Sunday, July 27, 2014

"use the good things that pass in such a way as to hold fast even now to those that ever endure."

O God, protector of those who hope in you,
without whom nothing has firm foundation, nothing is holy,
bestow in abundance your mercy upon us
and grant that, with you as our ruler and guide,
we may use the good things that pass
in such a way as to hold fast even now
to those that ever endure.
Through [etc.]

God our Father and protector,
without you nothing is holy,
nothing has value.
Guide us to everlasting life
by helping us to use wisely
the blessings you have given to the world.


     Collect for the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Roman missal, revised translation of 2010, followed by its immediate predecessor.  "has firm foundation" is without foundation, but undoubtedly better than "has value", as the Latin below ("validum") makes clear.  Not surprisingly, I prefer the Cranmerian rendition of "multiplica super nos" (way below):

Protector in te sperantium, Deus,
sine quo nihil est validum, nihil sanctum,
multiplica super nos misericordiam tuam
ut, te rectore, te duce, sic bonis transeuntibus nunc utamur,
ut iam possimus inhærere mansuris.
Per [etc.]

     But the Latin has been tampered with, according to the Rev. Bosco Peters in 1970.  Bruylants traces the following (which differs after "sic") to 169.1 of the Sacramentary of Gellone (Paris, Bibl. Nat. lat. 12048), an important Gelasian "written not earlier than 790" (ODCC, 3rd rev. edition of 2005).  I give it here exactly as reproduced in Corpus orationum 7, below:

Protector in te sperantium, deus,
sine quo nihil est validum, nihil sanctum,
multiplica super nos misericordiam tuam,
ut, te rectore, te duce,
sic transeamus per bona temporalia,
ut non amittamus aeterna.
Per [etc.]

. . .
and grant that, with you [as] ruler, you [as] guide,
we may pass through goods-temporal
in such a way as not to let slip/lose [goods-]eternal.

     To this, Corpus orationum 7 (at no. 4745) adds no. ____ of the Rheinau sacramentary (Sacramentarium Rhenaugiense (Zürich, Zentralbibl. Rh 30), ed. Haenggi & Schönherr (1970)), which, like the Sacramentary of Gellone, it, too, dates to the end of the 8th century (along with many additional later manuscripts of course, including at least one from the 8th-9th and a number from the 9th century).
     So this is of course what we have in the (more or less) Tridentine missal, as reproduced  (for the Sunday within the Octave of the Feast of the Sacred Heart) on p. 553 of (for example) The Missal in Latin and English, being the text of the Missale Romanum with English rubrics and a new translation (New York:  Sheed & Ward, 1949):

O God, the protector of those who trust in thee, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy, increase thy mercy towards us, so that with thee for our ruler and guide, we may so pass through the good things of this world as not to lose those of the world to come:  through [etc.]

     And in the 1962 Missal as well, as translated for the Baronius Press (The daily missal and liturgical manual, with Vespers for Sundays and Feasts, from the editio typica of the Roman missal and breviary, 1962) in 2009 (Third Sunday after Pentecost):

O God, the Protector of those who put their trust in Thee, without whom nothing is strong, nothing holy:  multiply upon us Thy mercy, that with Thee as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we may not lose those which are eternal.  Through [etc.]

     Thus, we no longer pass through distracting goods-temporal, but use the good things that pass "in such a way as to hold fast even now to those that ever endure".  And to my ears, that sounds like a realistic improvement.  (Though it should be noted that that makes the Book of common prayer the conservative, given that the Anglican tradition has not messed with a reading at least thirteen centuries old.)
     Corpus orationum 7 suggests the following sources:  for l. 1, Ps 18 (17):31a, c; and for l. 3, Ps 36 (35):8a.
     Here it is in the Anglican and other traditions:

c. 1240/1260:  Sarum missal as ed. from the manuscripts (and especially Manchester, John Rylands, Crawford Lat. 24, which John Rylands itself dates to c. 1240/1260) by Legg, pp. 176-177; as ed. from the editions by Dickinson, col. 469.  I give the mid-13th-century reading from Legg below:

Pretector in te sperancium deus sine quo nichil est ualidum nichil sanctum.  multiplica super nos misericordiam tuam.  ut te rectore. te duce.  sic transeamus per bona temporalia.  ut non amittamus eterna.  per.

1549:  Book of common prayer (Church of England), as reproduced (for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity) on p. 143 of Everyman's library no. 448 (The first and second prayer books of Edward VI), and not double-checked against anything more authoritative:

God the protector of all that trust in thee, without whom nothyng is strong, nothing is holy; increase and multiply upon us thy mercye; that thou being our ruler and guyde, we may so passe through thinges temporall, that we fynally lose not the thinges eternall:  [etc.]

. . .

1979:  Book of common prayer (Episcopal Church), Proper 12:

O God, the protector of all that trust in thee, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy:  Increase and multiply upon us thy mercy, that, thou being our ruler and guide, we may so pass through the things temporal, that we finally lost not the things eternal; through [etc.]

O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy:  Increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that, with you as our ruler and guide,
we may so pass through things temporal, that we lose not the things eternal; through [etc.]

1993:  Book of common worship (Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)), p. 364 (Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time):

Eternal God,
protector of all who put their trust in you,
without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy:
Fill us with your mercy and your grace,
that, with you to rule and guide,
we may so use the good things of this present life
that we do not neglect those of eternal worth.

2000:  Common worship (Church of England), p. 410 (Fourth Sunday after Trinity):

O God, the protector of all who trust in you,
without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy:
increase and multiply upon us your mercy;
that with you as our ruler and guide
we may so pass through things temporal
that we lose not our hold on things eternal;
[etc.]

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