A Confessions for the 21st Century

In Truth and Method, German philosopher Hans-Georg Gadamer introduces a theory of horizons to explain the way translation mediates distance in time. The author writes his work from a given moment in time; he sees the world a certain way. He publishes his book, and if he writes well his work survives and moves forward in time. The reader encounters that work from a far later moment in time. The distance that meaning must travel, Gadamer argues, is why the great books require constant retranslation. The measure of a new translation, if Gadamer is right, lies in the translator’s ability to mediate the distance between horizons of past and present. Anthony Esolen’s new translation of St. Augustine’s Confessions accomplishes the task. Esolen’s facility with language is such that reading his translation moved this reviewer from meditation to worship. Read Full Article »