Wednesday, January 12, 2005

I should just ignore ICEL

I should just let the differences between the Latin and the ICEL paraphrase slide, but I guess I'm obsessive compulsive.

Here we go:

Gratias agamus Christo eumque semper laudemus, quia non dedignatur fratres vocare quos sanctificat. Ideo ei supplicemus:

Sanctifica fratres tuos, Domine.

Now for the English:

Let us give thanks to Christ and offer him continued praise, for he sanctifies us and calls us his brothers.

Lord, help your brothers grow in holiness.

Now, what would be a better translation of the second part? "because he does not think it unworthy to call 'brothers' those he sancfities. Therefore let us entreat him: Sanctify your brothers, Lord." The force of the "quia" is clarified by the "quos." The "and in the English completely deflates the deep sense of the "fratres...sancificat...sanctifica fratres."

I can see no ideological reason for so distorting a clause save that the paraphrasers are really too stupid to get the sense of the original. Either that or the paraphrasers don't really understand either Latin, English, or both.

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