Metres IV

This one gave me a lot of trouble -- and without a previous translation from which to get a second opinion, I really had to blaze my own trail through here. Won't be the last time, I'm sure.

Let me know what you think, and if it seems that I'm really heading off in the wrong direction.

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O, you the shaper of the stars that shine,
the heavens and the earth. You on your lofty throne
reign for eternity, and you swiftly
orbit the whole universe, and through your holy power
compel the stars to obey you.
The sun is likewise quenched by the shadows
of the dark night through your might.

The glowing stars with their pure light
govern the moon through your magnificence,
while sometimes the sun is deprived
of her own bright illumination, when it can be hidden
and when it is sufficient by necessity.

Likewise the greatest morning-star,
which we also call the Even-star, obeys
that call, when you compel him to attend
to the journey of the sun—every year
he must come before his companion.

Listen Father, you transform
the summer-long days so warm
into winter-days wondrously short
and determine their time.
You give the trees all their leaves,
which, in the south and the west,
the north and the east, that black storm
had earlier seized by its hateful wind.

And lo! all creation hears your command,
and performs it on earth just as in the heavens,
with all their heart and ability,
all except for humanity alone,
who very often works against your will.

Alas! you are the Eternal and the Almighty,
the Shaper and the Director of all creation —
your arms are a mercy, the seeds of the earth
are mankind, all through your magnificence.

Why then, God Eternal, would you ever wish
that fortune should turn upon your desire
toward the evils of all men so prevalent?
She very often injures the innocent.

Wicked men sit throughout the realm of earth
upon high thrones, oppressing the righteous
under their feet. It is unknown to men
why fortune should turn out so perverse.
So these bright skills are hidden
here in this world throughout many cities.

The unrighteous for all time wickedly
possess those things which belongs to them.
Those wiser of right, more worthy of rule—
vain treachery will be theirs for many years,
clothed with trickery. Here in the world
now their wicked oaths are not impaired by men.

If you, Wielder, will not now steer events
but allow them to degrade of your self-will,
then I know that men of the world will know doubt
across the corners of the earth, without one joy.

Alas, my Lord, you who oversee all
the world’s creation, look upon mankind now
with mild eyes, now the multitude here
struggles and strives against the waves of the world,
the miserable citizens of the earth—
be merciful to them now.

Metres III

III

Alas! In what grim and groundless pit
does the troubled mind labor?
When the strong storms of worldly affairs
beat upon it. When its own light

abandons it, struggling and alone.
And, amid the woes thronging in the darkness
of this world, it forgets, perturbed by sorrows,
these eternal joys. Such has occurred now

to this mind, now that it knows nothing more
of the good of God except mourning,
estranged from the world.
Such a man needs comfort.

Metres II

So here we have the second of the Metres of Boethius, since the first one is taking me longer than I anticipated. The translation is more loose than I am accustomed to doing, as I am trying to project myself lyrically, but it is still quite close to the original. The stanza form does not, of course, occur in the original.

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II

Listen! One time long ago I sang many songs heartily—
but now I am a wretched outcast lamenting
troubled by my own wailing. I must sing painful tunes.

I have suppressed my sighing and my sobs
and so I cannot compose so completely
these songs, though I have been allowed to set down

many truthful refrains in former times, when I was happier.
Often I completely fail to speak clearly
and at times my words are found too rough.

These worldly blessings enjoyed by all
have abandoned me, foolish and
blinded in this darksome hole,

and then I was robbed of counsel and comfort
for their treachery of this world,
which I always trusted in the most.

They turned their bitter backs to me,
and their bliss turned away from me.
Why do you wish, my worldly friend,

to say and to sing that I was a blessed man
in this existence? These words are not true,
and these boons can not always abide.

New Translation Idea

I was working at relineating my previous trnaslation when it struck me. Instead of hitting another narrative poem right away (Daniel or Christx3, most likely), why don't I work on a text that really has not been translating in a long time. The answer to that, my friends, is the Metres of Boethius. It would mean experimenting with lyric forms and voices, something that I have only poked around at, but it could really be a service to the Anglo-Saxon community to produce a contemporary translation of this valuable text.

