Sunday, November 10, 2013

St. Jerome in his study


All I did was remove a thorn,
and now that lion follows me
everywhere, I’m not sure if
it’s gratitude or the prospect
of the next meal. He watches
as I search the texts and scrolls,
seeking the word, the phrase,
the understanding to transform
the Greek into Latin. The Latin
of Virgil led me to the Greek
of Jesus, Greek and Aramaic,
and so it seemed right to bring
Jesus to the Latin. The word
is still the word, even without
a translator. The lion still
roars, with or without
the thorn.


Painting: Saint Jerome in His Study, oil on canvas by Vincenzo Catena (about 1510); National Gallery, London.

3 comments:

  1. translate (v.)

    c.1300, "to remove from one place to another," also
    "to turn from one language to another,"
    from Latin translatus

    "carried over,"

    serving as
    past participle of transferre

    "to bring over,
    carry over"

    (see transfer), from trans- (see trans-) + latus

    "borne,
    carried,
    "
    from *tlatos, from PIE root *tel-, *tol-

    "to bear,
    carry"

    (see extol). Related: Translated; translating. A similar notion is behind the Old English word it replaced, awendan, from wendan
    "to turn, direct"
    (see wend).

    ReplyDelete
  2. translate (v.)

    c.1300, "to remove from one place to another," also
    "to turn from one language to another,"
    from Latin translatus

    "carried over,"

    serving as
    past participle of transferre

    "to bring over,
    carry over"

    (see transfer), from trans- (see trans-) + latus

    "borne,
    carried,
    "
    from *tlatos, from PIE root *tel-, *tol-

    "to bear,
    carry"

    (see extol). Related: Translated; translating. A similar notion is behind the Old English word it replaced, awendan, from wendan
    "to turn, direct"
    (see wend).

    ReplyDelete
  3. "The word is still the word, even without a translator." Yes, it is, eternal and always.
    Beautiful, Glynn!

    ReplyDelete