Excelsior!

Iam lūcēscēbat, et frātrēs
Sānctī Bernardī vigilēs
Ōrābant precēs solitās,
Cum vōx clāmāvit per aurās,
Excelsior!

A traveler, by the faithful hound,
Half-buried in the snow was found,
Still grasping in his hand of ice
That banner with the strange device,
Excelsior!

Sēmi-sepultus viātor
Can(e) ā fīdō reperītur,
Comprēndēns pugnō gelidō
Illud vēxillum cum signō,
Excelsior!

There in the twilight cold and gray,
Lifeless, but beautiful, he lay,
And from the sky, serene and far,
A voice fell, like a falling star,
Excelsior!


Iacet corpus exanimum
Sed lūce frīgidā pulchrum;
Et caelō procul exiēns