I already have started working on it, in fact, months and months ago, and so have the prologue done Right now, I'm trying to find a more updated text than the ASPR version.

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Proem

In this way Alfred, the king of the West-Saxons,
narrated this old story to us, announcing his art,
the skill of a song-maker. In him was a great desire
to proclaim these poems unto his peoples, a mirth for men,
these miscellaneous songs, so that his ardor would drive out
the arrogant man—then the one who is ill-equipped
in such things would correct him for his pride.
Yet I shall speak this counsel known to the people,
taking it up in verse, and say unto men. Listen who will!

Finally, C&S XII

Here is the final, long section of Christ & Satan for your approval. Relineatio is underway for the preceding sections, and I more or less followed my own count as I translated this last part, so I shouldn't expect the rest to be that much different than this one.

What comes next? Either Daniel or the three Christ poems I should think, since they both have their narrative moments. Some more of the shorter poems could pop out as well ---------------------

Now that Prince renowned has announced to us,
Almighty God, the Lord himself, on Doomsday.
He has commanded the high-angels in a booming voice
to blow their horns over the city’s habitations
throughout the corners of the earth.
Then from this earth humans shall awaken—
the dead from the dust arising through the Lord’s might.
That will be the longest day, and the greatest din
loudly heard, when the Savior arrives,
the Wielder amid the clouds coming in this world. (597-607)

Then he will part out the fair and the unclean
into two halves, the good and the evil.
Then the truth-fast on his right hand
will rise to their rest with the Warden of Heaven.
Then they will be overjoyed, those allowed into the city
to go the realm of God,
and he will bless them with his right hand,
the King of All Creation, calling over them all:
“You are all welcome! Go into the light of glory
to the kingdom of heaven, where you shall have
always and forever eternal rest.” (608-18)

Then the evil-doers will stand there, those who have sinned—
they will be quaking when the Son of God
will judge them through the power of his deeds.
They will hope that they will be allowed into the famous city
upwards to the angels, just as the others were,
but the Eternal Lord shall speak to them,
saying over them all:
“Dive down now, accursed, into that house of torment
with the greatest haste. I do not know you now.” (619-27)

At once after those words, the cursed spirits,
the captives of hell, hurry them on their way
by the thousands, and lead them in that direction
into the cavern of criminals, shoving them to the bottom,
into evil’s narrowness—and never afterwards
will they ever be allowed upwards from there,
but there they must suffer miserable tortures,
bonds and imprisonment, and endure
the deep frozen bottom of hell and devils’ talk.
Oh, how they will be often ordained in shame
by swarthy and painful killers, fiends confessing
in violence and sin, where they have often forgotten
their Free Lord, the Eternal Governor,
who should have been a hope to them.
Let us, lo! consider how throughout this world
we have begun to obey our Savior! (628-43)

Eagerly through the grace of God let us remember the fruit of the spirit,
how blessed it is where he sits on high
himself among the clouds, the Son of the Savior.
There is a golden gate, adorned with gemstones,
wound up in delights, for those who are allowed
to go into the light of glory, the kingdom of God,
and around those walls they shine beautifully,
the spirits of angels and the souls of the blessed,
who have journeyed thence.
There the martyrs are pleasing to the Measurer,
and praise the High-Father with holy voices,
the King in his city. They all call out thus:
“You are the Helm of Heroes and the Heaven-Judge,
the First Chief of Angels, and the Issue of the Earth.
You have conducted us up to this blessed home!” (644-58)

So they praised the Warden of Glory wordfully,
the thanes around their Lord—there is great majesty,
a song at his throne, and he is himself the king,
the Lord of All, in that eternal creation. (659-62)

[Though there is no section break here, the topic of the poem seems to change]

That is the Lord, he who suffered
death for us, the Prince of Angels.
Likewise, he fasted for forty days,
the Measurer of Mankind through the power of his mercy.
And then it happened that the Accursed, who was previously cast down
from heaven and who sank down into hell,
then he tempted the King of All Beings.
He brought to his lap broad stones,
and commanded him for his hunger to create loaves—
“If you have a power so great.”
Then the Eternal Lord answered him… (663-73)

