Salesian Literature

Preface by the Translators

Englishing the “Introduction”

 

St. Francis de Sales Introduction to the Devout Life is indeed a masterpiece of the spiritual life.  That is why it should be easily available to all. But a readable and complete and inexpensive English version of this timeless spiritual classic cannot be found.  In fact, we decided to make an entirely new translation of the Introduction because the English versions at present in circulation are not entirely satisfactory.  Those that are complete and unabridged do not read well.  Their style seems antiquated, full of unfamiliar and even archaic words.  Those that read well are abridged versions.  These summarize the French text rather than translate it.  And they have the temerity to omit most of St. Francis’ quaint illustrations which make the Introduction sparkle with wit.

 

So were determined to make a completely new English version of the Introduction.  As we started on this venture, we had in mind the words of Mgr. Ronald Knox whose English Version of the Bible made in the 1940’s was greatly admired.  This is what he said after nine years of translation:

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Your examination of conscience, when you are doing and translating work is obviously grouped under three heads: Is it accurate?  Is it intelligible?  Is it readable?[1]

 

In the course of our work we evolved certain guidelines.  We realized that we had to give priority to intelligibility, to clarity.  We had to make it easy for the general reader to grasp what St. Francis de Sales was telling them in such a conversational, and even humorous tone.  He uses long paragraphs with long sentences, according to the style of his time.  We had to divide his long paragraphs into smaller ones, as he changed from one aspect of the topic to another.  Further, we had to break up his long sentences into smaller ones whenever the sense allowed it.  In fact, one of the defects of some of the previous English translators has been their slavish translation: following the text word-for-word, long sentence for long sentence, long paragraph for long paragraph.

 

Another major defect of the previous English translators has been their making a word-for-word translation by substituting one French word with a similar-sounding English word.  This usually makes the sense rather obscure.  And sometimes it makes the translation incorrect.  For instance, they have translated the French word injures by “injuries”, whereas the more precise meaning is “insults”.  So also the French aspirer should not be “to aspire” but rather “to seek” or “to desire”.  Similarly the French peine can rarely mean “pain”, and the French words like protestant and insupportable can be translated by more accurate words in English than “protesting” and “insupportable”.  The ultimate was when the French phrase umeurs peccantes was rendered by some of them as “peccant humours” whereas it means “sinful dispositions”.[2]

 

We decided to remove antiquated expressions like “devout souls” and “for the good of your soul”, used by St. Francis.  After all, in the liturgy of today, the Church, when praying for the dead, no longer prays for “souls” but for “the faithful departed”, for persons.  Of course, we have retained “soul” when the context and sense required it.  But we have substituted “spirit” for “soul” whenever it was found suitable.  And we also decided to do away with words that have become religious jargon like “Affections and Resolutions”.[3]

 

We have tried our best to prepare an entirely new English translation of the Introduction that is accurate, intelligible and readable.  The three of us have spent long hours together, discussing and searching for simple words to express clearly in English what St. Francis says so charmingly in French.  St. Francis de Sales personally revised and improved his Introduction through five editions, from 1608 to 1619.  we shall greatly appreciate comments, as well as suggestions, from each and everyone of you who read and make use of this translation, so that we can improve it when we publish a new edition. Please address them to the Director, Indian Institute of Spirituality, Rajajinagar, First Block, Bangalore – 560 010, India.  Thank you.

 

May St. Francis de Sales pray for us and be with us all.  May he lead us to a more committed and a more joyful love of the father, though Christ our Lord and in the Holy Spirit.  May he make us ever more gentle, compassionate and kind to one another in our homes and families, in our religious communities and in our place of work.

 

Live Jesus.

 

Fr. Armind Nazareth msfs, Fr. Antony Mookenthottam msfs, Fr. A. Kolencherry msfs

Bangalore

7th April 1990

 

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[1]  In “On Englishing the Bible” (Burns & Oates, London, 1949), p.84.

[2]  St. Francis uses this phrase twice in the First Part: in Chapter 5, in the concluding phrase of paragraph I, and in Chapter 6 in paragraph 1, concluding phrase.

[3]  Regarding the special phrases we have used to translate “Affections and Resolutions”, and the reasons for the change, please read carefully the footnotes to Chapter 6 of the Second Part.

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