Nemo, cum prophetas versibus viderit esse descriptos, metro eos estimet apud Hebreos ligari, et aliquid simile habere de Psalmis vel operibus Salomonis. Sed quod in Demostene et Tullio solet fieri, ut per cola scribantur et comata, qui utique prosa et non versibus scripserunt, nos quoque utilitati legentium providentes interpretationem novam novo scribendi genere distinximus. No one, seeing the prophets written out in verses, should think that they are bound by meter in the Hebrew and have something similar to the Psalms or the works of Solomon. Rather, just as Demosthenes and Cicero (who certainly composed in prose and not in verses) are usually written out by colons and commas, we also, for the benefit of readers, have marked off our new translation with a new kind of writing. Ac primum de Isaia sciendum quod in sermone suo disertus sit, quippe ut vir nobilis et urbane elegantie, nec habens quicquam in eloquio rusticitatis admixtum; unde accidit ut prae ceteris florem sermonis ejus translatio non potuerit conservare. But first, it should be known about Isaiah that, as he is well-spoken in his discourse, surely he was a man of noble and urbane elegance, having nothing of rusticity mixed in his eloquence. Thus it happens that, more than others, translation cannot preserve the flower of his discourse. Deinde etiam hoc adiciendum quod non tam propheta dicendus sit quam evangelista: ita enim universa Christi Ecclesiaeque mysteria ad liquidum prosecutus est, ut non eum putes de futuro vaticinari sed de praeteritis historiam texere. Unde conicio noluisse tunc temporis Septuaginta interpretes fidei suae sacramenta perspicue ethnicis prodere, ne sanctum canibus et margaritas porcis darent; quae, cum hanc editionem legeritis, ab illis animadvertetis abscondita. And next it should be added that Isaiah should not so much be called a prophet as an evangelist, for he describes all the mysteries of Christ and the Church so clearly, that you think that he is not prophesying about the future, but composing an account of past events. Thus I conclude that the Seventy translators did not wish at that time to clearly publish the mysteries [sacramenta] of their faith to the heathen, lest they give what is holy to dogs and pearls to swine; when you have read this edition, you will observe these things that were hidden by them. Nec ignoro quanti laboris sit prophetas intelligere, nec facile quempiam posse judicare de interpretatione nisi intellexerit antequam legerit, nosque patere morsibus plurimorum qui stimulante invidia quod consequi non valent despiciunt. Sciens ergo et prudens in flammam mitto manum, et nichilominus hoc a fastidiosis lectoribus precor: ut quomodo Graeci, post Septuaginta translatores Aquilam et Simmachum et Theodotionem legunt, vel ob studium doctrinae suae vel ut Septuaginta magis ex collatione eorum intelligant, sic et isti saltem unum post priores habere dignentur interpretem. Legant prius, et posteades piciant, ne videantur non ex judicio sed et ex odii presumptione ignorata damnare. I am not ignorant of how much effort it may take to understand the prophets, and that no one can easily judge concerning their translation unless he first understands what he reads, and that we are exposed to the attacks of many, who, with their envy roused, despise what they are unable to understand. Therefore, knowingly and cautiously, I stick my hand into the flame, and nonetheless I ask this of fastidious readers: that, in the same way that the Greeks read Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion after the Seventy translators, for the study of their doctrine or so that they may understand the Seventy better from comparison with them, just so these too may deign to have at least one translation after the previous ones. Let them first read it, and afterwards despise it, lest they appear to condemn what they do not know, not out of judgment, but out of the presumption of hatred. Prophetavit autem Isaias in Jerusalem et in Judea necdum decem tribibus in captivitatem ductis; ac de utroque regno, nunc commixtim nunc separatim, texit oraculum; et cum interdum ad presentem respiciat historiam, et post Babilonie captivitatem reditum populi significet in Judeam, tamen omnis ejus cura de vocatione gentium et de adventu Christi est. Isaiah prophesied in Jerusalem and in Judea, when the ten tribes had not yet been led into captivity, and he composes his oracle about both kingdoms, sometimes together, sometimes separately. And, although he occasionally turns his attention to present history and signifies the return of the people to Judea after the Babylonian captivity, nevertheless all his concern is for the calling of the gentiles and the coming of Christ. Quem quanto plus amatis, o Paula et Eustochium, tanto magis ab eo petite ut pro obtrectatione presenti qua me indesinenter emuli laniant, ipse michi mercedem restituat in futuro, qui scit me ob hoc in peregrine lingue eruditione sudasse, ne Judei de falsitate scripturarum ecclesiis ejus diutius insultarent. The more you love him, Paula and Eustochium, ask from him so much more, that in return for the present attack, in which jealous men tear at me incessantly, he may reward me in the future, he who knows that I have sweated in learning a foreign tongue for this purpose, lest