[1]There is frequent lament that in the translations of Greek, Latin,
and German hymns into English much of the original beauty is lost.
But the converse is also true: that such translators as Neale,
Brownlie, and Palmer have taken the uncut diamonds of the Greek
and Latin Fathers and so transformed them by their lapidarian
skill that the world-wide Christian Church is rejoicing in their
beauty.
[2]The _Te Deum_ has only slight claims to Greek origin and is
postponed to a later chapter.
[3]In like manner the rationalists of the age of Frederick the Great
of Prussia sought to prevent the use of the Lutheran hymns; the
Arians in the pre-Wesleyan times contended for the psalm versions
without doxologies recognizing the Trinity; in our own day,
extreme Modernists belittle Christian hymns as dogmatic and
unpoetical and urge the use of sociological hymns.
[4]This transfer of the song to clerical singers soon had its
inevitable result. Jerome begins to be apprehensive that the form
of singing would come to have too exclusive consideration. He
complained that those who led the song, like comedians, “smoothed
their throats with soft drinks in order to render their melodies
more impressive, and that the heart alone can properly make melody
to God.“