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The Individual in the Afterlife: Theological and Sociopolitical Concerns in King Alfred's Translation of Augustine's Soliloquies

2011; Routledge; Volume: 83; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/00393274.2011.570018

1651-2308

Ronald J. Ganze,

Historical, Literary, and Cultural Studies

Abstract This article argues that Alfred's translation of Augustine's Soliloquia provides vital insight into Alfred's own philosophical positions in areas where the Alfredian voice differs from the Augustinian: philosophical concerns, especially those surrounding the self and free will; theological arguments, particularly regarding the immortality of the soul and the survival of its individuality; and socio-political issues, specifically the relationship between the social order in Alfred's kingdom and the order of Creation. While a number of critics have used a social constructionist approach to examine the self in Alfred's Soliloquies, this article frames both Augustine's and Alfred's views from the point of view of naturalized phenomenology, concluding that Alfred's phenomenological and epistemological desires are different from Augustine's. These disagreements can be found in the "fissures" that emerge in Alfred's translation, places where a space is created in the Augustinian text and filled with material from other patristic sources or Alfred's own words. In making these changes, it appears that Alfred is asserting his own self, desires, and beliefs over and above Augustine's, emphasizing the things of this world in ways that seem to contradict Augustine's own theory of use and enjoyment. Rather than being a minor translation to be read alongside the Boethius, Alfred's Soliloquies are an important touchstone in the development of medieval philosophy. Acknowledgement I would like to thank Nicole Guenther Discenza for her kindness in so carefully reading an earlier version of this article. Notes 1 For the sake of brevity and clarity, I will refer to Augustine's original text as the Soliloquia and to Alfred's translation as the Soliloquies. 2 Jorge J.E. Gracia, "A Theory of the Author," in The Death and Resurrection of the Author?, ed. William Irwin (Westport, CN: Greenwood Press, 2002), 161. While Foucault's notion of the author-function might also be applicable, Gracia's concepts allow for greater intentionality and avoid the political overtones that accompany Foucault, which I do not wish to interject into my argument. 3 Ibid, 180. 4 Dan Zahavi, "Phenomenology of Self," in The Self in Neuroscience and Psychiatry, ed. Tilo Kircher and Anthony David (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003), 59. 5 Ibid. 6 Augustine, Soliloquiorum libri duo, in CSEL, Vol. 89, ed. W. Hormann (Vienna: Holder-Pichler-Tempsky, 1986). All translations are my own unless otherwise noted. "What do you want to know?" "I desire to know God and the soul." 7 "God who is always the same, let me know myself, let me know you. This is my prayer". 8 Carol Harrison, Rethinking Augustine's Early Theology: An Argument for Continuity. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 57. 9 "Now I love only you, I follow only you, I seek for only you, and I am ready to serve only you, because only you justly govern; I long to be under your rule. Command me, I beg you, and make any decree you wish, but heal and open my ears, so that I may hear your voice. Heal and open my eyes, so that I may see what is your will. Drive my madness from me, so that I may know you again. Tell me where I should look, so that I may see you; I hope to do all which you have commanded." English translation from Soliloquies: Augustine's Inner Dialogue, ed. J. Rotelle, O.S.A., trans Kim Paffenroth (Brooklyn: New City Press, 2000), 23–24. 10 "I come to you for the very things whereby an approach can be made to you, so that I might beseech you again… . Make me, father, search for you, protect me from evil; and as I search, let there be nothing else for me other than you, I beg you, father. If there is in me a desire for anything that would weigh me down, rid me of it yourself and make me fit to see you." Trans. Paffenroth, 24. 11 See Zahavi, "Phenomenology of Self," 56–75. Also, Dan Zahavi, Subjectivity and Selfhood: Investigating the First-Person Perspective (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2005). 12 Malcolm Godden, "Source Details: C.B.9.4.001.01." 2001. In Fontes Anglo-Saxonici, accessed June 2009. 13 See Paramjit S. Gill, Tim B. Swartz, and Michael Treschow, "A Stylometric Analysis of King Alfred's Literary Works," Journal of Applied Statistics 34.10 (2007): 1251–8. They conclude that statistical tests on common, context-free words show these three works but not the Prose Psalms to be by the same author. 14 King Alfred's Version of St. Augustine's Soliloquies, ed. Henry L. Hargrove (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1902). 15 Susan Hitch, "Alfred's Cræft: Imagery in Alfred's Version of Augustine's Soliloquies," Journal of the Department of English, University of Calcutta 22 (1986–1987): 130. 16 Nicole Guenther Discenza, The King's English: Strategies of Translation in the Old English Boethius (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2005), 7. 