Tag: Origen Homilies Project

Origen translation: the catena issue

Posted on by Roger Pearse

All of the Latin of homily 1 on Ezechiel is now translated into English, and pretty much finalised.  But an issue has arisen.  Extracts of Origen’s original Greek exist in the medieval Greek commentaries, comprised as they are of chains (catenas) of extracts from the fathers.  These are printed where relevant at the bottom of Baehrens’ edition in the Griechischen Christlichen Schriftsteller edition.  But we have discovered that the extracts printed in the older Patrologia Graeca edition are fuller.  What do we do?

Do we just translate what Baehrens printed, presuming that he rejected the rest as inauthentic; or do we use the longer text?  We need to find out what Baehrens thought he was doing, if he tells us.

One thing that would help would be to consult the full text of the catena.  But of course this is very difficult.  Catenas do exist in print, but in general we just don’t have proper accessible editions of the major catenas.  This is a barrier, not merely to patristics, but also to biblical studies.

To edit one of these sprawling monsters must be difficult; but why don’t people have a go?

Share

Origen, Homily 1 on Ezekiel now translated

Posted on by Roger Pearse

The first sermon in Origen’s Homilies on Ezekiel is pretty long.  But the whole thing has now been translated, at least in draft.  This is very good news, and means that we’re making real progress.  Most of the other sermons are much shorter.

Share

Fresh Cyril of Alexandria

Posted on by Roger Pearse

Ben at Dunhelm Road has the following very interesting note:

There’s a new translation of Cyril of Alexandria’s Festal Letters 1-12, by Philip R. Amidon, S.J., in The Fathers of the Church series (Vol. 118). See here.  This look at his pastoral side will be interesting.

This piggy-backs on works on his commentaries on the 12 Prophets (3 volumes: FOTC 115, 116, & tbd) and also a recent publication of his Commentary on Isaiah, all of which were done by Robert C. Hill.

There is also a proposed re-translation of Cyril’s majesterial commentary on John–it runs some 1300 pages if I remember correctly–as part of the Ancient Christian Texts series by IVP.

I’m thinking about proposing to do some translation for a post doc here at Durham since we’re staying longer, so it’s good to see other work being done on him.

The IVP series is interesting, since it includes Origen’s Homilies on Numbers which I had in mind to do.  Here’s their list of proposed translations:

  • Commentaries on Romans and 1-2 Corinthians by Ambrosiaster, translated and edited by Gerald L. Bray
  • Commentaries on Galatians-Philemon by Ambrosiaster, translated and edited by Gerald L. Bray
  • Incomplete Commentary on Matthew (Opus imperfectum), Vol. 1, translated by James Kellerman; edited by Thomas C. Oden
  • Incomplete Commentary on Matthew (Opus imperfectum), Vol. 2, translated by James Kellerman;l edited by Thomas C. Oden
  • Homilies on Numbers by Origen, translated by Thomas P. Scheck; edited by Christopher A. Hall
  • Commentary on Jeremiah by Jerome, translated by Michael Graves; edited by Christopher A. Hall
  • Commentaries on the Pauline Epistles by John of Damascus and Theodore of Mopsuestia, translated by James R. Blankenship and Charles David Gregory; edited by Michael Glerup
  • Commentary on John, 2 vols, by Cyril of Alexandria, translated by David Russel Maxwell; edited by Joel C. Elowsky
  • Commentaries on the Prophets by Ephrem the Syrian, translated by Marco Conti; edited by Thomas Buchan
  • Commentary on Isaiah by Eusebius of Caesarea, translated by Jonathan Armstrong; edited by Joel C. Elowsky
  • Commentaries on Genesis by Severian of Gabala and Bede the Venerable, translated by Robert C. Hill and Carmen Hardin; edited by Michael Glerup
  • Commentary on the Gospel of John by Theodore of Mopsuestia, translated by Marco Conti; edited by Joel C. Elowsky
  • Greek Commentaries on Revelation by Oecumenius of Isauria and Andrew of Caesarea, translated by William C. Weinrich; edited by Thomas C. Oden
  • Latin Commentaries on Revelation by Victorinus, Apringius, Caesarius, and Bede, translated and edited by William C. Weinrich

Good though these look… if they aren’t online, how will most of us ever access them?

Share

Origen on Ezekiel – thinking about bible versions

Posted on by Roger Pearse

Four chapters of the immense sixteen-chapter first sermon on Ezekiel by Origen have now been translated, with copious footnotes; and I have the first draft here.  The translator has also discovered that Migne prints fragments of the original Greek preserved in the catenas, and is using these as a control.  It’s going to be very good.

One issue with any patristic work is whether to use an existing English bible translation for the biblical quotations, in order to avoid unnecessary unfamiliarity.  At the moment we’re using the RSV, except where Origen departs from the normal text.  We’re also trying to preserve a balance between undue literalness in translation and undue freedom.

But it occurs to me that non-academic readers might like a freer rendition, which is slightly less faithful to the word-by-word approach, and somewhat easier to read and understand.  If so, one might use a different bible version for the quotes.

Which one would one use?  Perhaps if a version of the Homilies was made, directed at a popular Catholic audience, we’d use… well, whatever version most Catholic use.  I don’t know what that is.

On the other hand any book aimed at US Christians in general would have to use the NIV, I would have thought.  I suppose one would need to get permission from someone to do so.

Is there any real reason not to target all three audiences; an academic version, a Catholic popular version, and a Christian popular version?

