged to his age and to his life. They are transfused and shot through by a personal sense of absorption into divine love, which has fused and crystallized them in its fiercest heat" (p. 300). The Scriptural
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
text for both hymns might well be II Cor., v, 14, 15, or perhaps better still I John, iv, 19 – "Let us therefore love God, because God hath first loved us". The text of both hymns is given in Daniel's "Thesaurus Hymnologicus", II, 335; of the second hymn, with notes, in March's "Latin Hymns", 190, 307 etc.