medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Preface (6)
We come at last to the Embolism, which is the filling in the sandwich
and varies according to the season or the kind of Mass being
celebrated. Fr Ambrose will correct me if I am wrong, but I believe
this embolism to be a feature only of western liturgies; the eastern
ones, so far as I know, have fixed and unchanging prefaces.
Thus, the one for Christmas expresses the mystery of the incarnation of
the Word, as follows:
Quia per incarnati Verbi mysterium,
nova mentis nostrĉ oculis lux tuĉ claritatis infulsit:
ut dum visibiliter Deum cognoscimus,
per hunc in invisibilium amorem rapiamur.
The present translation, which is somewhat free, is as follows:
In the wonder of the incarnation
your eternal Word has brought to the eyes of faith
a new and radiant vision of your glory.
In him we see our God made visible
and so are caught up in love of the God we cannot see.
There is a proposed new translation, which I have just reviewed, and
which it would be improper to disclose in this forum, but I might say
that a problem I have with the present translation is that it regularly
omits the 'quia' or equivalent which links the embolism to the
protocol, making a separate sentence of the embolism. To me this
further diminishes the element of thanksgiving in the preface. The
embolism takes up the statement in the protocol that it is right to
give thanks to God, and explains why it is particularly right to do so
at the moment; the eschatocol then joins our thanks with the praises of
the heavenly host. To put the matter in its simplest form:
Dialogue: Let us give thanks to the Lord or God. It is right and
fitting to do so.
Protocol: It is indeed right to give you thanks, always and
everywhere.
Embolism: But is especially appropriate to give you thanks at this
time, because ...
Eschatocol: And therefore we join with the powers of heaven, saying:
Acclamation: Holy, holy, holy ...
The present translation in effect omits the opening phrase of the
embolism and goes straight into the main event: "You have done this,
you have done that." I expect to hear God reply one day: "Indeed I
have, but why do you tell me this thing, which I know so well already?"
Bill.
=====
____________________________________________________________
Yahoo! Messenger - Communicate instantly..."Ping"
your friends today! Download Messenger Now
http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com/download/index.html
**********************************************************************
To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
to: [log in to unmask]
To send a message to the list, address it to:
[log in to unmask]
To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
to: [log in to unmask]
In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
[log in to unmask]
For further information, visit our web site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
|