Augustine confessions trans thomas williams review năm 2024
In his book Three Philosophies of Life, Dr. Peter Kreeft explains how he rediscovered St. Augustine’s Confessions: Show “Only once have I ever encountered a translation that made such a difference, that so opened up for me a previously closed book. That was Frank Sheed’s translation of Augustine’s Confessions, which I found to be as living as molten lava. The most widely used translation of the Confessions is the one by a Mr. Pine-Coffin, and it is worthy of his name. It is a dead translation. Sheed’s is living.” Poor Mr. Pine-Coffin. Witty jabs aside, I completely agree with Kreeft. Sheed’s translation captures Augustine’s poetic verve better than any other I’ve read. I’ve gone through it twice now. If you’re starting the Confessions for the first time, or perhaps restarting after a failed attempt, check out the Sheed version.At Word on Fire, we’ve published a beautiful hardcover edition of the Sheed translation as part of our Word on Fire Classics line of books. The volume includes the full text of the Confessions along with an introduction by Bishop Barron. Besides the Sheed translation, I’ve heard great things about Maria Boulding’s translation. Elizabeth Scalia raved about the book and the blogger Fr. Z described it as “[t]he best translation for most people.” Rowan Williams, the former Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, claimed, “[Boulding] has perfected an elegant and flowing style.” If you’re interested in Boulding’s translation, get the Ignatius Press Critical Edition which pairs Boulding’s text with extensive notes and commentary by top Augustine scholars. But of the making of new translations there is no end. The renowned translator Sarah Ruden delivered a new contender in 2017, and just this year a philosophy professor, Thomas Williams published one that especially conveys the philosophical nuance in Augustine’s writing. (Trevin Wax reviewed the Ruden translation here, and Eve Tushnet reviewed the Thomas Williams translation.) Sero te amavi, pulchritudo tam antiqua et tam nova, sero te amavi! et ecce intus eras et ego foris, et ibi te quaerebam, et in ista formosa, quae fecisti, deformis inruebam. mecum eras, et tecum non eram. ea me tenebant longe a te, quae si in te non essent, non essent. vocasti et clamasti et rupisti surditatem meam: coruscasti, splenduisti et fugasti caecitatem meam: fragrasti, et duxi spiritum, et anhelo tibi, gustavi et esurio et sitio, tetigisti me, et exarsi in pacem tuam. Of this passage, the British scholar Henry Chadwick noted: “Augustine’s Latin in this chapter is a work of high art.” I’ll excerpt various English translations of the passage below. This isn’t necessarily a comprehensive list, but it should be close. Boulding, Maria (1997): Late have I loved you, Beauty so ancient and so new, late have I loved you! Lo, you were within, but I outside, seeking there for you, and upon the shapely things you have made I rushed headlong, I, misshapen. You were with me, but I was not with you. They held me back far from you, those things which would have no being were they not in you. You called, shouted, broke through my deafness; you flared, blazed, banished my blindness; you lavished your fragrance, I gasped, and now I pant for you; I tasted you, and I hunger and thirst; you touched me, and I burned for your peace. Bourke, Vernon (1953): Late have I loved thee, O Beauty so ancient and so new, late have I loved thee! And behold, thou wert within and I was without. I was looking for thee out there, and I threw myself, deformed as I was, upon those well-formed things which thou hast made. Thou wert with me, yet I was not with thee. These things held me far from thee, things which would not have existed had they not been in thee. Thou didst call and cry out and burst in upon my deafness; thou didst shine forth and glow and drive away my blindness; thou didst send forth thy fragrance, and I drew in my breath, and now I pant for thee; I have tasted, and now I hunger and thirst; thou didst touch me, and I was inflamed with desire for thy peace. Burke, Cormac (2012) (modernized Pusey): Too late loved I you, O you Beauty of ancient days, yet ever new! too late I loved you! And behold, you were within, and I abroad, and there I searched for you; deformed I, plunging amid those fair forms which you had made. You were with me, but I was not with you. Things held me far from you, which, unless they were in you, were not at all. You called, and shouted, and burst my deafness. You flashed, shone, and scattered my blindness. You breathed odours, and I drew in breath and panted for you. I tasted, and hunger and thirst. You touched me, and I burned for your peace. Burton, Philip (2001): Late have I loved you, Beauty so ancient and so new, late have I loved you! Behold, you were within and I was without; and there