Page:The poem-book of the Gael - Hull.djvu/58

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16
THE SALTAIR NA RANN
King very youthful, King aged long ago,[1]King who fashioned the heavens about the pure sun,King of all the gracious saints,a King gentle, comely, shapely.
The King who created the pure heavenly housefor the angels without transgression,land of holy ones, of the sons of life,[2]a plain fair, long, spacious.
He arranged a noble, peaceful[3] abode,stable, under the regal courses,a comely, clear, perfect, bright circuit,for the wondrous folk of penitence.
My King from the beginning over the host,"sanctus Dominus Sabaoth,"to whom is chanted upon the heights, with loving guidance, (?)the melody of the four-and-twenty white-robed saints.
The King who ordained the perfect choirof the four-and-twenty holy ones,sweetly they chant the chant to the host"sanctus Deus Sabaoth."
  1. ↑ Perhaps Ancient of Days.
  2. ↑ Mac bethad may mean "a sinless man," as mac báis, "son of death," means a sinful man.
  3. ↑ We take síd to be an adjective; it might also mean "a fairy mound," but this is hardly applicable here.
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