Canticum Canticorum 4
1 Quam pulchra es, amica mea! quam pulchra es! Oculi tui columbarum, absque eo quod intrinsecus latet. Capilli tui sicut greges caprarum quæ ascenderunt de monte Galaad.
Lo, thou [art] fair, my friend, lo, thou [art] fair, Thine eyes [are] doves behind thy veil, Thy hair as a row of the goats That have shone from mount Gilead,
2 Dentes tui sicut greges tonsarum quæ ascenderunt de lavacro; omnes gemellis fœtibus, et sterilis non est inter eas.
Thy teeth as a row of the shorn ones That have come up from the washing, For all of them are forming twins, And a bereaved one is not among them.
3 Sicut vitta coccinea labia tua, et eloquium tuum dulce. Sicut fragmen mali punici, ita genæ tuæ, absque eo quod intrinsecus latet.
As a thread of scarlet [are] thy lips, And thy speech [is] comely, As the work of the pomegranate [is] thy temple behind thy veil,
4 Sicut turris David collum tuum, quæ ædificata est cum propugnaculis; mille clypei pendent ex ea, omnis armatura fortium.
As the tower of David [is] thy neck, built for an armoury, The chief of the shields are hung on it, All shields of the mighty.
5 Duo ubera tua sicut duo hinnuli, capreæ gemelli, qui pascuntur in liliis.
Thy two breasts [are] as two fawns, Twins of a roe, that are feeding among lilies.
6 Donec aspiret dies, et inclinentur umbræ, vadam ad montem myrrhæ, et ad collem thuris.
Till the day doth break forth, And the shadows have fled away, I will get me unto the mountain of myrrh, And unto the hill of frankincense.
7 Tota pulchra es, amica mea, et macula non est in te.
Thou [art] all fair, my friend, And a blemish there is not in thee. Come from Lebanon, O spouse,
8 Veni de Libano, sponsa mea: veni de Libano, veni, coronaberis: de capite Amana, de vertice Sanir et Hermon, de cubilibus leonum, de montibus pardorum.
Come from Lebanon, come thou in. Look from the top of Amana, From the top of Shenir and Hermon, From the habitations of lions, From the mountains of leopards.
9 Vulnerasti cor meum, soror mea, sponsa; vulnerasti cor meum in uno oculorum tuorum, et in uno crine colli tui.
Thou hast emboldened me, my sister-spouse, Emboldened me with one of thine eyes, With one chain of thy neck.
10 Quam pulchræ sunt mammæ tuæ, soror mea sponsa! pulchriora sunt ubera tua vino, et odor unguentorum tuorum super omnia aromata.
How wonderful have been thy loves, my sister-spouse, How much better have been thy loves than wine, And the fragrance of thy perfumes than all spices.
11 Favus distillans labia tua, sponsa; mel et lac sub lingua tua: et odor vestimentorum tuorum sicut odor thuris.
Thy lips drop honey, O spouse, Honey and milk [are] under thy tongue, And the fragrance of thy garments [Is] as the fragrance of Lebanon.
12 Hortus conclusus soror mea, sponsa, hortus conclusus, fons signatus.
A garden shut up [is] my sister-spouse, A spring shut up — a fountain sealed.
13 Emissiones tuæ paradisus malorum punicorum, cum pomorum fructibus, cypri cum nardo.
Thy shoots a paradise of pomegranates, With precious fruits,
14 Nardus et crocus, fistula et cinnamomum, cum universis lignis Libani; myrrha et aloë, cum omnibus primis unguentis.
Cypresses with nard — nard and saffron, Cane and cinnamon, With all trees of frankincense, Myrrh and aloes, with all chief spices.
15 Fons hortorum, puteus aquarum viventium, quæ fluunt impetu de Libano.
A fount of gardens, a well of living waters, And flowings from Lebanon!
16 Surge, aquilo, et veni, auster: perfla hortum meum, et fluant aromata illius. Veniat dilectus meus in hortum suum, et comedat fructum pomorum suorum.
Awake, O north wind, and come, O south, Cause my garden to breathe forth, its spices let flow, Let my beloved come to his garden, And eat its pleasant fruits!
