Author Topic: Translation of the Glossa Ordinaria- Revelation  (Read 319 times)

glossa

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Translation of the Glossa Ordinaria- Revelation
« on: May 15, 2015, 09:04:17 pm »
Fortunately an English translation of the Glossa Ordinaira on the book of Revelation is close to being published!  Sarah Van Der Pas has translated the whole gloss on Revelation and is very close to finishing her editing and corrections.  I am posting chapter 1 of that translation so that people can have a sneak preview!

By the way here are some sources to the Gloss on Revelation so that people can translate if they like  https://sites.google.com/site/glossaordinariaproject/home/revelation

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glossa

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Chapter 1
1:1 (a)The Apocalypse (b)of (c)Jesus (d)Christ which (e)God gave (f)to him, (g)to make manifest (h)to his servants (i)the things which (j)(k)must be done (l)quickly: and (m)signified, sending by (n)his (o)(p)(q)angel to (r)his servant John,
a.   I.e. the Revelation
b.   Given by the Father to Christ according to his humanity.*
c.   I.e. savior.*
d.   I.e. king.*
e.   God the Father*, as he who owes nothing.
f.   To Christ.*
g.   To make it known by word and by example
h.   Not to the Jews, not to philosophers, but to the brethren.*
i.   Concerning these things.
j.   It is inevitable or useful that they should suffer tribulations.*
k.   In the person of the Church.*
l.   Short labor, hastened glory.
m.   I.e. showed through signs.
n.   Consubstantial with him.*
o.   Sc. having the role of Christ.
p.   Of the great plan.*
q.   He says some things on Christ's behalf, as when he says "I am Alpha and Omega", and some on his own behalf, as when he forbids himself to be adored.*
r.   Humble, not proud.
The Apocalypse of Jesus Christ. He prepares the listeners to be favorable and attentive, as he does also in that place "John to the seven churches which are in Asia".
The letter is as if he were thus warning: Pay attention to this vision, because it is a vision revealed in Jesus Christ. The topic is the state of the church of Asia and of the whole present Church. The pattern is tribulations inside and outside and consolations on the other hand. The point is: short labor, sure rewards. The intention: to endure everything patiently.
Which God gave, etc. He received it as a man from the father, the word united to himself, and the Holy Spirit.1
Quickly. He says this so that they may prepare themselves, so that it may not be heavy to suffer. Labors must end quickly, and rewards be given. 2
And signified. God the Father showed them to the Son, and the Son to John, as it were through signs, under seal, so that there might be no occasion given to thieves to corrupt them, and so that it might be more pleasurable for the faithful if they understood them with effort.

1:2 (a)who has given testimony (b)to the word of God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ, (c)(d)what things soever he has seen.
a.   Who bears witness to the words of Christ himself, both those he spoke concerning the Word, i.e. the divinity, and those he spoke concerning the humanity of Jesus Christ.
b.   I.e. to the Son. The Son is called the Word because through him the Father was manifested and signified in the world.
c.   In these are things that he has seen physically, as, for example, that Jesus suffered, or that he has seen only in mind, as, for example, that he was with the father before everything.
d.   To this, "Do not seal the words of the book" (ref. 22:10).*
e.   He is really blessed, because the labor shall not last long, because the rewards are near.

1:3 (a)Blessed is he (b)that reads and (c)hears the words (d)of this prophecy, and (e)(f)keeps those things which are written in it, (g)for the time is near.
a.   Christ gave this to me, and blessed is he who receives it from me.
b.   Like the educated.
c.   Like laymen who are learning*. By this he means listeners, who are more numerous**.
d.   Of this book.*
e.   Reader and listener.*
f.   i.e. he who does not profane the faith of Christ and of the church, and fears the things threatened and seeks the things promised.
g.   He is really blessed, because the labor shall not last long, because the rewards are near.
Blessed is he that reads and hears, etc. Because this is the Apocalypse of Jesus Christ, etc. 1
He that reads, i.e. tells others what he has heard, because from one person who has read, more people can hear.
They alone are blessed who hear them to keep them in mind, who keep them in mind to fulfill them in deed, and fulfill them in deed to possess eternal life. 2
Keeps those things. So do I say "if he keeps them". For not those who hear the law, but those who act according to it are just. 3


