«DUM, NOCTE PULSA, LUCIFER». – Hymn of the Lauds in the Office of s. Venanzio martyr, written by Cardinal Bona and inserted into the breviary by Clement X.
As dawn heralds the approaching day, so the martyrdom of the young man from Camerino brought the light of the spirit to his fellow citizens. His blood washed away their sins and became the seed of new Christians.
The hymn forms part of the other two for the same feast, and they are certainly by the same author; nevertheless, it stands apart from them through its loftier inspiration and strength of form.
BIBL.: G. Belli, Gli inni del Breviario, Rome 1856, p. 258; V. Terreno, Gli inni dell'Ufficio divino, Mondovì 1932, p. 208; A. Mirra, Gli inni del Breviario romano, Naples 1947, p. 212. Silverio Mattei