Vale of tears

This article is about the religious phrase. For the battle in the Yom Kippur War, see Valley of Tears.

The phrase vale of tears (Latin vallis lacrimarum) is a Christian phrase referring to the tribulations of life that Christian doctrine says are left behind only when one leaves the world and enters Heaven. The term "valley of tears" is also used sometimes.

The origin of the phrase is uncertain; it is used in the Vulgate in Psalm 83:7 (84:6) and occurs in the writings of Jerome[1] and Boniface,[2] but was perhaps popularized by the hymn "Salve Regina", which at the end of the first stanza mentions "gementes et flentes in hac lacrimarum valle", or "mourning and weeping in this valley of tears". The phrase also appears in the English translation of the German Lutheran hymn known as "Be still, my soul".[3]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Jerome, In Hieremiam prophetam libri vi 5 (CSEL 59, p. 299, line 17); Tractatus lix in psalmos 83 (CCSL 78, line 132); Tractatus lix in psalmos 136 (CCSL 78, line 7)
  2. ↑ Boniface and Lull, Epistolae 112, 129
  3. ↑ "Be Still, My Soul". Cyberhymnal. Retrieved 2012-06-24.


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