Give me thy grace, and mercy to increase
In all good works until my life shall cease.



THE INTERPRETATION OF THE NAME CECILIA WHICH BROTHER JACOB
GIVES IN THE "GOLDEN LEGEND"

Of St. Cecilia will I now the name,
Ere I my story tell, the sense expound.
In English, "heaven's lily" we may claim
The true equivalent, for in her abound,
As in a lily flower, the white of grace,
The green of conscience, and the savour sweet
Of holiness. Yet in another place
"Wanting in blindness" they the same repeat.
Or yet another meaning they discern,
And "heaven of peoples" is the sense they find--
Since, as towards the stars poor travellers turn
For guidance, so towards her turns mankind.



THE SECOND NUN'S TALE

THE TALE OF THE LIFE OF ST. CECILIA

From childhood was this maiden fair and bright,
In all the love of Christ instructed well,
And lived in holiness in Heaven's sight,