Share

Origen on Ezekiel update

Posted on by Roger Pearse

I’ve just had an email from the translator that a rough draft of all of homily 1 has been completed.  This is a long homily, so is excellent news. I’ve not seen it yet, tho.

I have seen the draft of the first two chapters, and have commented on it. It’s an excellent translation, fairly literal but very readable.

One interesting issue that has arisen is where Jerome uses the Latin word tormentis to represent whatever Origen’s now lost Greek word was. Context is that God inflicts tormentis on sinners to drive them back to right living, and that fathers do the same to their sons. But all the dictionaries I can see render that as “tortures”! Origen then goes on to day that this rebuts the argument of the heretics, that God is cruel.

Do we render this as “torments” or “tortures”?  It makes it read quite oddly, to do so.  Yet… if that is what Origen wrote…

Share

Origen: Homilies on Ezekiel translation underway

Posted on by Roger Pearse

The project to translate the homilies of Origen and put them online is underway.  A scholar wrote to me over the weekend about this, and I have commissioned him to translate all of the Homilies on Ezekiel, which have never received an English translation at all.  The Homilies on Numbers have never been translated into English either, but these are three times as long, and I only have the last volume of the SC edition.

The first 5 pages of the first homily have already been done as a sample, and been approved.  We’re using the Sources Chrétiennes text as a basis (itself a reprint of the GCS text).

He also sent me a digest of what translations of the homilies already exist, which is very useful and I reproduce here.  Any additions and corrections would be welcome!

One of the Numbers homilies is included in the “Classics of Western Spirituality” volume of Origen, and there is a compilation by Tollinton – Selections from the Commentaries and Homilies of Origen (SPCK, 1929); I’m not sure what it has in it.

ENGLISH
Genesis and Exodus (R. E. Heine – FotC, 1982)
Leviticus 1-16 (G. W. Barkley – FotC, 1990)
Joshua (B. J. Bruce, C. White – FotC, 2002)
Judges (E. D. Lauro – FotC, 2009)
Song of Songs (R. P. Lawson – ACW, 1988 / 1978)
Jeremiah + 1 Kings 28 (J. C. Smith – FotC, 1998)
Luke (J. T. Lienhard – FotC, 1996)

Selections from the Commentaries and Homilies… (R. B. Tollinton, 1929)

FRENCH
Genesis (L. Doutreleau – SC, 1976)
Exodus (H. de Lubac – SC, 1947)
Leviticus (M. Borret – SC, 1981)
Numbers (vol. 1:  Doutreleau [et al.] – SC, 1996; vol. 2:  Doutreleau – SC, 1999; vol. 3:  Doutreleau – SC, 2001)
Joshua (A. Jaubert – SC, 2000; Jaubert – SC, 1960)
Judges (SC, 1993)
Samuel (SC, 1986)
Psalms 36-38 (SC, 1995)
Song of Songs (O. Rousseau – SC, 1966)
Jeremiah (SC, 1976-77)
Ezekiel (M. Borret – SC, 1989)
Luke (SC, 1962)

ITALIAN
Genesis and Exodus (G. Gentili, 1976)
Exodus (M. I. Danieli, 1981)
Psalms (74 Homilies on…:  1993)
Psalms 36-38 (E. Prinzivalli, 1991)
Song of Songs (M. Simonetti, 1998)
Isaiah (M. I. Danieli, 1996)

SPANISH
Exodus (1992)

GERMAN
Jeremiah [the ones preserved in Gk] (E. Schadel, 1980)
Jeremiah [10 homilies] (E. Klostermann, 1903)
Luke (H. J. Sieben, 1991-2)

Share

More on the Homilies of Origen

Posted on by Roger Pearse

Comments on my post asking how to get an English translation of the Homilies of Origen were enthusiastic.  So I think we will conduct a little experiment with this one, and see if we can get somewhere. 

Today I have written to an academic/publishing person I know, and asked if they can find us a translator.  They have the contacts, and I am reasonably optimistic.  I’ve suggested a price of 3-4 p (UK = about 5-7 cents US) per word of Latin — because English and French translations already exist as a guide, reducing the labour — but negotiable (well, you have to be realistic).  I’d specify a condition that the first bit is done as a sample, and nothing is owed unless the sample is satisfactory.

I have also suggested no-one is committed beyond one homily at a time, neither the translator nor ourselves.  That reduces the size of financial risk and commitment down to something trivial.  We can always stop at any point, in other words; homilies we translate are an advance on nothing; those we don’t get to, well, we’re no worse off than now.  Of course I hope to do the lot!

Money comes from me in the first instance.  A couple of commenters stated their willingness to donate — much appreciated.  What I suggest is that we donate for a homily, and get our name on the bottom as “translation made possible by a grant from xxx” (or whatever wording you like).  A condition of the project is that everything becomes public domain. 

That’s all the project mechanics that I can think of; now, where to start?

I suggest the homilies on Genesis, unless anyone has a better idea? 

There are 16 homilies on Genesis.  A French edition in the Sources Chretiennes series exists, critical text and translation.  (And I have a copy!) 

Some numbers: the first homily, on creation, is 52 pages (i.e. 26 pages of Latin), about 8 words a line, 30 lines a page, i.e. 240 words a page, = 6,240 words, or about $400.  That’s a  big price, for a big homily; indeed the biggest of those on Genesis, which don’t otherwise run to more than around 20-30 pages (i.e. 10-15 pages of Latin, or about $200 each).  But I can stand that, as the price of the experiment.

Let’s see whether we can get a translator.

Share