Jordi Miralda Escudé's translation of Ramon Llull's Llibre d'Amic e Amat
Jordi Miralda Escudé (born in 1964) is an Astrophysics expert and member of ICREA Research. Now he is a former professor of Astrophysics at the Institut d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya. He have taught at Ohio State University, the Pensilvania University - among others - and have done several conferences, not only at the States but along Europe. He is doing now serious researches in Astronomy and several others scientific fields as well. His latest research project turns about a new idea for how quasars really work ,and the evolution and reionization of the intergalactic medium.
This local (and international) eminence uses part of his spare time to translate Classics of Catalan literature to English, with special attention to Ramon Llull's work. He has his own website http://segre.ieec.uab.es/miralda/index.html when you can read other translations, among a part of his Astronomy writings. I personally contacted him asking if I could put a link to his translations by just only advancing an excerpt of them here. He was very kind by replying me saying yes, in a nice mail when he asked for apologies if anybody find it too old fashioned. I think he is doing a fantastic good job. For me is a big honnour to have his permission for its use.
He translated the most part of Llull's El Llibre d'Amic e Amat (Book of the Lover and the Beloved) written in 1293 as a part of his masterpiece Blanquerna. Ramon LLull is one of the main founders of the Catalan literature, being one of the first philosophers to write in national language (until then, all them wrote mainly in Latin, language used by Llull in several works, among Arabic and Occitan) His work is overwhelming vast and deep. His philosophic theories have an incredible complexity. Anyway he made some other works that become very popular (El llibre de les Bèsties / The Book of the Beasts, or El Llibre d'Amic e Amat you have today this excerpt, for example)
Ramon Llull wearing a barretina!
Here you have a biography of Ramon Llull in English:
http://www.grec.net/cgibin/hecangcl2.pgm?&USUARI=&SESSIO=&NDCHEC=0038253&PGMORI=E
El Llibre d'Amic e Amat is in Jordi Miralda's words: "The Book of the Lover and the Beloved offers you a moral metaphor for every day of the year which, according to Ramon Llull, is enough for a full day of reflection on the wonders of God..."
Here you have some of this daily reflections (from number 6 to number 25) in the original Catalan and with the translation our friend Jordi made. I hope you enjoy them so as I did:
Llibre d'Amic e Amat Book of the Lover and the Beloved
By Ramon Llull Translation by Jordi Miralda Escudé
6. Dix l'amic a l'amat:
- Tu qui umples lo sol de resplendor, umple mon cor d'amor.
Respòs l'amat:
- Sens compliment d'amor no foren tos ulls en plor, ni tu vengut en est lloc veer ton amador. 6. The lover said to his beloved:
- You, who fills the Sun with glare, fill my heart with love.
To which the beloved answered:
- Without fulfilment of love your eyes would not be in tears, neither would you have come to this place to see your loved one.
7. Temptà l'amat son amic si amava perfectament; e demanà-li de què era la diferència qui és enfre presència e absència d'amat. Respòs l'amic:
- D'innorància e oblidament, coneixença e remembrament. 7. The beloved tempted his lover, and inquired if he loved perfectly; and he asked what the difference was between presence and absence of the beloved. Replied the lover:
- From ignorance and forgetfulness, to knowledge and remembrance.
8. Demanà l'amat a l'amic:
- ¿Has membrança de nulla cosa que t'haja guardonat, per ço cor me vols amar?
Respòs:
- Hoc, per ço cor enfre los treballs e els plaers que em dones, no en faç diferència. 8. The beloved asked his lover:
- Can you remember anything that I gave you, for which you love me?
And he replied:
- Yes, since among the sorrows and pleasures you give me, I make no difference.
9. - Digues, amic - dix l'amat - : ¿hauràs paciència si et doble tes llangors?
- Hoc, ab què em dobles mes amors. 9. - Tell me, my lover - said the beloved - : will you have patience if I double your misery?
- Yes, if you just double my love.
10. Dix l'amat a l'amic:
- Saps, encara, què és amor?.
Respòs:
- Si no sabés què és amor, ¿sabera què és treball, tristícia, e dolor? 10. The beloved said to the lover:
- Do you know, yet, what love is?
Replied the lover,
- If I did not know what love is, would I know what hardship, sadness and pain are?
11. Digueren a l'amic:
- ¿Per què no respons a ton amat qui t'apella?
Respòs:
- Ja m'aventur a greus perills per ço que a ell pervenga, e ja li parle desirant ses honors. 11. The lover was asked:
- Why are you not answering your beloved, who is calling you?
He answered:
- I am already facing grave danger to attain him, and I surely speak to him wishing for his honors.
12. - Amic foll: ¿per què destruus ta persona e despens tos diners, e lleixes los delits d'aquest món e vas menyspreat enfre les gents?
Respòs:
- Per honrar los honraments de mon amat, qui per més hòmens és desamat, deshonrat, que honrat e amat. 12. - Crazy lover: why do you destroy yourself and give your money away, and ignore the pleasures of this world and go disdained among the people?
He answered:
- To honor the principles of my beloved, who by more people is despised and dishonored, than honored and loved.
