ALFRED'S VERSION OF THE SOLILOQUIES XLI
1. Rarely do we find an instance of purely literal renderings such as:
Latin
Exaudi, exaudi, exaudi me, Deus meus, Domine meus, rex meus, pater meus, causa mea, spes mea, res mea, honor meus, domus mea, patria mea, salus mea, lux mea, vita mea.
Old English
Gehīere, gehȳre me, Drihten, forþām þū eart mīn God, and mīn Drihten, and mīn feder, and mīn sceapen, and mīn gemetgyend, and mīn tōhopa, and mīn spēd, and mīn wyrðscipe, and mīn hūs, and mīn ēðl, and mīn hǣle, and mīn lȳf.
2. There are a few cases where the same thought in Latin is more briefly expressed in Old English:
Deus intelligibilis lux, in quo et a quo et per quem intelligibiliter lucent, que intelligibiliter lucent omnia.
Ðū þe æart þæt andgitlice lēoht þurh þe man ongit.
3. More common is the joining of several sentences into one:
Deus quo nos revocas in viam. Deus qui nos deducis ad januam. Deus qui facis ut pulsantibus aperiatur. Deus qui nobis das panem vitae. Deus per quem sitimus potum, quo hausto nunquam sitiamus.
Ðū ūs clypast tō ūrum wege, and ūs gelēdest tō þǣre dura and ūs ðā untȳnst, and ūs sillest þonne hlāf ēces lȳfes and þonne drinc of lȳfes wylle.
4. Quite commonly we find paraphrase:
Deus per quem nos non movent qui minime credunt.
Ðū ūs getrymedest and gȳt trymest on ūrum gelēafum, þǣt ūs ne magon þā ungelȳfædan āmirran.
5. Expansion for the sake of clearness and details; this is fairly common:
Deus cujus regnum est totus mundus, quem sensus ignorat.
Ic þē bydde, Drihten, þū þe æalles middangeardes wealst; þū
fh
1 11. 4-8.
2 6. 12.
8 8. 11-14.
8. 16, 17.
V
