The hymn Tantum Ergo is commonly sung towards the end of Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. There are at least fifteen plain chant melodies for this hymn, of which this is number I. There is also a metrical tune for this hymn.
Tantum(so great, so much) ergo(therefore) Sacramentum(Sacrament)
Veneremur(let us venerate) cernui(facing downwards)
A sacramentum is something to be kept sacred, a sacrament. Cernui is the plural form of cernuus, with face turned downwards, towards the earth (ad humum), or in other words, bowing.
So far, then, we have: Therefore let us venerate such a great Sacrament with our heads bowed.
In case you’re wondering about the “therefore” (how can you start a text with “therefore”?), the first verse of Tantum Ergo is actually the fifth verse of a longer hymn, Pange Lingua. So this “therefore” means on account of what was said in verse four of that hymn: which was about the Word made flesh making bread and wine to become His body and blood, which senses cannot perceive, but faith believes.
Et(and) antiquum(old) documentum(lesson, example, proof)
Novo(new) cedat(let it yield) ritui(to the rite, religious observance):
We might suspect that documentum has something to do with documents, legal papers, or the like, but we would be wrong. The word comes from the verb doceo, to teach. The endings of novo and ritui1 tell us that they belong together, although separated by cedat, and are the indirect object of that verb (that to which the yielding is done). So the verse continues with “Let the old teaching yield to the new rite.”
Praestet(let it provide, supply) fides(faith) supplementum(supplement)
Sensuum(of the senses) defectui(for the defect).
Supplementum comes from the verb suppleo, to fill up, and means that which fills up, reinforcements, which is what a supplement is. A defectus is a defect, failure, failing, or lack; the form defectui means for the defect. The inability of the senses to perceive invisible, intangible things is not, strictly speaking, a defect, since they were not designed to perceive those things, so “limitation” or “incapacity” would be a better translation here. This gives us: “Let faith make up for what the senses are unable to do.”
Genitori(to the Begetter), Genitoque(and to the Begotten)
Laus(praise) et(and) jubilatio(joyful shouting).
The Begetter and the Begotten are, of course, God the Father and God the Son. Jubilatio comes from the verb jubilo, to raise a shout of joy.
Salus(salvation), honor(honor), virtus(virtue, strength) quoque(also)
Sit(let there be) et(and) benedictio(blessing):
Salus can mean soundness, health, safety, wellness; it is what the Romans wished to one another with their common greeting, Salve. It can sometimes be translated “salvation.” However, God doesn’t need to be saved. He always enjoys something like a super-perfection of health or wellbeing, which we cannot imagine, but we wish Him always to enjoy it.
Virtus is quite a versatile word. It comes from vir, meaning a man: an adult male human being (unlike homo, which means simply a human being, male or female, young or old). So the original meaning of virtus was manhood, manliness, manly strength, and in general all the virtues (excellences) of a man; but it has come to have more extended meanings, including strength, courage, moral virtue, and excellence in general.
So we are saying here something like, “To the Begetter and to the Begotten, let there be praise and joyful shouting, salvation, honor, strength/virtue also, and blessing.”
Procedenti(to the one proceeding) ab(from) utroque(both)
Compar(like, equal) sit(let there be) laudatio(praise).
The One proceeding from Both is the Holy Spirit. So to Him also let there be praise.
Gregory Weber, 2020 March 19
*Literal translations from The Parish Book of Chant, ©2012 CMAA, Creative Commons Attribution 3.0.
Endings of novo and ritui: dative case, masculine, singular.↩