Ambrose wrote hymns appropriate for morning and evening worship, four of which now extant, can be proved to be of his authorship, _Aeterne rerum conditor_, “Maker of all, eternal King,” _Deus creator omnium_, “Creator of the earth and sky,” _Iam surgit hora tertia_, “Now the third hour draws nigh,” and _Veni redemptor gentium_, “Come Redeemer of the earth.”[7] Many others in keeping with his style and inspiration have been preserved and subjected to critical study with the result that eighteen hymns on varied themes are generally conceded to be Ambrosian. Had Ambrose never conferred upon the church his gift of hymnody he would still remain one of the great Latin Fathers of the fourth century, in his functions as statesman, organizer and scholar. His contribution to ecclesiastical poetry and music have made him influential century after century. In this role he has spoken directly to multitudes of Christians throughout the world, many of whom have been unacquainted with his name or unaware that they were following the Ambrosian tradition of congregational song. (See Illustrative Hymns, I. _Splendor paternae gloriae_, “O Splendor of God’s glory bright.”) Spain shares the honors with Gaul as the birthplace of the earliest hymn writers, claiming first Damasus and then Prudentius, (348-413?), a lawyer, judge and poet of his era. Little is known of his life aside from his literary work which includes two collections of hymns, the _Cathemerinon_, a series for the hours of the day and the ecclesiastical seasons and the _Peristephanon_, a series of much longer poems in praise of the great martyrs of the early church. In his effort to learn more of the circumstances attending their martyrdom, Prudentius went to Rome to visit the scenes made sacred by their death and sufferings. Neither of these collections was written for liturgical use but for devotional reading. Both were destined to be appropriated by compilers of hymnaries, especially in Spain. Hymns from the _Cathemerinon_, either in their original form or in centos, spread throughout the Christian church while the martyr hymns were also drawn upon but to a lesser extent. The hymns selected for festival use are perhaps most familiar today, for example, for Advent, _Corde natus ex parentis ante mundi exordium_, of which the translation “Of the Father’s love begotten,” suggests the original meter. The Epiphany hymn, _O sola magnarum urbium_, “Earth hath many a noble city,” is also well known.[8]