St. Augustine from today's LOH
  • bjerabek
    Posts: 63
    I am sure many of you are familiar with this, and I remember when I first read it in Augustine's Confessions, how touching it was, and how that same feeling came back when I read it again this morning. It was quoted by Pope St. Pius X in his Divino Afflatu, an excerpt of which was in today's Office of Readings.

    How I wept when I heard your hymns and canticles, being deeply moved by the sweet singing of your Church. Those voices flowed into my ears, truth filtered into my heart, and from my heart surged waves of devotion. Tears ran down, and I was happy in my tears.


    Simply wonderful!
  • ajohnson
    Posts: 2
    I bet they were singing "Peace is Flowing Like A River."

    Sorry, I could not resist. What a great quote, though! I should re-read Confessions. Haven't read it since high school. Which translation is that by the way?
  • Michael O'Connor
    Posts: 1,637
    Yes, Augustine is used to promote "relevant" music frequently.
  • bjerabek
    Posts: 63
    ajohnson: it is whatever translation is quoted by Pope Pius X in the English translation of Divino Afflatu. I suppose that doesn't really help! There are a lot of different translations out there. If you like a more Victorian type of English, then I recommend the one by E.B. Pusey (who was an Anglican bishop). Here is how he translates the above passage: "How did I weep, in Thy Hymns and Canticles, touched to the quick by the voices of Thy sweet-attuned Church! The voices flowed into mine ears, and the Truth distilled into my heart, whence the affections of my devotion overflowed, and tears ran down, and happy was I therein." You can read it in ASCII text at http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/jod/augustine/Englishconfessions.html

    This is how another translation available online translates it (for comparison): "How freely did I weep in thy hymns and canticles; how deeply was I moved by the voices of thy sweet-speaking Church! The voices flowed into my ears; and the truth was poured forth into my heart, where the tide of my devotion overflowed, and my tears ran down, and I was happy in all these things." There are many others, and I am sure that many can be found online, since many of them are public domain, and this is such a popular work.

    A Google search yields many results and many opinions on this matter of which translation is best!
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