[no break in MS, but a gap in sense is posited here]

“Don’t you know, cursed one, that it was written,
'But for me alone…'?
Yet you have set it down, O Owner of Victory,
the light of the living, reward without end,
in heaven’s realm, and holy delights.” (674-78)

Then he took Jesus Christ up with his hands,
the terrible one through scorn, and heaved him upon his shoulder,
the spirit of evil’s harm, and mounted up to a mountain,
setting him upon its peak, the Savior Lord:
“Look now full wide, over the land-dwellers.
I shall give you into your own power
people and earth. Take from me in this place
both city and spacious dwelling into your power,
of the rule of heaven, if you are the rightful king
of angels and men, as you have before thought.” (679-88)

Next the Eternal Lord answered him:
“Depart, accursed, into your cavern of pain,
Satan yourself. For you is surely torment
prepared, not at all the realm of God.
But I command you through the highest power
to announce no hope unto the hell-dwellers
but you can speak of the greatest sorrow to them,
that you met the Measurer of All Creatures,
the King of Mankind. Turn yourself behind me!
Know you as well, accursed, how wide and broad
and dreary is the vault of hell, and measure it with your hands!
Grip it by the ground—proceed like that
until you know all its circuit
and measure it first from above all the way to the bottom,
and how broad is its black breath.
Then you shall know the more eagerly that you have struggled against God,
after you have measured it then with your hands
how high and how deep hell may be within,
the grim grave-house. Go quickly to it,
before two hours are past,
so that you have measured the home marked out for you.” (689-709)

At that point wrack came resting upon that cursed being.
Satan himself ran away and fell into torment,
the wretched monster. Sometimes he measured with his hands
its woe and its tortures. Sometimes the dark flame
leapt against the hateful. Sometimes he saw lying
the captives in hell. Sometimes a cry mounted up
when they saw with their eyes in that terrible place.
The opponents of God had struggled […]
the black spirit of harm, that stood upon the floor. (710-18)

Then it seemed to him that there was from there
to the doors of hell a hundred thousand
miles reckoned out, just as the Mighty had ordered him
that through his own craft to measure out his torment.
Then he remembered that he stood at the very bottom.
He looked about without hope across that hateful hole,
the terror with his eyes, until the terrible horror,
a host of devils climbed up then. (719-26)

With words of pain, those cursed ghasts began
to speak and tell:
“Alas! May evil be upon you always! You never wished for good!” (727-29)

Finit Liber II. Amen.

Relineation underway

The process of relineating Christ & Satan has started. Sections I & II are completed. Check them out and let me know what you think.

Metrical Charm 6: For a Delayed Birth

Another translation made for a student, for an assignmentn using the Word Exchange as a point of comparision.

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The woman, who cannot nourish her child, should go to a man’s grave and step over the grave three times and three times speak these words:

“This is my remedy—against the hateful late-birth,
This is my remedy —against the grievous heavy-birth,
This is my remedy—against the hateful lame-birth.”

And when that woman is with child and she goes to rest with her husband, then she should say:

“Up I go, and I step over you
With my living child, not at all with a dead one
Not at all with a full-born one, not at all with a doomed one.”

And when the mother feels that her baby is alive, she should go then to a church, and then she should come before the altar, and say this:

“Christ, I have said, make this known!”

The woman, who cannot nourish her child, should take herself some piece from the grave of her own child, and wrap it afterwards in black wool and sell it to merchants and speak this:

“I sell this! You sell this!
This dark wool and these grains of sorrow!”

The woman, who cannot nourish her child, should take a milk cow of one color in her hand and sip from it with her mouth and then go to running water and spit the milk into it there and then draw up a mouthful of that water with the same hand and swallow it. Then she should speak these words:

“Everywhere I have carried this glorious, strong child
By means of this glorious, strong nourishment
I will keep him for myself and go home.”

When she goes down to the brook, she should not look back nor again when she goes from there, and then she should go into a house other than the one she left, and there she should eat some food.