Joan. iii. 1-21.
Nox erat, et Christum, Doctor male docte, petebas
In Christo tenebras depositure tuas.
Ille autem multo dum te bonus irrigat ore,
Atque per arcanas ducit in alta vias,
Sol venit, et primo pandit se flore diei,
Ludit et in dubiis aureus horror aquis.
Sol oritur; sed adhuc, et adhuc tamen, o bone, nescis.
Sol oritur, tecum nox tamen est, et adhuc
. . . . .
Non coeli, illa fuit, nox fuit illa tua.
_Nicodemus._
'Twas night; and, Teacher all untaught,
Thy darkness thou to Christ hast brought
But while attent He speaks to thee
Benignant words, that thou mayst see,
Leading higher still and higher,
As thy yearnings do aspire,
Guiding thee, by sure grace given,
Through secret paths that reach to heaven;
Lo, the Sun on thee is risen,
Bursting from his cloudy prison,
Showing Him, the Life, the Way,
Flushing with first bloom of day,
Quivering with a golden light
Such as on wav'ring seas gleams bright.
The Sun is risen; yet darkness lies,
Good Nicodemus, on thine eyes;
But the night's thine own; for, lo,
All heav'n above doth lustrous glow. G.