Genesis A by Anonymous


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Page 1

In this translation, prose has been employed instead of verse, for two
reasons. In the first place, no metrical form has yet been found which,
in the writer's judgment, at all adequately represents in modern English
the effect of the Old English alliterative verse, or stave-rime. And in
the second place, to the writer's thinking, no one but a poet should
attempt to write verse: and on that principle, translations would be few
and far between, unless prose were used.

But even granting the value of the _Genesis_ as a fit subject for
translation, and the necessity for the employment of prose, the reader
may still quarrel with the particular _kind_ of prose hereinbelow
essayed; so a brief explanation and, it is hoped, vindication of the
theory of translation here followed would seem desirable, inasmuch as
considerable divergence is intended from the methods adopted by the
various translators of the _Beowulf_, for example. First, Biblical
phraseology has been eschewed, partly because in a modern writer it
savors of affectation, but chiefly because his Bible was the point
of departure for the Old English author, and to return now in the
translation to our Bible would be a stultification of his purposes by a
sort of _argumentum in circulo_. Secondly, archaisms, poetic diction,
and unusual constructions (the "translation English" anathematized by
the Rhetorics) have been so far as possible avoided, contrary to the
practice of most translators from Old English poetry, because it is
felt strongly that such usages will not produce upon modern readers the
effect that this poetry produced originally upon the readers or hearers
for whom it was intended. For this poetry could not have seemed alien
or exotic to its original public: either through familiar poetic
convention, or owing to the staccato and ejaculatory character of
ordinary spoken language at the time, this spasmodic, apostrophic poetry
must have seemed natural and beautiful, in the seventh or eighth
century. But--

Why take the style of those heroic times?
For nature brings not back the mastodon,
Nor we those times.

To translate is to modernize. This rendering, therefore, is not an
artificial, pseudo-antique hybrid, but frankly endeavors to convey its
original to modern readers in idiomatic modern literary English, devoid
of any conscious mannerisms whatsoever. The writer has aimed at the
utmost literal fidelity consistent with the observance of all the usages
of current standard English; he has not attempted, however, to convert
the explosive appositions, with prevailing asyndeton and excessive
synonymy, of his original into the easy, flowing sentences more familiar
to modern eyes and ears, for the change would sacrifice altogether too
much of the distinctive character and flavor of Old English poetry.

The text upon which this work is based is that of the Grein-W�lker
_Bibliothek der Angels�chsischen Poesie,_ 1894, save for a few minor
changes in punctuation and the few departures recorded in the Notes.
Grein's translation of the poem into modern German stave-rime, 1857, has
been frequently consulted, but the writer's real indebtedness to it is
felt to be slight. He takes great pleasure, finally, in acknowledging
his deep sense of obligation, on many grounds, to the general editor of
this series, Professor Albert S. Cook; the work was undertaken at his
suggestion, and he has been most kind in giving advice and criticism.

Lawrence Mason.

YALE UNIVERSITY,
_July 17, 1913._




TABLE OF CONTENTS

With Specification of the Biblical Chapters and Verses
represented in each Section of the Poem

PAGE

PREFACE III (135)

TABLE OF CONTENTS VI (138)

GENESIS A:

Section I[2] 1 (141)
Section II (Gen. 1.1-5) 3 (143)
Section III (Gen. 1.4-10) 4 (144)
Lines 169-234 (Gen. 1.28, 31; 2.10-14, 18, 21, 22) 5 (145)
Lines 852-871 (Gen. 3.8-10) 7 (147)
Section X (Gen. 3.11-15) 7 (147)
Section XI (Gen. 3.16, 17, 19, 21, 24; 4.1-5, 8) 9 (149)
Section XII (Gen. 4.9-19, 21) 11 (151)
Section XIII (Gen. 4.22-26; 5.3-14) 13 (153)
Section XIV (Gen. 5.15-29, 32) 15 (155)
Section XV (Gen. 6.1-8, 11-19, 22) 17 (157)
Section XVI (Gen. 7.1-7, 11, 12, 16-23) 18 (158)
Section XVII (Gen. 8.1-4, 6-12) 20 (160)
Section XVIII (Gen. 8.15-18, 20; 9.1-9, 11-19) 22 (162)
Section XIX (Gen. 9.20-28; 10.1, 2, 6, 8-10; 11.1) 24 (164)
Section XX (Gen. 10.1, 20, 21; 11.2, 4-8, 10, 26, 27) 26 (166)
Section XXI (Gen. 11.29-32; 12.1-8) 28 (168)
Section XXII (Gen. 12.8, 10-20; 13.1-4) 30 (170)
Section XXIII (Gen. 13.5-13) 32 (172)
Section XXIV (Gen. 14.1, 2, 4, 10-16) 33 (173)
Section XXV (Gen. 14.17-24; 15.1) 37 (177)
Section XXVI (Gen. 15.2-5, 7, 18; 16.1-6) 39 (179)
Section XXVII (Gen. 16.6-12, 15, 16; 17.1, 2, 10-14, 19) 41 (181)
Section XXVIII (Gen. 17.17-21, 23, 24, 27; 18.12-14) 43 (183)
Section XXIX (Gen. 18.16, 17, 20-22) 44 (184)
Section XXX (Gen. 19.1-13, 18-26) 45 (185)
Section XXXI (Gen. 19.27-30, 33, 35-38) 49 (189)
Section XXXII (Gen. 20.1-10) 50 (190)
Section XXXIII (Gen. 20.11, 13-18; 21.1-4) 51 (191)
Section XXXIV (Gen. 21.5, 8-14, 22-24, 27) 53 (193)
Section XXXV (Gen. 21.33, 34; 22.1-13) 55 (195)
NOTES 58 (198)

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