13. - Digues, foll per amor: ¿e qual cosa és pus vesible, o l'amat en l'amic, o l'amic en l'amat?
Respòs, e dix que l'amat és vist per amors, e l'amic per sospirs, e per plors, e treballs e dolors. 13. - Tell me, crazy for love: Who is the most visible, the beloved in the lover, or the lover in the beloved?
And he said the beloved is seen in love, and the lover is seen in sorrow, in weeping, in hardship and pain.
14. Encercava l'amic qui recomptàs a son amat com ell per sa amor sostenia greus treballs e moria; e atrobà son amat qui lligia en un llibre on eren escrites totes les llangors que amor li donaria per son amat, e tots los grats que n'havia. 14. The lover was seeking someone who would tell his beloved how he bore grave hardship and died for his love; and he met his beloved who was reading in a book where all the grief and all the delights which his love would give him for his beloved were written.
15. Portà nostra Dona son Fill a l'amic per ço que li besàs son peu, e que escrivís en son llibre les virtuts de nostra Dona. 15. Our Lady brought her Son to the lover, so he could kiss his foot, and so that he would write in his book the virtues of our Lady.
16. - Digues, aucell qui cantes: ¿est-te mès en guarda de mon amat per ço que et defena de desamor, e que muntiplic en tu amor?
Respòs l'aucell:
- ¿E qui em fa cantar, mas tan solament lo Senyor d'amor, qui es té a deshonor desamor? 16. - Tell me, bird who sings: have you come to my beloved so that he defends you from hatred, and he multiplies love in you?
Replied the bird:
- And who makes me sing, but the Lord of love, to whom hatred is dishonor?
17. Enfre amor e esperança ha fet hostal amor, on viu de pensaments e mor per oblidaments com los fonaments són sobre los delits d'aquest món. 17. Love has settled between fear and hopefulness, living with thoughts and dying by oblivion as the foundations are over the delights of this world.
18. Qüestió fo enfre los ulls e la memòria de l'amic, cor los ulls deien que mellor cosa és veer l'amat que membrar-lo, e la memòria dix que per lo remembrament puja l'aigua als ulls e el cor s'enflama d'amor. 18. A dispute occurred between the eyes and the memory of the lover, for the eyes said it was better to see the beloved than to remember him, and the memory said that through remembrance the water rises to the eyes and the heart swells with love.
19. Demanà l'amic a l'enteniment e a la volentat qual era pus prop a son amat; e corregueren ambdós, e fo ans l'enteniment a son amat que la volentat. 19. The lover asked intelligence and will which one was closest to his beloved; and they both ran, and intelligence was to his beloved before will.
20. Contrastaren-se l'amic e l'amat; e viu-ho un altre amic, qui plorà tan llongament tro hac feta pau e concordança enfre l'amat e l'amic. 20. Into discord came the lover and the beloved; and it was seen by another lover, and he wept for so long until he had brought into peace and agreement the beloved and the lover.
21. Sospirs e plors vengren a jutjament a l'amat e demanaren-li per lo qual se sentia amat pus fortment. Jutjà l'amat que els sospirs són pus prop a amor, e los plors als ulls. 21. Sighs and tears came to the judgement of the beloved and asked him which one he felt most strongly loved by. The beloved judged that sighs are closer to love, and tears closer to the eyes.
22. Venc l'amic beure a la font on hom qui no ama s'enamora com beu en la font, e doblaren sos llanguiments. E venc l'amat beure a la font per ço que sobredoblement doblàs a son amic ses amors, en les quals li doblàs llangors. 22. The lover came to drink from the fountain that arouses love in those who do not love, and his sorrows were doubled. And then the beloved came to drink from the fountain to double again the love of his lover, in which he would double his sorrows.
23. Malalte fo l'amic, e pensava'n l'amat: de mèrit lo peixia, e ab amor l'abeurava, e paciència lo colgava, d'humilitat lo vestia, ab veritat lo metjava. 23. The lover fell sick, and the beloved looked after him: with worthiness he fed him, and with love he gave him drink, with patience he abounded him, of humbleness he dressed him, with truth he cured him.
24. Demanaren a l'amic on era son amat. Respòs:
- Ve'l-vos en una casa pus noble que totes les altres nobilitats creades; e ve'l-vos en mes amors, e en mos llanguiments e en mos plors. 24. The lover was asked where his beloved was. He replied:
- See him in a house that is more noble than any other created nobilities; and see him in my acts of love, and in my suffering and in my weepings.
25. Digueren a l'amic:
- On vas?
- Venc de mon amat.
- On véns?
- Vaig a mon amat.
- Quan tornaràs?
- Estaré ab mon amat.
- Quant estaràs ab ton amat?
- Aitant de temps con seran en ell los meus pensaments. 25. They said to the lover:
- Where do you go?
- I come from my beloved.
- Where do you come to?
- I go to my beloved.
- When will you be back?
- I will be with my beloved.
- How long will you be with your beloved for?
- As long as my thoughts will be with him.
And here you have the link to the rest of the book:
http://segre.ieec.uab.es/miralda/llulltra.html