Monday 7 June 2010

Collects: a comparison

Here are the ‘official’ translations of the collect for the Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time. It’s interesting to set them out side by side. Clearly the 1975 version that is now being replaced is the poorest by a long way.

Latin Original
Protéctor in te sperántium, Deus, sine quo nihil est válidum, nihil sanctum, multíplica super nos misericórdiam tuam, ut, te rectóre, te duce, sic bonis transeúntibus nunc utámur, ut iam possímus inhaerére mansúris. Per Dóminum.

1973 NLC (for England and Wales)
O God, protector of those who place their hope in you, without your help nothing is strong, nothing is holy. Guide and protect us now, and show us your abundant mercy. Grant that we may make good use of your gifts in this life, and so be secure in the possession of the gifts that last for ever. Through our Lord.

1974 English & Commonwealth breviary (i.e. not the US version)
Lord God, protector of those who hope in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing holy, support us always with your love. Guide us so to use the good things of this world, that even now we may hold fast to what endures for ever. Through our Lord.

1975 ICEL
God our Father and protector, without you nothing is holy, nothing has value. Guide us to everlasting life by helping us to use wisely the blessings you have given to the world. We ask this through our Lord.

1998 Projected (& rejected) ICEL
O God, protector of those who hope in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy, enfold us in your gracious care and mercy, that with you as our ruler and guide, we may wisely us the gifts of this passing world and fix our hearts even now on those which last for ever. We ask this through our Lord.

2008 New Version
O God, protector of those who hope in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy, lavish your mercy upon us: with you as ruler and guide may we so use the good things that pass away, that we may even now hold fast to those that endure. Through our Lord.

2010 Final Version
O God, protector of those who hope in you, without whom nothing has value, nothing is holy, bestow in abundance your mercy upon us and grant that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may use the good things that pass in such a way as to hold fast even now to those that ever endure. Through our Lord.

2 comments:

William said...

Cranmer:
O God, the protector of all that trust in thee, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy; Increase and multiply upon us thy mercy; that, thou being our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we finally lose not the things eternal: Grant this, &c.

… though that is clearly based on the version we find in the EF, where the last two clauses instead read:
sic transeámus per bona temporália, ut non amittámus ætérna.

Only the 2008 version (and Cranmer) adequately renders the fundamental contrast between transeúntibus (temporália) and mansúris (ætérna). 1975 doesn't even seem to be aware of it.

BTW, does this mean that all the new English propers are now out?

Pastor in Monte said...

No: I found some here:
http://jbebeau.net16.net/transcompt.pdf