Jam Moesta Quiesce Querela is the beginning of the grand burial-hymn of Prudentius (q.v.). This hymn, which, as Trench says, is "the crowning glory of the poetry of Prudentius," brings before us the ancient worship in deserts and in catacombs, and of which Herder says that no one can read it without feeling his heart moved by its touching tones. The first stanza runs thus in the original:
"Jam moesta quiesce querela, Laerimas suspendite, matres, Nullus suma pignora plangat, Mors haec reparatio vitae est."
And in Caswall's translation:
"Cease, ye tearful mourners, Thus your hearts to rend, Death is life's beginning, Rather than its end."
A German translation is also found in Schaff's Deutsches Gesangbuch, No. 468. (B.P.)
The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature was edited by John McClintock and James Strong. It contains nearly 50,000 articles pertaining to Biblical and other religious literature, people, creeds, etc. It is a fantastic research tool for broad Christian study.
John McClintock was born October 27, 1814 in Philadelphia to Irish immigrants, John and Martha McClintock. He began as a clerk in his father's store, and then became a bookkeeper in the Methodist Book Concern in New York. Here he converted to Methodism and considered joining the ministry. McClintock entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1832 and graduated with high honors three years later. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from the same institution in 1848.WikipediaRead More