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(The Canticle of Simeon).
Found inSt. Luke's Gospel (2:29-32), is the last in historical sequence of the three greatCanticles of theNew Testament, the other two being theMagnificat (Canticle of Mary) and theBenedictus (Canticle of Zachary). All three are styled, by way of eminence, the "Evangelical Canticles" (seeCANTICLE).
The title is formed from the opening words in theLatin Vulgate, "Nunc dimittis servum tuum, Domine" etc.). ("Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord" etc.). The circumstances under whichSimeon uttered his song-petition, thanksgiving, andprophecy are narrated bySt. Luke (2:21-35) (seeCANDLEMAS). The words following those quoted above, "according to thy word in peace", are explained by2:26: "And he had received an answer from theHoly Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen theChrist of the Lord." Brief though theCanticle is, it abounds inOld-Testament allusions. Thus, in the following verses, "Because my eyes have seen thysalvation" alludes toIsaiah 52:10, rendered afterwards bySt. Luke (3:6), "And all flesh shall see thesalvation ofGod".Verse 31, "Which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples" accords with thePsalmist (97:2); andverse 32, "A light to therevelation of theGentiles, and theglory of thy peopleIsrael", recallsIsaiah 42:6.
The text of the Nunc Dimittis is given in full in the brief eveningprayer found in theApostolic Constitutions (Book VII, no. 48) (P.G., 1, 1057). In the Roman Office, thecanticle is assigned toComplin. If St. Benedict did not originate this canonical Hour, he gave to it itsliturgical character; but he nevertheless did not include theCanticle, which was afterwards incorporated into the richerComplin Service of theRoman Rite, where it is preceded by the beautifulresponsory, "In manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum" (Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit) etc., with the Antiphon following, "Salva nos, Domine, vigilantes, custodi nos dormientes" (O Lord, keep us waking, guard us sleeping) etc., all this harmonizing exquisitely with the spirit of the Nunc Dimittis and with the general character of the closing Hour of the Office.
In theblessing of thecandles on thefeast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin, theCanticle, of course, receives great prominence both in its text and in the references toSimeon in the precedingprayers. Its last verse, "Lumen ad revelationem" etc., forms the Antiphon which not only precedes and follows theCanticle, but also precedes every verse of it and the Gloria Patri and Sicut erat of the concludingdoxology. The symbolism of theCanticle and of its Antiphon is further emphasized by the lightedcandles ofCandlemas. The completeCanticle also forms the Tract in the Mass of thefeast, when the 2 February followsSeptuagesima.
For a fuller explanation of the Nunc Dimittis, the following commentaries (in English) may be consulted: CORNELIUS A LAPIDE, St. Luke's Gospel, tr. MOSSMAN (London, 1892), 113-116; MCEVILLY, An Exposition of the Gospel of St. Luke (New York, 1888), 61, 62; BREEN, A Harmonized Exposition of the Four Gospels, I (Rochester, N.Y., 1899), 209-16; MARBACH, Carmina Scripturarum (Strasburg, 1907), 438-40 (gives detailed references to the use of its verses in Mass and Office); The Office of Compline, in Latin and English, according to the Roman Rite, with full Gregorian Notation (Rome, 1907); SQUIRE in GROVE, Dict. of Music and Musicians, gives s.v. Nunc Dimittis, an explanation of its use in Anglican Evensong; HUSENBETH, The Missal for the Use of the Laity (London, 1903), 562-66, for the prayers and canticles on the feast of the Purification.
APA citation.Henry, H.(1911).Nunc Dimittis. InThe Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company.http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11159a.htm
MLA citation.Henry, Hugh."Nunc Dimittis."The Catholic Encyclopedia.Vol. 11.New York: Robert Appleton Company,1911.<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11159a.htm>.
Transcription.This article was transcribed for New Advent by Michael T. Barrett.Dedicated to Dr. Wallace Long and the Willamette University choirs.
Ecclesiastical approbation.Nihil Obstat. February 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor.Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
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