17 Susan Hitch, "Alfred's Reading of Augustine's Soliloquies," in Sentences: Essays Presented to Alan Weard on the Occasion of His Retirement from Wadham College, Oxford, ed. D.M. Reeks (Southampton: Bosphoros, 1988), 22. 18 For an opposed reading, see Milton McC. Gatch, "King Alfred's Version of Augustine's Soliloquia: Some suggestions on its Rationale and Unity," in Studies in Earlier Old English Prose, ed. Paul E. Szarmach (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1986), 17–45. 19 J.M. Wallace-Hadrill, Early Germanic Kingship in England and on the Continent (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1971), 142. 20 See Charles Taylor, Sources of the Self (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press 1989). 21 See also Discenza, The King's English, particularly pages 94–100. 22 Katherine Proppe, "King Alfred's Consolation of Philosophy," Neuphilologische Mitteilungen 74 (1973): 642. 23 Ibid, 646. 24 Ibid, 648. 25 See Janet Nelson, "Wealth and Wisdom: The Politics of Alfred the Great," in Kings and Kingship, ed. J. Rosenthal, Acta 11 (1986 for 1984): 45. 26 The story of Alfred and the book of poetry can be found in the twenty-third chapter of Asser's Life of Alfred. 27 Discenza, The King's English, 80. 28 Ibid, 85. 29 Eugene Green, "Speech Acts and the Question of the Self in Alfred's Soliloquies," in Interdigitations: Essays for Irmengard Rauch, ed. Gerald F. Carr, Wayne Herbert, and Lihua Chang (New York: Peter Lang, 1999), 211. 30 Ibid, 216. 31 Ibid. 32 "Reason: What about that friend of yours, whom you say you still do not know, do you wish to know him by sense or by intellect? Augustine: What I know of him by sense, if indeed anything can be known by sense, is worthless, and I have had enough of it. But that part of him that makes him my friend, that is to say his soul, I want to grasp by the intellect." Trans. Paffenroth. 33 References to Alfred's Soliloquies are taken from King Alfred's Version of Augustine's Soliloquies, ed. Thomas A. Carnicelli (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1969). Following the practice in Hargrove's 1902 edition, I have italicized those passages that Alfred adds to Augustine's text. "Then he said: By which would you rather then know your disciple whom we were speaking about before, with the outer senses, or with the inner? Then I said: I know him now as I may know him with the outer senses. But I would that I knew his thoughts with my thoughts. Then I would know what troth he has with me." 34 One notable exception is Richard Firth Green's Crisis of Truth: Literature and Law in Ricardian England (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999), which deals with the Old English concept on pages 10–13. 35 "But there is not just one way to her. Indeed, each one seizes that unique and truest good, according to his or her own strength." Trans. Paffenroth, 44–45. 36 Retractationes, in Corpus Christianorum Series Latina, Vol. 57, ed. Almut Mutzenbecher (Turnhout: Brepols, 1984). "Likewise, this statement of mine does not sound well: 'There is more than one way of attaining union with wisdom,' as if there were another way besides Christ who said: 'I am the way.' I should, therefore, have avoided this offense to pious ears; even though there is that one universal way, yet there are many other ways about which we also sing in the Psalm: 'O Lord, make known to me Thy ways and teach me Thy paths.'" English translation taken from The Retractions, ed. and trans. Sister Mary Inez Bogan (Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 1968), 17–18. 37 "Think now whether in the case of men who come there to the king's home when he is in town, or to his assembly, or with his army, whether you think that they all come hither by one path. I believe, rather, that they come on very many paths: some from very far away, and have a very long road and great misery and difficulty; some have paths which are very long but very straight and very good. Some have a very short way, yet dark and narrow and foul; some have a way which is short and smooth and straight; and yet all come to one lord, some easily, some uneasily. Neither do they come thither with like ease, nor are they likewise at ease when they get there. Some are received in more honor and in more ease than others, some in less, some just about without, except for the one fact, that he loves them all. So it is also concerning wisdom; everyone who wills for it and is eager for it, he may come to it and dwell in its household and live by it, although some are nearer to it, some farther. So it is with the estate of each king, some men in the chamber, some in the hall, some on the threshing-floor, some in prison, yet all live there by the favor of one lord, just as all men live under one sun and by her light see what they see. Some see very sharply and very clearly. Some see with unease. Some are stareblind yet enjoy the sun. But just as this visible sun lights the eyes of our body, so wisdom lights the eyes of our mind, that is, our reason; and just as the eyes of the body are more whole as they receive more of the light of the sun, so it is also concerning the eyes of the mind, that is, reason. Just as what is healthier, as it may see more of that eternal sun, that is, wisdom." I have consulted both Hargrove's translation and that of Keynes and Lapidge for a few of the more difficult constructions, though as Carnicelli points out, Hargrove's translation may not accurately capture what the phrase buton þæt an þæt he lufað is trying to communicate. See Carnicelli, 77, n.15. Again, Alfred's additions are italicized. 