the art

"ond þe þæt selre geceos, ece rædas; oferhyda ne gym"
Beowulf

"choose what is better, the eternal wisdom; heed not the blinding pride"

Monday, July 29, 2013

The Vulgate: Gen. 1.8-1.10


And God called the plane the sky and the second day was made with evening and with morning.
But God said: Allow the waters, which are in one place under the sky, to assemble and allow the desert to appear.
And so it was done.
And God called the desert earth and the bodies of the water he named oceans.
And God saw that it was a good thing.

vocavitque Dues firmamentum caelum et factum est vespere et mane dies secundus dixit vero Deus congregentur aquae quae sub caelo sunt in locum unum et appereat arida factumque est ita et vocavit Deus aridam terram congregationesque aquarum appellavit maria et vidit Deus quod esset bonum


2 comments:

  1. I am really enjoying comparing your translations with the KJB and seeing how much power certain choices in translation have. Rather than "dry land" you chose "desert" and that brings certain connotations I didn't get before.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Rachel. It's amazing how much a difference one word can make. Really, 'dry land' or 'desert' can reasonably be used, but they suggest substantially different images.

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