1:4 John to the seven churches which are in (a)Asia. (b)Grace to you and (c)peace from (d)him (e)that is, and (f)that was, and (g)that shall come, and from (h)the seven spirits which are (i)in the sight of his throne,
a.   I.e. pride.*
b.   I.e. remission of sins.
c.   I.e. rest from vices.
d.   I.e. Christ.
e.   Sc. incorruptible according to his divinity.
f.   Sc. once born eternally.
g.   Such, even if he does not appear such now.*
h.   I.e. the sevenfold spirit, which is one in nature, but manifold in the distribution of graces.
i.   Angels and holy men are thrones, in whom he now sits and judges, not to judge in the future; in whom God sits, illuminating them.
To the seven churches. God gave it to Christ, Christ to John, and John to the churches; principally to those to which he had been appointed as a master, and to the others through a simile.
Or by seven all the churches are meant, because seven signifies universality, or because they are illumined by a sevenfold spirit.
Ephesus was the metropolitan city or capital of all Asia, where John was exercising superintendence.
In Asia. Asia means pride. So the church is now in the pride of virtues, and1 was formerly in the pride of vices.
This Asia is not the big one (i.e. the one that is said to be the third part of the world), but some province in which there were seven cities, and seven churches with seven bishops.2
Asia Minor is a part of greater Asia; it contains seven cities of which Ephesus is the metropolis. Paul preached the Gospel in this Asia Minor, but afterwards, with the division of the apostles, John was put in charge of it.3
Grace and peace. He prepares the listeners to be favorable and attentive, as he did also in the prologue.
And from the seven spirits. "Spirit" denotes the same as "love"; whence the remission of sins and other gifts, which are gifts of the whole Trinity, are attributed to the Spirit, so that we may understand that the Trinity works out of love alone.
He passes over in silence the person of the Father, because no one had misunderstood what concerns God the Creator; he mentions the person of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, concerning whom the heresies of Marcion and Terebinthus arise in the churches.4

1:5 and from (a)Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness, the first-born of (b)the dead, and (c)the prince of (d)the kings of the earth, who (e)(f)has loved us, and (g)washed us from (h)our (i)sins in (j)his blood.
a.   As he is about to say more, he speaks again about Christ.*
b.   I.e. those who, despairing concerning the death of Christ, said, "But we hoped that it was he that should have redeemed Israel" (Lk.24:21).*
c.   Let this not frighten us, because he has risen again and is impassible. Or the prince of those who mortify themselves, because he has committed no sin.
d.   I.e. those who control earthly matters.*
e.   Especially the preachers*.
f.   I.e. deemed it worthy to die.*
g.   Sc. with love alone.
h.   Not his, because he has not sinned.
i.   Sc. original and actual.
j.   Not that of a calf or of a ram as in the old law.
He commends the person of the Son, who had made this revelation to John through an angel, as if he were saying: believe this revelation1 which Christ has made manifest, he who suffered for us and rose again, who did not deny that he was God even when death was imminent. Or the witness of our works in the day of the judgment, when he says "You saw me hungry and thirsty" (See Matt. 25:35) and "Come, you blessed of my Father, etc." (Matt. 25:34).
Prince of the kings of the earth. The prince of earthly powers, having the power to remove them, and permitting the wicked to serve the interests of his people, or of the saints2.

1:6 And has made us (a)(b)a kingdom and (c)(d)priests to God and (e)his Father, (f)to him be (g)(h)glory and (i)(j)empire forever and ever. Amen.
a.   I.e. capable of resisting vices.
b.   According to the fact that he is a man. (c) According to the fact that he is God.*
c.   I.e. offering ourselves to God for ourselves and for our brethren.
d.   I.e. Creator.*
e.   And therefore.
f.   Sc. for what concerns himself.*
g.   For him to be praised.*
h.   For what concerns other benevolent men.*
i.   So that you should obey him.

