How did I weep in Thy hymns and canticles, sharply affected by the voices of Thy Church sweetly sounding them I Those tones flowed into mine ear, and the truth distilled into my heart, and thence the affection of my devotion over flowed and tears ran down, and they did me good. Not long had the Church of Milan begun to practice this kind of conso1ation and exhortation, the brethren giving great care to the tuneful harmony of voices and hearts. For it was a year, or not much more, since Justina, mother of the boy Emperor Valentinian, persecuted Thy servant Ambrose, on account of her heresy, to which she had been seduced by the Arians. The devout people kept watch in the church, ready to die with their bishop, Thy servant. There my mother, Thy handmaid, bearing a chief part of those anxieties and watchings, lived in prayers. We, though as yet unmelted by the heat of Thy spirit, were nevertheless excited by the alarm and tumult of the city. Then it was first instituted that according to the custom of Eastern regions, hymns and psalms should be sung, lest the people should faint through the fatigue of sorrow, and from that day to this the custom has been retained; and to-day many, indeed almost all, Thy congregations throughout other parts of the world follow that example.
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