I sought you, plunging unformed as I was into the fair things that you have formed and made. You were with me, and I was not with you. I was kept far from you by the things that would not have been, were they not in you. You called and cried aloud, and shattered my deafness; you flashed and blazed like lightning, and routed my blindness. You cast your fragrance, and I drew breath, yet pant for you; I tasted, yet hunger and thirst; you touched me, and I was on fire for your peace. Chadwick, Henry (1991): Late have I loved you, beauty so old and so new: late have I loved you. And see, you were within and I was in the external world and sought you there, and in my unlovely state I plunged into those lovely created things which you made. You were with me, and I was not with you. The lovely things kept me far from you, though if they did not have their existence in you, they had no existence at all. You called and cried out loud and shattered my deafness. You were radiant and resplendent, you put to flight my blindness. You were fragrant, and I drew in my breath and now pant after you. I tasted you, and I feel but hunger and thirst for you. You touched me, and I am set on fire to attain the peace which is yours. Hammond, Carolyn J. B. (2016) (Loeb Classical Library): Late have I loved you, O Beauty so old and so new: late have I loved you! And look! You were within me, and I was outside myself: and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created: you were with me, but I was not with you. Those created things kept me far away from you: yet if they had not been in you, they would have not been at all. You called and shouted: and broke through my deafness. You flamed and shone: and banished my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me: and I drew in my breath and I pant for you. I have tasted you: and now I hunger and thirst for more. You have touched me: and I have burned for your peace. O’Rourke, Benignus (2013): [At this time, O’Rourke has only translated Confessions books I-IX. He hasn’t translated books X-XIII. This quotation comes from Book X.] Outler, Albert (1955): Belatedly I loved thee, O Beauty so ancient and so new, belatedly I loved thee. For see, thou wast within and I was without, and I sought thee out there. Unlovely, I rushed heedlessly among the lovely things thou hast made. Thou wast with me, but I was not with thee. These things kept me far from thee; even though they were not at all unless they were in thee. Thou didst call and cry aloud, and didst force open my deafness. Thou didst gleam and shine, and didst chase away my blindness. Thou didst breathe fragrant odors and I drew in my breath; and now I pant for thee. I tasted, and now I hunger and thirst. Thou didst touch me, and I burned for thy peace. Pilkington, J. G. (1886) (modernized at New Advent): Too late did I love thee, O Fairness, so ancient, and yet so new! Too late did I love thee! For behold, thou wert within, and I without, and there did I seek thee; I, unlovely, rushed heedlessly among the things of beauty thou madest. Thou wert with me, but I was not with thee. Those things kept me far from thee, which, unless they were in thee, were not. Thou calledst, and criedst aloud, and forcedst open my deafness. Thou didst gleam and shine, and chase away my blindness. Thou didst exhale odours, and I drew in my breath and do pant after thee. I tasted, and do hunger and thirst. Thou didst touch me, and I burned for thy peace. Pine-Coffin, R. S. (1961): I have learnt to love you late, Beauty at once so ancient and so new! I have learnt to love you late! You were within me, and I was in the world outside myself. I searched for you outside myself, and disfigured as I was, I fell upon the lovely things of your creation. You were with me, but I was not with you. The beautiful things of this world kept me far from you and yet, if they had not been in you, they would have had no being at all. You called me; you cried aloud to me; you broke the barrier of my deafness. You shone upon me; your radiance enveloped me; you put my blindness to flight. You shed your fragrance about me; I drew breath and now I gasp for your sweet odor. I tasted you, and now I hunger and thirst for you. You touched me, and I am inflamed with love of your peace. Pusey, E. B. (1838): Too late loved I thee, O thou Beauty of ancient days, yet ever new! too late I loved thee! And behold, thou wert within, and I abroad, and there I searched for thee; deformed I, plunging amid those fair forms which thou hadst made. Thou wert with me, but I was not with thee. Things held me far from thee, which, unless they were in thee, were not at all. Thou calledst, and shoutedst, and burstest my deafness. Thou flashedst, shonest, and scatteredst my blindness. Thou breathedst odours, and I drew in breath and panted for thee. I tasted, and hunger and thirst. Thou touchedst