ADESTE FIDELES!
Advent is odd. As we build towards
Christmas, we suddenly sing in Latin. For the rest of the year we p.s. and A.D.
and p.m. out of habit. We rarely think ‘Oh, we’re speaking Latin!’ These abbreviations
are as near to English as anything else we say or write. Hit December - and we,
those of us who sing carols, launch out with ‘Gaudate! Christus est natus’ ‘In Dulce Jubilo!’. and, and . . . .
Whether we understand them or
not, these fragments of an ancient language are cheerful and traditional and a
comfortable connection not with the Romans but with . . . what do you think?
Middle Ages perhaps? Not sure.
I’ve just asked someone who knows
more Latin than I do whether ‘Adeste’ really means ‘Oh, come!’. She hesitated a
little, then said ‘approach’ might be better. I like that. I’ve tended to sing ‘Adeste’
in a fairly aggressive sort of way. Bellowed it out as if I’m singing ‘Oy you!
Come ’ere!’. But ‘approach’ . . .
The idea is that we are being
invited to ‘approach’ a very little child.
We should be whispering, not yelling. When I see a newly born baby, I’m always
a bit surprised, touched by awe (reverence even) as if being born and fresh to
the world is completely new to human experience.
* * *
But, on this blog, the Wednesday
Word isn’t supposed to be about meaning - but sound detached from it. So . . .
forget that gentle whisper that doesn’t wake a sleeping infant, try the words
merely as a sequence of noises - like saying ‘rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb’.
ADESTE
Bother! I’m shouting again! I’ve
suddenly translated myself to Harry Potter world. It sounds like a spell. It’s
definitely a command.
ADESTE!
I’ve tried putting the emphasis
on different syllables. But whatever I do, however I say it, I can’t rid it of
drama. Even if I whisper it (which is difficult) that sense of urgency won’t go
away.
FIDELES
is more
straight forward. I can’t do much with that. In English, it’s
the same. Faithful’ is pretty bald as a word. It’s just ‘there’.
*
* *
For the first
time this winter, when I went to open the curtains, I saw my breath. There was
a mild frost on the roofs in the street.
I don’t know
whether the bulbs in my garden are meant to be coming up yet. They may regret
it before long- but there they are. Pale green points in the earth. I peer at
them in surprise. ‘Look at these!’ I think, quietly to myself. ‘Already!’. They
are new. I am in awe. It happens all the time, bulbs sending little spikes out
of the ground. But if I invite anyone to see, I don’t shout
‘Oy!
Come here!’
I don’t say ‘approach’
either! But that kind of quiet reverence is there.
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8 comments:
The 'holy' language, still fascinates me how the language ended up disappearing from regular use, and only kept alive mainly by 'institutions'.
I remember as a young kid attending service with the priest facing away from the crowd and uttering pure latin facing the altar (that's since changed now of course). A beautiful language.
Actually, your instinct is right, I think, Esther. Adeste! is the imperative form of adesse, so that implies some sort of command. One translation is "Be here!"
I think "approach is a bit tentative - it is a triumphant sort of hymn, and a statement of faith.
For my sins, I was a Latin Scholar (about 50 years ago). It's mostly trickled away now.
Alas, the most immediate Latin phrase I can summon is usually: Semper ubi sub ubi. And it slides downhill from there. I enjoyed your post. It made me pause and think. Although, you might not gather that from the way I began this comments. I think Victoria is right: 'Oh, come, all ye faithful, *joyful and triumphant*' isn't whispering.
Having been a court reporter, my Latin is all related to the judicial system, so I'll see your "adeste fideles" and raise you a "res ipsa loquitur". :-)
Pearl
I am with Victoria. It might not be a command but it is an exhortation. I might exhort my bulbs too in a month or so.
I usually spot my bulbs are poking through on the longest night, so I think yours are rightfully there.
I can add Mater ora filium to the Christmas mix, but the Sorting Hat at school put me in the German house rather than the Latin one, so I have no idea what the carol we sang in the sixth form means, but it is very beautiful indeed - much more of an 'approach' rather than a 'Be Here!'
There is something so lovely about hearing a hymn in Latin...traditional and rich with history
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