Page:The Emphasised Bible - Vol 1.djvu/20

12 according to the original—always expressive. They will go on to observe that an inversion which at first seemed harsh, especially if incautiously read, soon commends itself when tastefully uttered. Finally, the Translator's purpose will be remembered. It is due to himself to confess that he has deemed himself privileged, and therefore has carried the process of imitating the inversions of the originals to a degree scarcely tolerable in any version designed for public use. It is quite true that the larger number of the inversions here ventured would, as he conceives, adorn any translation, and because of their apt reflection of the Hebrew or Greek he honestly thinks they possess strong claims on general adoption; but not all of them. Speaking approximately, possibly in one case out of ten the Editor of would have himself shrunk back from what he has actually dared, if he had been so presumptuous as to think of producing a competitive translation. His aim throughout has been to form a Companion Version; and he respectfidly asks the measure of indulgence which that intention makes reasonable.

9. One thing at least is clear—namely, that English Idiom alone could never have expressed all the Emphasis enshrined in the originals. It follows that either numerous tokens of stress contained in the sacred tongues must have been lost, or else artificial means were necessary to give them effect. As for the best method of doing this, there is, of course, no accounting for individual preferences; and, given the necessity, some would have chosen varieties of type, not sufficiently considering, perhaps, how soon these annoy the eye when multiplied. Others, again, would have preferred the underscoring which was used in the first and second editions of the Translator's New Testament, unaware, probably, that the costliness of that method seemed prohibitive when thought of for the entire Bible. In favour of the plan nowadopted, suffice it to claim economy, elasticity, and effectiveness. The signs here employed practically cost nothing, since the compositor can pick up a sign of emphasis as easily as he can pick up a comma. The elasticity springs from the combination of diverse signs: for example, an interposed accent can appear in the midst of an already emphasised clause. And the effectiveness is quite as great as was desired, seeing that delicacy of touch was also wished, and even a fitness to be temporarily disregarded—a quality commended to all who find the marks in the least perplexing. Such persons as would have been better pleased with some heavier and more obtrusive style of emphasising will kindly bethink them, that stress is mostly quite effective if laid on one syllable of a word, one word in a clause, and so forth; and that all the guidance the eye requires is to be enabled to take in at a glance the beginning and ending of the word, the phrase, the clause within which the enhanced stress is to take effect.

10. One explanation further, and nothing will be needed for completing this chapter, beyond a few annotated examples and the synopsis at the end, which will be convenient for reference both to the scholar and to the learner. The explanation is this: Idiom alone, it may be thought, might have been trusted to convey a portion of the emphasis indicated in the original, and artificial signs might have been restricted to the conveyance of the rest; instead of which (it may be objected), in this Bible, the artificial signs, in point of fact, mostly accompany the idiom when present, as well as serve as a substitute for it when absent. In fact, however, it was difficult to draw the line, especially as, in many cases, the signs of emphasis served as a species of magnified punctuation, for which reason it seemed better to go through with them. Besides