The
Ranums'
Panat Times
Volume 1, redone Dec. 2014
Table 1: A comparison of passages from Judith 9
The English translation comes from the Douai-Reims Bible; the French translation is based partly on Lemaistre de Sacy's French version and partly on J. Duron's renderings of phrases added by Du Bois. (1)
Bold-face type highlights passages taken almost intact from the Book of Judith. Underlined words call attention to brief modifications made by Du Bois. Ordinary type shows passages from the Vulgate that Du Bois did not use.
Passages from "Judith's Prayer" (Book of Judith, 9:1-17),
followed by comparable passages from the Libretto
9:1- Quibus abscedentibus, Judith induens se cilicio posuit cinerem super caput suum: et prosternens se Domino, clamabat ad Dominum, dicens: [And when they were gone, Judith went into her oratory: and putting on haircloth, laid ashes on her head: and falling down prostrate before the Lord, she cried to the Lord, saying:] versus
Nocte autem sequentem Judith induta cilicio, posuit cinerem super caput suum: et oravit Dominum dicens: [Et, la nuit suivante se revêtant d'un cilice, Judith mit de la cendre sur sa tête, et elle pria Dieu en disant:]
9:2 - Domine Deus patris mei Simeon, qui
dedisti illi gladium in
defensionem alienigenarum, qui violatores extiterunt in
coinquinatione sua, et denudaverunt femur virginis in confusionem: ...
[O Lord God of my father Simeon, who gavest him a sword to execute
vengeance against strangers, who had defiled by their uncleanness, and
uncovered the virgin unto confusion: ...]
9:6 - Respice
castra Assyriorum nunc, sicut tunc castra Aegyptiorum
videre dignatus es, quand post servos tuos armati currebant, confidentes
in quadrigis, et in equitatu suo, et in multitudine bellatorum. [Look
upon the camp of the Assyrians now, as thou wast [sic] pleased to look
upon the camp of the Egyptians, when they pursued armed after thy
servants, trusting in their chariots, and in their horsemen, and in a
multitude of warriors.] versus
Domine Deus, Deus patris mei, qui dedisti illi gladium in ultionem contra gentes alienigenas quaerentes animas populi tui fidelis, respice, Domine, respice superbiam Assyriorum et humilitatem filiorum Israel. [Seigneur Dieu, Dieu de mon père, vous qui lui avez mis l'épée entre les mains pour se venger des étrangers qui réclamaient la vie de ton peuple fidèle, jettez les yeux, Seigneur, sur la superbe des Assyriens et l'humilité des fils d'Israël.]
9:12-13 - Fac Domine, ut gladio proprio ejus superbia amputetur: Capiatur laqueo oculorum suorum in me, et percuties cum ex labiis charitatis mea. [Bring to pass, O Lord, that his pride may be cut off with his own sword. Let him be caught in the net of his own eyes in my regard, and do thou strike him by the graces of the words of my lips.] versus
Fac Domine, quaeso, ut Holofernes capiatur laqueo oculorum suorum in me, et proprio gladio superbia ejus amputetur. [Faites, Seigneur, je vous prie, qu'Holoferne soit pris par ses propres yeux comme par un piège en me regardant, que la tête de ce superbe soit coupée de sa propre épée.]
9:14-15 - Da mihi in animo constantiam, ut contemnam
illum, et virtutem, ut evertam illum. Erit inem hoc memoriale
nominis tui, cum manus feminae [sic] dejecerit
eum. [Give me constancy in my mind, that I may despise him: and
fortitude that I may overthrow him. For this will be a glorious monument
for thy name, when he shall fall by the hand of a woman.
9:17 - Deus
caelorum, creator aquarum, et Dominus totius creaturae, exaudi
mi miseram deprecantem, et de tua
misericordia praesumentem. [O God of the heavens, creator of
the waters, and Lord of the whole creation, hear me a poor wretch,
making supplication to thee, and presuming of thy mercy.]
versus
Da mihi in animo constantiam et virtutem in brachio
ut evertam illum. Erit enim [h]oc memoriale nominis tui, cum
manus foeminae dejecerit eum. Exaudi me deprecantem, et de tua
misericordia praesumentem [repeated:] Domine Deus, Deus
patris mei. (2) [Donnez-moi assez de
constance dans le cœur et assez de force dans le bras pour le perdre. Ce
sera un monument glorieux de votre nom, qu'il périsse par la main d'une
femme. Exaucez-moi, exaucez celle qui a recours à vous, et qui présume
de votre miséricorde, Seigneur Dieu, Dieu de mon père.]
Notes:
1. Louis-Isaac Lemaistre de Sacy, Tobie, Judith et Esther traduits en françois avec une explication tirée des Saints Pères et des auteurs ecclésiastiques (Paris: Desprez, 1711), and M.-A. Charpentier, Histoires sacrées, ed. Jean Duron, vol. 4 (Versailles: CBMV). The first edition of this translation appeared in 1688, four years after de Sacy's death. The New Testament of Mons was published in 1667.
2. This is a repeat of Judith 9:2.