1:7 (a)Behold he comes with (b)the clouds, and (c)every eye shall see him, and (d)they that pricked him. And (e)all the tribes of the earth (f)shall bewail themselves upon him. (g)Yes. Amen.
a.   He speaks in the manner of prophets, who saw things to come as if they were present, as "Behold a virgin shall conceive" (Isaias 7:14).*
b.   I.e. the saints.*
c.   The good to be rejoiced, the wicked to be confounded.*
d.   So that they be tormented more. Like the Jews and Pilate.* [HAIMO OF AUXERRE, PL 117.948]
e.   I.e. all the earthly people and those who are given over to vices.*
f.   I.e. they shall grieve when seeing those who are founded above them*, and they shall not grieve as much because of their torment itself as because they are rejected from such a community.
g.   As if he were saying: Surely, this is true.*
Behold he comes. You really ought to preach him and praise him1, because it is he who will come to give rewards with the clouds, i.e. the saints, who were clouds by raining2 upon others, and by doing miracles. Or, just as he ascended in a cloud, he will come in a cloud, by which we understand God's mercy, which is a consolation and an illumination to the good, and a terror and a blinding to the wicked. This is what was signified by the cloud by which the sons of Israel were led out of Egypt: to them it was an illumination, to Pharaoh a terror and a blinding. So in the day of the Judgment will God look like an illumination to the good, and like a terror and a blinding to the wicked3.
And every eye shall see him. Another translation has "all the earth4 shall see him such", as if saying "they shall see him such as the impious did not believe he would come".
They shall bewail themselves, or dash5 themselves upon him, incapable of resisting his power, after the likeness of a stone and earthen vessels6.
Yes. Amen (In the Latin: Etiam. Amen.). By these two adverbs, one of which is Greek - namely etiam7 - the nations are signified; by amen, which is Hebrew, the Jews: all these shall see God in the judgment. 8
The first vision gives a correction; through correction one comes to happiness, through happiness to contemplation, through contemplation to eternal life. 9

1:8 I am (a)Alpha and Omega, the beginning and (b)end, says our (c)Lord God, (d)which is, and which was, and which (e)shall come, the Omnipotent.
a.   Before whom there was no one, or from whom everything started.
b.   After whom there is no one, or in whom everything shall end.
c.   Of the prophets who say that everything shall end in him.*
d.   I, the Lord, say this.*
e.   Sc. in Judgment Day.*
He will really come, because he himself promised he would come. Or, after writing a salutation first, he makes readers attentive, as if he were saying: do not believe that this is said by me, but by Christ himself.

1:9 (a)I John (b)(c)your brother and partaker in tribulation, and (d)the kingdom, and (e)patience in (f)Christ Jesus, was in (g)the island, which is called (h)(i)Patmos, (j)for the word of God and (k)the testimony of Jesus.
a.   From the protagonist.*
b.   The master's humility.*
c.   I.e. in the unity of faith, and having been afflicted for that faith, like others I have patiently endured that through which one can attain the kingdom, by holding Christ as an example in all things.
d.   I.e. in paradise.*
e.   I.e. patient in God.*
f.   I.e. Christ's example.
g.   I.e. the Church.*
h.   I.e. "heat" or "tribulation", in which heavenly things are better revealed to the faithful.
i.   The place.*
j.   The reason.*
k.   Sc. given to his divinity and to his humanity.
I John. As if he were saying: I know that you are afflicted, but that you endure patiently following the example of Christ, so that you may be sharers of his kingdom. And the salutation being finished, he moves on to the narration by mentioning four things: the protagonist, the place, the reason for the place, and the time; things which are useful for the recommendation1 of the revelation itself.
The Church is compared to an island because as an island is beaten by marine storms, so is the church afflicted by the persecutions of marine, i.e. worldly people.

1:10 I was (a)in spirit (b)(c)on the Dominical day, and (d)heard behind me a (e)great (f)voice as it were of a (g)trumpet,
a.   I.e. in an ecstasy of mind. [HAIMO OF AUXERRE, PL 117.939]
b.   The time.*
c.   I.e. placed in hope of resurrection through the resurrection of Christ.
d.   I.e. recognized.*
e.   Because he was about to talk about future things and about great things.
f.   I.e. manifestation. 
g.   Sc. by which one is roused to war.
On the Dominical day. The quality of things is often marked by the time at which they happen, as Abraham, in the fervor of his faith, saw the angels at midday; Adam after midday; Loth, in the destruction of Sodom, in the evening1; Solomon received at night the wisdom he would not keep.
Heard behind me a great voice. He heard it behind him because while, led out of the present matters, he was stretching his power of contemplation to the past2, he was reminded to look back at others as well. Or he heard it behind him because he understood that this same thing had been foretold by the law and the prophets.3



