Page:History of the German people at the close of the Middle Ages vol1.djvu/278

266 HISTORY OF THE GERMAN PEOPLE Thou comforter of the penitent ! He who seeks Thee will be comforted and saved.' ' Jesus ! sweetest source of the heart, Thou shinest more brilliantly than the sun. Thy goodness chases away all sorrow and all the vanity of the world.' ' No tongue can say, no pen express, He alone who has felt sorrow knows the sweetness of loving Jesus.' ' Had I sacrificed, my young life to God, my Creator, He would have given me His kingdom. Oh, what happiness that would have been ! ' ' He suffered a painful death for us. He forsook His kingdom, and for us fought valiantly.' 'Had I to give up the world it would cost me little. I shall turn to Jesus, and to Him alone.' 1 The Christmas carols, especially those relating to the flight into Egypt, are particularly expressive of the deep religious feeling of the fifteenth century. Their naive and childlike simplicity is unsurpassed in the realm of poetry. There are more than a hundred of such Christmas melodies extant, the best of which is the following : ' Out of a delicate root came forth a rose. It sprang from Jesse, as our fathers tell us, and at midnight blossomed the little bud amidst the winter's cold.' Among all creatures the Blessed Virgin is the most highly venerated, as ' the epitome of all the virtues ' and the most powerful intercessor with the Eedeemer : ' I have chosen a lovely maiden. She is of high birth and my heart's delight. Yea, for many years are her praises sung. She hails from noble origin, and comes from high degree. She is like a wonderful garden filled with fair flowers. My weariness has ceased since I have beheld her. She is the crown of 1 Uhland, i. p. 866.