Te lucis ante terminum

A while back, I translated a passage from Dante's Purgatorio and commented on a reference to Te Lucis Ante. I sang quietly last night while unable to sleep, and remembered that I hadn't yet translated it for the weblog.

Te lucis ante términum rerum creátor póscimus ut sólita cleméntia sis præsul* ad custódiam.	Before the end of daylight we ask you, creator of all things that with your usual clemency you might be our protector* on the path to safekeeping.
Te corda nostra sómnient, te per sopórem séntiant, tuámque semper glóriam vicína luce cóncinant.	May our hearts dream of you, may they perceive you even in deep sleep, and may they sing your glory ever near to your light.
Vitam salúbrem tríbue nostrum calórum réfice, tætrum noctis calíginem tua collústret cláritas.	Grant a healthy life, refresh our zeal, may your light illumine the awful gloom of night.
Præsta, Pater omnípotens, per Iesum Christum Dóminum, qui tecum in perpétuum regnat cum Sancto Spírito. Amen.	Grant this, almighty Father, through Jesus Christ the Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit reigns for ever. Amen.

*Now this is interesting, and somehow I didn't recall this. In classical Rome, the præsul was a priest who danced before a religious procession, carrying a small oval shield. From this beginning, it evolved into a general meaning of protector or patron.