Salvete, Flores Martyrum

Salvete, flores martyrum, is the beginning of the famous hymn written by Prudentius of Spain (q.v.), and which is used in the Latin Church on Innocents' Day, the second day after Christmas. This hymn, of which the first stanza runs thus,

"Salvete, flores martyrum, Quos lucis ipso in limine Christi insecutor sustulit, Ceu turbo nascentes rosas,"

has been translated into English by Chandler, Hymns of the Primitive Church, "Hail, infant martyrs! newborn victims, hail!" by Caswall, Hymns and Poems, Original and Translated, "Flowers of martyrdom, all hail!" and Neale, "All hail, ye infant martyr-flowers!" German translations are given in Bassler, Konigsfeld, Rambach, and Simrock; while the original is found in Trench (p. 121), Daniel (1, 124), Simrock, Rambach, Bassler, and Konigsfeld. (B.P.)