38 For an extended discussion of ar, see Charles Abbott Conway, "Honor, Mercy, and the Wanderer's Problem: Some Thoughts on 'ar,'" Neuphilologische Mitteilungen 93:3–4 (1992): 275–285; and Ronald J. Ganze, "From anhaga to snottor: The Wanderer's Kierkegaardian Epiphany," Neophilologus 89 (2005): 629–640. 39 Richard Abels, Alfred the Great: Culture and Kingship in Anglo-Saxon England (New York: Longman, 1998), 221. 40 See William A. Chaney, The Cult of Kingship in Anglo-Saxon England: The Transition from Paganism to Christianity (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1970) for a lengthy discussion of the concept of sacral kingship in Anglo-Saxon England. 41 King Alfred's West-Saxon Version of Gregory's Pastoral Care. Ed. Henry Sweet. Early English Text Society OS 45 and 50 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1871). "And I command in God's name that no man take the æstel from the book, nor the book from the minster: it is unknown how long there will be such learned bishops, such as now God be thanked there are everywhere; therefore I wish that they always remain in their place, unless the bishop would have them with him or lend them somewhere, or someone is copying it." 42 Nicole Gunether Discenza, "Alfred's Verse Preface to the Pastoral Care and the Chain of Authority." Neophilologus 85 (2001): 630, 631. 43 F. Anne Payne, King Alfred and Boethius: An Analysis of the Old English Version of the Consolation of Philosophy (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1968), 48. 44 Discenza, The King's English, 26. 45 Ibid, 27. 46 Antonina Harbus, "The Medieval Concept of the Self in Anglo-Saxon England," Self and Identity 1 (2002): 83. 47 "Now I hear that my soul is eternal and always lives, and all that my mind and my reason gathered of good crafts, that it might always have. And I hear that my mind is eternal." 48 "Nor should any man think that all those who are in hell have like punishments; nor all those who are in heaven have like glory. But each has by his merits, either punishment or glory, wherever he be." 49 De Civitate Dei, in Corpus Christianorum Series Latina, Vol. 47 and 48, ed. Bernard Dombart and Alphonse Kalb (Turnhout: Brepols, 1955). All Latin quotations are taken from this edition. "Thus having considered and discussed all these things within the small compass available to us, we reach the following conclusion: that at the resurrection of the flesh to eternity, the body will have that size which it either attained in the prime of its life or would have attained had it achieved the pattern implanted in it; and it will also have all the beauty which arises from preserving the appropriate arrangement of all its parts." English translation taken from The City of God against the Pagans, ed. and trans. R.W. Dyson (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), 1151. 50 "The thoughts of each of us will then also be made manifest to all; for then shall be fulfilled the words of the apostle, who said: "Judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, Who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the thoughts of the heart, and then shall every one have praise of God." Trans. Dyson, 1178. 51 "In the Heavenly City, then, there will be freedom of will: one freedom for all, and indivisible in each." Trans. Dyson, 1180. 52 "They will no longer be able to take delight in sin. This does not mean, however, that they will have no free will. On the contrary, it will be all the more free, because set free from delight in sinning to take a constant delight in not sinning." Trans. Dyson, 1179. 53 "According to the second kind of forgetfulness, the saints will have no memory of past evils." Trans. Dyson, 1181. 54 "And afterwards, the righteous, since they are of this world, they will remember very often both the good and the evil that they had in this world, and rejoice very strongly that they did not forsake their lord's will, neither in easy things nor in difficult, while they were in this world." 55 See Christ III, 1232–1261, specifically the third mark of the blessed, beginning line 1247. Also, D.P. Wallace, "King Alfred' Version of St. Augustine's Soliloquies, III 23–26, The Vision of the Damned," Notes and Queries 235: 37 (1990): 141–143. 56 "As a matter of rational knowledge, therefore, it will remember even its past evils, even while entirely forgetting the sensory experience of them." Trans. Dyson, 1180. 57 "Then he will remember the misfortunes that he had in this exile, and not, however, be unhappy for that." 58 Malcolm Godden, "Text and Eschatology in Book III of the Old English Soliloquies," Anglia 121 (2003): 190. 59 Using Sedgefield's edition, Discenza cites 42.26–27, 99.6–7, 99.7, 99.7–8, 99.8, 99.9, and 99.16–17 as having possible sources in De Civitate Dei 16.3.90, 16.4.24–5, 16.3.11, 16.3.18–19, 16.3.8, 16.3.26, and 16.3.90, respectively. The proximity of the passages in Alfred and in Augustine would seem to bolster the argument that De Civitate Dei acts as a source for all of the passages listed by Discenza, The Sources of Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy (Cameron B. 9. 3), 2001, Fontes Anglo-Saxonici: World Wide Web Register, http://fontes.english.ox.ac.uk/, accessed April 2010.