King Alfred's Old English Version of St. Augustine's Soliloquies/King Alfred's Preface

by Alfred, King of England, Augustine of Hippo

 

King Alfred's Version of St. Augustine's Soliloquies.

King Alfred's Preface.

Gaderode mē þonne kigclas, and stuþansceaftas,^[1] and lōhsceaftas, and hylfa tō ǣlcum þāra tōla þe ic mid wircan cūðe, and bōhtimbru and bolttimbru tō ǣlcum þāra weorca þe ic wyrcan cūðe, þā wlitegostan trēowo be þām dēle ðe ic āberan meihte. Nē cōm ic nāþer mid ānre byrðene hām,^[2] þe mē ne lyste ealne þane wude hām brengan, gif ic hyne ealne āberan meihte. On ǣlcum trēowo ic geseah hwæthwugu þæs þe ic æt hām beþorfte. Forþām ic lǣre ǣlcne ðāra þe maga sī, and manigne wǣn hæbbe, þæt^[3] hē menige tō þām ilcan wuda þār ic ðās stuðansceaftas cearf, fetige hym þār mā, and gefeðrige hys wǣnas mid fegrum gerdum, þat hē mage windan manigne smicerne wāh, and manig ǣnlic hūs settan and fegerne tūn timbrian þāra,^[4] and þǣr murge and sōfte mid mæge on eardian ǣgðer ge wintras ge sumeras, swā-swā ic nū ne gȳt ne dyde. Ac sē þe mē lǣrde, þām se wuðu līcode, sē mæg gedon þæt ic sōftor eardian ǣgðer ge on þisum lǣnan stōclīfe be þīs wæge ðā whīle þe ic on þisse weorulde bēo, ge ēac on þām ēcan^[5] hāme ðe hē ūs gehāten hefð þurh Sanctus Augustinus and Sanctus Gregorius and Sanctus Ieronimus,^[6] and þurh manege oððre hālie fædras; swā ic gelȳfe^[7] ēac þæt hē gedō for heora ealra earnunge ǣgðer ge þisne weig gelimpfulran gedō þonne hē ǣr þissum wes, ge hūru^[8] mīnes mōdes ēagan tō þām ongelīhte þæt ic mage rihtne weig āredian tō þām ēcan hāme, and tō þām ēcan āre, and tō þāre ēcan reste, þe ūs gehāten is þurh þā hālgan fæderas. Sīe swā.

Nis hit nān wundor þēah man swilc^[9] ontimber gewirce ēac on þāre ūtlāde^[10] and ēac on þǣre bytlinge; ac ǣlcne man lyst, siððan hē ǣnig cotlȳf on his hlāfordes lǣne myd his fultume getimbred hæfð^[11], þæt hē hine mōte hwīlum þāron gerestan, and huntigan, and fuglian, and fiscian, and his on gehwilce wīsan tō þēre lǣnan tilian, ǣgþær ge on sē ge on lande, oð^[12] þone fyrst þe hē bōcland and ǣce yrfe þurh his hlāfordes miltse geearnige. Swā gedō se wilega gifola^[13], se ðe ēgðer wilt ge þissa lǣnena stōclīfe ge þāra ēcena hāma. Sē ðe ǣgþer gescōp and ǣgþeres wilt, forgife mē þæt mē tō ǣgðrum onhagige, ge hēr nytwyrðe^[14] tō bēonne, ge hūru^[15] þider tō cumane.

Agustinus, Cartaina bisceop, worhte twā bēc be his āgnum ingeþance. Þā bēc sint gehātene Soliloquiorum, þæt is, be hys mōdes^[16] smēaunge and twēounga; hū hys gescēadwīsnes answarode hys mōde, þonne þæt mōd ymbe hwæt twēonode, oðþe hit hwæs wilnode tō witanne þæs þe hit ǣr for sweotole ongytan ne meahte.^[17]

1. The abrupt beginning points to a loss of the first þart of MS.; the MS. ⁊ has been changed throughout, as here, to and; in MS. the u of stuþansceaftas is torn away.
2. MS. naþr; hā, so repeatedly; likewise other words ending in -m are, in MS., found abbreviated thus: ælcū (for ælcum)
3. In manigne the -ne of MS. not distinct; ꝥ throughout has been changed, as here, to þæt.
4. ⁊ þara.
5. he^can.
6. scanctus augustinus and sc̃s gregorius. and scanctus Ieronimus.
7. gely, with the upper part of an f following y still legible. Between gelyf and eac a word of two or three syllables erased.
8. hure.
9. m swilc, the other letters very indistinct. Only s and upper part of w, i, and l in swilc visible.
10. and eac on þa... lade; Pauli and Wülker read þære utlade.
11. ꝥ hæfð.
12. oð oð.
13. gidfola.
14. nytwyrde.
15. huru.
16. modis.
17. Here ends Alfred's preface and begins his translation of Augustine.