glossa

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1:11 saying: That (a)which you see, (b)write in a book, and send to (c)the seven churches which are in Asia, to (d)Ephesus, and (e)Smyrna, and (f)Pergamus, and (g)Thyatira, and (h)Sardis, and (i)Philadelphia, and (j)Laodicea.
a.   Sc. which you already see or are about to see.
b.   I.e. keep it in your mind, or literally.
c.   By the seven, we can signify all churches, or literally.*
d.   I.e. it translates to "my will", "deep fall" or "advice*".
e.   I.e. "canticle".
f.   I.e. "division of the horns".
g.   I.e. "illuminated".
h.   "The beginning of beauty".
i.   "Preserving" or "saving".
j.   I.e. "lovely tribe".
That which you see, write, etc. A common warning is given to John, which advises him to send it in common to the churches of Asia, and by these, all other churches must be understood. This common warning is done to the angel of Ephesus and to all the others. John saw this vision either at the same time and in one look or through various times; the angel could have bestowed either on him1.

1:12 (a)And I (b)turned, (c)to see the voice that spoke with me. (d)And being turned I saw seven (e)candlesticks of gold:
a.   And therefore, because I heard a voice, I turned, etc.*
b.   I.e. I remembered those who were placed under my authority.
c.   I.e. to understand.
d.   And because I turned.
e.   I.e. churches illumined by the wisdom of the divine word.*
[ST. ANSELM OF LEON, PL 162.1505] Candlesticks. It is the churches that are signified because as candlesticks bear light and give it to others, so does the church bear the true light, i.e. Christ, and shows it to others by preaching his brightness. The church is said to be of gold because it is founded on love and wisdom.1
Of gold. As gold tested by fire and stretched by beatings becomes a candlestick, so does the church stretched by tribulations and by the beatings of temptations get completed.2
If it has the voice in mouth and not in work, it is a candlestick indeed, but not one of gold.3

1:13 and (a)in the middle of the seven candlesticks of gold, (b)one like the Son of man, vested in a priestly garment to the feet, and (c)(d)girded about near to the paps with a (e)girdle of gold.
a.   I.e. in public, because God offers himself to all, i.e. he is ready to come to help all.
b.   An angel in the role of Christ, who is no longer the son of man, but like the son of man, because he no longer dies.
c.   This is a sign given to us that we too should keep the thoughts of our hearts under control.*
d.   The head shows in himself what he requires from his people.
e.   The belt of love.*
Like the son of man because he appeared not with sin, but in a likeness of the flesh of sin.
A priestly garment, i.e. the flesh in which he offered himself, and offers himself every day, presenting himself to God the Father. Or the priestly garment is the church in which God is clothed as in a tunic, which is long to the ankles because it will last until the end of the world.
Girded about near to the paps. Daniel saw the same angel in the role of Christ girded1 around the loins in the Old Testament, because there fleshly works are kept under control; here he is girded near to the paps because in the New Testament the thoughts of the heart are also judged.

1:14 And his (a)head and hairs were white, as (b)white (c)wool, and as (d)(e)snow, and his (f)eyes as the flame of fire,
a.   I.e. Christ in whom is all that is necessary for the management of the Church.
b.   Shining with simplicity and innocence.*
c.   I.e. garment against cold, i.e. vices.
d.   Snow is whiter than any creature; by it the purity of immortality is meant.
e.   Immortality with glory is more glorious than any creature.*
f.   I.e. the spiritual ones* in the church, who** must see on either side.
Hairs. I.e. the saints1 made smaller2 and sticking to the head, or his thoughts.
As white wool. Or as white wool is able to take any colors, so are the saints able to take any tribulations. 3
Eyes. I.e. the gifts of the Holy Spirit which belong to Christ who has them and gives them, and to the church which receives them; eyes that illumine and make one burn. Or the eyes are the very spiritual ones in the church, or the divine commandments4.