the Jews still further mock his churches because of the falsehood of their scriptures. Super Prologum S. Hieronymi Exposition of Saint Thomas on Saint Jerome’s Preface to Isaiah 9. Huic autem operi praemittit Hieronymus prologum, in quo tria facit: 9. St. Jerome sets a prologue before this work, in which he does three things: primo ostendit modum dicendi; first, he shows the manner of speaking; secundo modum prophetandi, ibi deinde etiam hoc adjiciendum; second, the manner of prophesying, where he says, and next it should be added; tertio modum tractandi, ibi prophetavit autem. third, the manner of discussing, where he says, Isaiah prophesied. Modum dicendi ostendit circa ornatum prolocutionis ex duobus: He shows the manner of speaking from two things concerning ornament of speech: primo ex ordine verborum, first, from the order of words; secundo ex elegantia verborum, ibi ac primum de Isaia. second, from the elegance of words, where it says, but first, it should be known about Isaiah. Circa primum tria facit: Concerning the first, he does three things: primo removet ordinem a quibusdam aestimatum, scilicet metricum; first, he removes the order supposed by some, namely, meter; secundo demonstrat ordinem a propheta servatum, ibi sed quod in Demosthene; second, he shows the order observed by the prophet, where he says, just as Demosthenes; tertio ostendit eumdem modum se esse in sua translatione imitatum, ibi nos quoque. third, he shows that the same manner is imitated in his own translation, where he says, we also. Versibus, id est brevibus clausulis; descriptos, id est distinctos; metro ligari: metrum Graece mensura dicitur, unde illud dicitur metrice describi ubi servatur certa mensura pedum, syllabarum et temporum; a qua lege prophetae soluti sunt. Et aliquid habere de Psalmis, id est eis simile, vel operibus Salomonis, quantum ad finem Proverbiorum et in Canticis Canticorum. Verses, that is, short clauses. Written out by, that is, separated. Bound by meter: “meter” is the Greek word for “measure”; thus, something is said to be written out in meter where a fixed measure of feet, syllables and time is observed; but the prophets were not bound by such a law. And have something of the Psalms, that is, are similar to them. Or the works of Solomon, as to the end of Proverbs and the Song of Songs. 10. In Demosthene Graeco, Tullio Latino, oratoribus, qui prosa scripserunt per cola et comata. Tres sunt distinctiones in scripturis: coma, colon et periodus, ad similitudinem corporis humani, in quo sunt distinctiones quaedam in partibus unius membri, sicut sunt articuli, et distincta membra, sicut manus et pedes, et iterum totum corpus. Primae distinctioni respondet distinctio quae fit per comata, quia coma idem est quod incisio vel divisio; secundae respondet illa quae est per cola, quia colon interpretatur membrum; sed toti respondet periodus, periodus enim dicitur circulatio a peri, quod est circum, et odos, quod est via: sola autem linea circuli completa est, sicut probat Philosophus. 10. Demosthenes, a Greek orator, Cicero, a Latin orator. Who wrote prose by colons and commas. There are three distinctions in writing: the comma, the colon and the period, which is similar to the human body, in which there are certain distinctions in the parts of a single member, such as joints; and there distinct members, such as hands and feet; and again there is the whole body. The distinction which may be made by commas corresponds to the first distinction, because a comma is the same as a clause or division; the distinction by colons corresponds to the second, because “colon” is translated “member”; but the period corresponds to the whole because a circular course is called a “period” from peri, which means “around,” and odos, which means “way.” But only the line of the circle is complete, as the Philosopher demonstrates. 11. Sumuntur autem istae distinctiones in scripturis tripliciter. 11. These distinctions are taken up in writings in three ways. Primo, secundum Isidorum, in versibus coma est quando post duos pedes sequitur una syllaba quae est pars alterius pedis, quia tunc deciditur pes unus, sicut ibi gloria, laus et honor; cola autem quando accipiuntur duo pedes sine syllaba sequente, ut carmina dulcia; sed periodus quando tota sententia metrice tradita completur. First, according to Isidore, in verse, a comma is when, after two feet, a syllable follows, which is part of the second foot, because then one foot is cut off, as in gloria, laus, et honor. Colons are when two feet are taken without a following syllable, as in carmina dulcia. But a period is when an entire metrically transmitted sentence is completed. Secundo modo in prosa, secundum Isidorum et Tullium, coma est quando imperfectae orationes pausatim proferuntur, ut infra I 4 vae genti peccatrici, populo gravi iniquitate, filiis sceleratis, et dicitur subdistinctio; cola, quando perfectae orationes cum pausa proferuntur quamvis perfecta non sit sententia, et dicitur distinctio, ut illud eodem dereliquerunt Dominum, blasphemaverunt Sanctum Israel, alienati sunt retrorsum; periodus, quando ex pluribus orationibus constat perfecta sententia. In the second way, in prose, according to Isidore and Cicero, a comma is when incomplete expressions are put forth pause by pause, as