me, and I burned for thy peace. Ruden, Sarah (2017): I took too long to fall in love with you, beauty so ancient and so new. I took too long to fall in love with you! But there you were, inside, and I was outside—and there I searched for you, and into those shapely things you made, my misshapen self went sliding. You were with me, but I wasn’t with you. Those things, which wouldn’t exist unless they existed in you, held me back, far from you. You called and shouted and shattered my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you put my blindness to flight. You smelled sweet, and I drew breath, and now I pant for you. I tasted you, and now I’m starving and parched; you touched me, and I burst into flame with a desire for your peace. Ryan, John Kenneth (1960): Too late have I loved you, O Beauty so ancient and so new, too late have I loved you! Behold, you were within me, while I was outside: it was there that I sought you, and, a deformed creature, rushed headlong upon these things of beauty which you have made. You were with me, but I was not with you. They kept me far from you, those fair things which, if they were not in you, would not exist at all. You have called to me, and have cried out, and have shattered my deafness. You have blazed forth with light, and have shone upon me, and you have put my blindness to flight! You have sent forth fragrance, and I have drawn in my breath, and I pant after you. I have tasted you, and I hunger and thirst after you. You have touched me, and I have burned for your peace. Sheed, Francis J. (1948): Late have I loved thee, O Beauty so ancient and so new; late have I loved thee! For behold thou were within me, and I outside; and I sought thee outside and in my unloveliness fell upon those lovely things that thou hast made. Thou were with me and I was not with thee. I was kept from thee by those things, yet had they not been in thee, they would not have been at all. Thou didst call and cry to me and break open my deafness: and thou didst send forth thy beams and shine upon me and chase away my blindness: thou didst breathe fragrance upon me, and I drew in my breath and do pant for thee: I tasted thee, and now hunger and thirst for thee: thou didst touch me, and I have burned for thy peace. Warner, Rex (1963): Late it was that I loved you, beauty so ancient and so new, late I loved you! And, look, you were within me and I was outside, and there I sought for you and in my ugliness I plunged into the beauties that you have made. You were within me, and I was not with you. Those outer beauties kept me far from you, yet if they had not been in you, they would not have existed at all. You called, you cried out, you shattered my deafness: you flashed, you shone, you scattered my blindness: you breathed perfume, and I drew in my breath and I pant for you: I tasted, and I am hungry and thirsty: you touched me, and I burned for your peace. Williams, Thomas. (2019): Late have I loved you, beauty so ancient and so new! Late have I loved you! And behold, you were within, but I was outside and looked for you there, and in my ugliness I seized upon these beautiful things that you have made. You were with me, but I was not with you. Those things held me far away from you – things that would not even exist if they were not in you. You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness; you flashed, you shone, and you dispersed my blindness; you breathed perfume, and I drew in my breath and pant for you; I tasted, and I hunger and thirst; you touched me, and I was set on fire for your peace. Wills, Garry (2002): Slow was I, Lord, too slow in loving you. To you, earliest and latest beauty, I was slow in love. You were waiting within me while I went outside me, looking for you there, misshaping myself as I flung myself upon the shapely things you made. You were with me all the while I was not with you, kept from you by things that could not be except by being in you. You were calling to me, shouting, drumming on deaf ears. You thundered and lightninged, piercing my blindness. You shed a perfume—inhaling it, I pant for you. For your taste, I hunger and thirst. At your caress, I am feverish for satiation. Update: 1. I notice Tony Reinke has a comparison of several different English translations of Augustine’s Confessions using a different passage than the one I used. 2. Likewise, someone named “David” does as well . David makes several good points. 3. A redditor named u/Kingshorsey writes: I have read Confessions through in Latin and in most English translations, as well as taught the text in class, so I think I’m in a good place to give feedback, but it’s still a very subjective question. 4. Phillip Cary: This bibliography comes from the Teaching Company course on Augustine, 12 lectures on audiotape, by Professor Phillip Cary of Villanova. 5. Jared Ortiz: Review of the Translations |