Collect of the Week - 47
Missa Dominicalis hebdomadae quintae post Pascha
Deus, a quo cuncta bona procedunt, largire supplicibus tuis, ut cogitemus,
te inspirante, quae recta sunt, et te gubernante eadem faciamus. Per Dominum.
BCP:
O Lord, from whom all good things do come; Grant to us thy humble servants,
that by thy holy inspiration we may think those things that be good, and by
thy merciful guiding may perform the same; through our Lord Jesus Christ.
The BCP version is quite a good translation of the Latin, with only one
small addition.
I have no amendments to propose to the first clause.
In the second, 'largire' as we have often noticed, indicates something
rather more bountiful than 'grant'. It has connotations of generosity - of
largesse, in fact.
'humble servants' is a perfectly reasonable translation of 'supplicibus',
literally those who plead on bended knee.
Note the balance between God 'inspiring' good thoughts, which are interior,
and God taking the helm and steering us towards good works. We have often
noted the nautical metaphor. The balance between right thoughts and right
actions derives from the epistle, which is James 1:22ff., 'Be ye doers of
the Word, and not hearers only.'
'merciful' is the only addition and is something of a cliché in the BCP -
one wonders how appropriate it is in the context of 'guiding'? If one
wished to expand the Latin, perhaps 'sure guiding' is more appropriate. Or
'gentle guiding' if one wished to stress that God does not impose his
guidance with a heavy hand.
With that small quibble, one has to say that it's a pretty good translation.
Oriens.
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