below, woe to the sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, wicked children (Isa 1:4); and this is called a sub-distinction. Colons are when complete expressions are put forth with a pause, although the sentence may not be complete; and this is called a distinction, as in the same verse, they have forsaken the Lord, they have blasphemed the Holy One of Israel, they have gone away backwards. A period is when a complete sentence consists of many expressions. Tertio modo sumitur coma a Rabano pro capitulo uno, super illud Ier. XLVIII 29 audivimus superbiam Moab, ubi dicit in superiori <commate> provocavit ad poenitentiam, id est in superiori capitulo. Sed secundo modo accipitur hic. In the third way, a comma is taken for a single chapter by Rabanus, commenting on Jeremiah 48:29, we have heard the pride of Moab, where he says, in the [comma] above he provoked them to penance, that is, in the chapter above. But here these distinctions are taken in the second way. 12. Novam, a nobis primo editam de Hebraeo in Latinum; novo genere, servato modo qui apud Hebraeos est per cola et comata, qui in aliis translationibus non servabatur. 12. New translation, that is, first translated by us from Hebrew into Latin. With a new kind of writing, following the manner of writing by colons and commas found in the Hebrew, which is not followed in other translations. 13. Ac primum de Isaia. Hic ostendit modum dicendi quantum ad elegantiam verborum. Et circa hoc tria facit: 13. But first, it should be known about Isaiah. Here he shows the manner of speaking as to elegance of words. And concerning this, he does three things: primo ponit modum; first, he sets out the manner; secundo assignat rationem ex conditione dicentis, ibi quippe ut vir nobilis; second, he assigns the reason from the condition of the speaker, where he says, surely he was a man of noble and urbane elegance; tertio concludit excusationem defectus in sua translatione a tali modo, ibi unde accidit etc. third, he constructs an excuse for the defect in his translation from such a manner, where he says, thus it happens. Disertus, id est eruditus in eloquentia appareat, nobilis genere, quia fuit avus maternus vel affinis Manasse regi Juda, sicut dicitur in Historia. Unde accidit: quae pulchre dicuntur in una lingua non sonant pulchre translata in aliam, et ideo quanto ipse prae ceteris prophetis pulchriori eloquio usus est, tanto magis translatio a pulchritudine ipsius deficit; florem, id est dulcedinem et ornatum. Well-spoken: that is, so that he appears erudite in eloquence. Noble: by descent, because he was the grandfather, either maternal or by marriage, of Manasseh the king of Judah, as it says in the Historia Scholastica. Thus it happens: things which are said beautifully in one language do not sound beautiful translated into another, and therefore as much as Isaiah used more beautiful speech than the other prophets, so much more does translation fall short of his beauty. Flower: that is, sweetness and ornament. 14. Deinde etiam hoc adjiciendum. Hic ostendit modum prophetandi apertum et expressum. Et circa hoc tria facit: 14. And next it should be added. Here he shows that the manner of prophesying is open and explicit. And concerning this, he does three things: primo ostendit modum prophetandi qui dictus est; first, he shows the manner of prophesying is that which has been mentioned; secundo ex modo concludit rationem defectus in antiqua translatione Septuaginta, ibi unde conjicio: second, from this manner he infers the reason for the defect in the old Septuagint translation, where he says, thus I conclude; tertio excludit contradictionem aemulorum, ibi nec ignoro etc. third, he excludes the objections of the envious, where he says, I am not ignorant. Non propheta, quasi veritatem sub aenigmate obscurans, mysteria, id est secreta, a mystim quod est secretum, ut incarnationem, infra X filius datus est nobis, passionem, infra LIII 7 tamquam ovis ad occisionem ducetur, et agnus coram tondente se obmutescet, et multa alia. Isaiah should not so much be called a prophet, as if obscuring the truth under an enigma; mysteries: that is, secret things, from mystim, which means “secret,” as the Incarnation, below: a son is given to us (Isa 9:6), the passion, below, he shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter, and shall be dumb as a lamb before his shearer (Isa 53:7); and many others. Ad liquidum, expresse; putes, putare possis propter expressionem facti, non quantum ad modum qui magis exprimi potest de praeteritis quam de futuris, unde in hoc superat evangelista prophetam. Conjicio, sub quadam coniecturatione existimo; ethnicis, id est gentilibus, ab ethnon quod est gens; margaritas, Matth. VII inventa una pretiosa margarita; abscondita, occultata. Unde tria facit: So clearly: expressly. You think: you can think it so because of the expression of fact, not as to the manner, which can be more explicit about past events than future events; hence the evangelist surpasses the prophet in this. Thus I conclude, I suppose, under a certain conjecture. Heathens [ethnicis]: that is, the gentiles, from ethnon, which means “nation.” Pearls, neither cast your pearls before swine (Matt 7:6). Things that were hidden, concealed. Concerning which, he does three things: