To the Lady Radegund
Powerful Radegund, of royal stock in the world —
for whom another kingdom, the heavenly one, remains to be kept —
despising the world, you merited acquiring Christ,
and while you hide enclosed, from here you see above the stars.
You trample the harmful joys of an earthly kingdom
that you may please the King, glad with heaven's favor.
Now you hold narrow things, that you may enter heaven all the wider:
pouring out tears, you will harvest true joys.
And you torture the body, but fasting feeds the soul,
which its Lord preserves by his love alone.
V
Ad domnam Radegundem
Regali de stirpe potens Radegundis in orbe,
altera cui caelis regna tenenda manent,
despiciens mundum meruisti adquirere Christum,
et dum clausa lates, hinc super astra vides.
gaudia terreni conculcas noxia regni,
ut placeas regi laeta favente polo.
nunc angusta tenes, quo caelos largior intres:
diffundens lacrimas gaudia vera metes.
et corpus crucias, animam ieiunia pascunt,
solo quam dominus servat amore suus.
◆
To the Lady Radegund
Powerful Radegund, of royal stock in the world — for whom another kingdom, the heavenly one, remains to be kept — despising the world, you merited acquiring Christ, and while you hide enclosed, from here you see above the stars.
You trample the harmful joys of an earthly kingdom that you may please the King, glad with heaven's favor. Now you hold narrow things, that you may enter heaven all the wider: pouring out tears, you will harvest true joys. And you torture the body, but fasting feeds the soul, which its Lord preserves by his love alone.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.
Latin / Greek Original
V Ad domnam Radegundem Regali de stirpe potens Radegundis in orbe, altera cui caelis regna tenenda manent, despiciens mundum meruisti adquirere Christum, et dum clausa lates, hinc super astra vides. gaudia terreni conculcas noxia regni, ut placeas regi laeta favente polo. nunc angusta tenes, quo caelos largior intres: diffundens lacrimas gaudia vera metes. et corpus crucias, animam ieiunia pascunt, solo quam dominus servat amore suus.