>On 21 May 1998 Bill East <[log in to unmask]> wrote: <snipped>
>
>Jesu nostra redemptio
>
>The office of Compline, the last of the daily services to be recited
before
>retiring to bed, had a quite small range of office hymns. Through the
year
>the "Te lucis ante terminum" (Before the ending of the day) was sung,
every
>day of the week. In Lent the "Christe qui lux es et dies" (O Christ,
who
>art the Light and Day) was substituted; in Passiontide the "Cultor
Dei,
>memento" (Servant of God, remember) of Prudentius; and at the
Ascension,
>"Jesu nostra redemptio" (O Christ, our hope, our heart's desire).
As a point of (possible) interest, the current editio typica of the
Liturgia Horarum has a slightly different assignment for Compline hymns.
Per annum, the common 'Te lucis ante terminum' is given with 'Christe
qui splendor et dies' as an alternate (ad lib). These two also rotate in
various periods of the Christmas cycle. In Lent, these two are assigned
to specific (alternate) weeks. Then throughout all of the Easter season,
including Ascensiontide, a different hymn, 'Jesu redemptor saeculi,' is
assigned. 'Jesu, nostra redemptio' is assigned only to 1st and 2nd
Vespers of Ascension Day itself.
>Ipsa te cogat pietas
>ut mala nostra superes
>parcendo,
>
>"Pity itself urges you as you rise above our evils by sparing us,"
>
>et voti compotes
>nos tuo vultu saties.
>
>"and you will satisfy us, who are absorbed in prayer, with your face."
>
>(I find those last two lines a bit difficult - perhaps a better
Latinist can
>improve on my translation?)
Certainly not a better Latinist, but with your indulgence I will offer
some thoughts anyway. (1) I think that 'pietas' here may have more of
its classical sense of 'faithfulness,' which is the dominant theme of
scripture in describing God's relationship with human beings. (2) I
would read the 'ut . . . superes' clause as subjunctive of result with
'cogat.' (3) The OLD offers 'having been granted one's prayer' as a
translation of 'compotes voti.' Put these together and one could
translate it along these lines:
(Your) very faithfulness compels you to overcome our evil deeds by
sparing us, and, having granted us our prayer*, to satisfy us with your
countenance.
*our prayer, of course, in the spirit of the hymn and the context of the
day, is to be taken up into heaven with the risen Lord Jesus.
Not poetic, but readable. I suspect that Mt. Angel or Stanbrook likely
has a good singable translation but I have neither of their hymbooks.
>
>It's not one of the best-known, and perhaps not one of
>the best, of the the old Latin hymns, but as so often with these hymns
it is
>sprinkled with allusions to the Bible which are rather lost in Mr
Chandler's
>translation.
That's a very valuable insight, often forgotten. To belabour the
obvious, it's a difficulty that Mr Chandler shares with most
translators. The Latin poetry that endures in the liturgy springs from a
culture and lifestyle steeped in scripture and tradition(s). The words
used are often chosen because of their --to the composers, obvious--
connection with scriptural and liturgical texts. Finding a way to
communicate the many layers of meaning and human experience woven in the
words of such long tradition is a tough task. Again, thanks for your
comments and insights.
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