1:15 (a)and his feet like to latten, (b)as in a burning furnace. And (c)his voice as of many waters.
a.   In another translation there is "latten of Lebanon", by which it is shown that that tribulation will have the most force* in that region where the Lord was crucified.
b.   Not any latten, but...*
c.   I.e. his preaching possesses the force of water because it cleanses. Or the voice which has already been received by many people, which are compared to water because of their abundance. You ought to stand firm all the more. Or the voice giver of many waters, i.e. graces, whence the voice follows.
[ST. ANSELM OF LEON, PL 162.1505]The feet are the last faithful who are to come in the last times, similar to heated latten because as latten is changed into the color of gold by heating, so will those faithful too by the excessive tribulation in the time of Antichrist be changed for the better. Or otherwise: feet, i.e. the last faithful who with many shocks will not retain their first nature, as latten that is often heated and takes a better color.1
Latten is a kind of metal that becomes the more precious the more it is heated, and is said to be seven times as precious as gold. Some, however, say that it is amber.2

1:16 And he had in his right hand seven stars. And (a)(b)(c)from his mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword: and (d)his face, as the sun shines in his virtue.
a.   Through the preachers or the Scriptures.*
b.   I.e. from his teaching proceeds preaching, which cuts both fleshly works in the Old Testament and concupiscences in the New.
c.   Whence "it is not you that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaks in you" (Matt. 10:20).*
d.   I.e. Those* who are like him will shine, i.e. they will become like him.
Stars. I.e. bishops, who ought to shine upon others by word and by example; who are called stars even if they have sinned, given that they have been ordained; whom he has in his right hand, i.e. in the greater and better gifts, which are signified by the right hand.
As the sun shines in his virtue. I.e. at midday1, or when it shall be fixed forever. Or as Christ himself in his resurrection, who is interpreted as the sun2.

1:17 And (a)when I had seen him, I (b)fell (c)at his feet as (d)dead. And he put (e)his right hand (f)upon me, (g)saying, (h) (i)Fear not. (j)I am the First and the Last,
a.   Because.*
b.   I.e. I threw away the care for humanity.
c.   I.e. to* the likeness of the last faithful.**
d.   Sc. to the world; alive to God. Desiring nothing belonging to the earth.
e.   I.e. his help, the comforting Spirit.
f.   I.e. upon* the strength of humanity**.
g.   Through the preachers or the Scriptures.*
h.   For this reason.*
i.   Sc. to suffer tribulations and even death, because I did not need death for myself since I am the First and the Last.*
j.   Sc. because I am... *
[ST. ANSELM OF LEON, PL 162.1506] At his feet. So that I was ready to suffer as much as the last faithful shall suffer, or ready to imitate his footsteps.1
And when I had seen. Behold, John who seemed to stand while seeing the Lord fell as dead, because the higher every holy man lifts himself to contemplate the divinity, the lower he falls within himself, because, compared to God, his greatness that he has attained is easily disdained. It is because of this that Abraham recognized that he was dust and ashes when he saw the Lord. Similarly Job "With the hearing of the ear, I have heard you, etc." (Job 42:5).2

1:18 and (a)alive, and was (b)(c)dead, (d)and behold I am (e)living forever and ever, (f)and have the keys of death and of hell.
a.   Sc. eternally.
b.   According to the flesh.*
c.   Sc. for you.*
d.   But do not be frightened, because I have manifestly risen, and I shall not die any more.
e.   Sc. eternally alive.*
f.   And I will not let you be tempted above what you can sustain, because I have power over the devil and over his members. The devil is death, because he is the cause of death*; his ministers are hell, in whom he has his place.
He who has the key of a house lets anyone he wishes in and keeps anyone he wishes from entering the house. Therefore he possesses the keys of death and of hell because he frees those he wishes from the damnation of eternal death, and on the other hand he justly lets those he wishes stay in the same danger of damnation.1

1:19 Write therefore the things (a)which you have seen, and (b)that are, and (c)that must be done (d)after these.
a.   Like in the passion and in the resurrection.*
b.   The present tribulations and the present help.
c.   Among the last faithful, by whose example the present faithful should be much encouraged.
d.   Sc. write.*

1:20 (a)The (b)(c)sacrament of the seven stars, which you have seen in my right hand, and the seven candlesticks of gold: (d)the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven candlesticks are the seven churches.
a.   You understand "I shall teach you".*
b.   Or "mystery".*
c.   Where one thing is seen and another is understood.
d.   The angel explains and partly reveals the allegory in order to inform us that an explanation must be sought everywhere.

As John plays here the role of the learner, so should we too play the role of John, so that we may learn from him as he learnt from the angel.1