The concept of ‘ Trinity ’ in Dante ’ s Paradise as reflected in Romanian translations

The translator of Dante’s Paradise is faced with a double difficulty. The first results from the limitation—inherent in the human condition—to express the ineffable, which the author experiences; the second stems from the difficulty of language that Dante himself builds in order to overcome the first difficulty. The success or the failure of a translation is measured in terms of how much of the original message the translator manages to make available to the reader in a foreign language, and this percentage can only be revealed by comparative analysis. Therefore, this paper starts from a comparative analysis between the original text of the Paradise and its Romanian translations, with a focus on the contexts that foster the concept of ‘Trinity’; the analysis carried out on the Romanian versions revealed both successful equivalences, semantically and formally faithful to the original, and cases of “betrayal” of the original text.


Introduction
A translator has to take into account not only the strictly linguistic rules, but also the cultural elements that are inherent in the text.It is necessary to link the concept of translation to the variety of modes of thinking and speaking which, throughout history, have taken the form of the various languages, cultures, literatures and societies.A translation does not only reflect events and elements from a certain era into a different culture, but it can equally contribute to disseminating and spreading new models and styles that are established in the linguistic and cultural structures of the milieu it penetrates, and can thus influence the transformation, even the evolution of another culture.There is a rather balanced ratio between the literary tradition of a culture and the translations present within it.The translation process goes beyond the status of a mere mechanical process or a simple interlinguistic transfer; it bears comparisons not only between two different linguistic systems, but also between two different cultures.Thus, understanding a text constitutes the main objective of translation.However, reaching this goal goes beyond the data pertaining to the source culture; it moves towards the integration of this data into the cultural context it reaches, preventing the readers from experiencing the feeling that a completely foreign culture is imposed upon them.
Dante the pilgrim is aware, from the beginning of the last canto of the Divine Comedy, of his condition of homo viatur, who sets for an unheard journey that disregards the laws of nature.In order to express this unusual condition, he uses the verb trasumanar, a neologism coined by Dante himself, which means overcoming the human condition, marking the singularity of the action undertaken.This is not, however, enough.The poet has to descend among the mortals to partake of the experience, even if he lacks the expressive instrument, as he himself states: "e vidi cose che ridire / né sa né può chi di là sú discende" (Par.,I,.Although the inability of human language to express the divinity confines the poet, he does not hesitate to define, name and make use of a series of concepts in order to express the divine world. Furthermore, the translator is faced with a double challenge: first, to perceive the world for which Dante himself invented means of expression; then, to find the right vehicles to transmit to the reader Dante's world, in its double realisation-meaning and form (or, more precisely, as form at the service of meaning).
In what follows, we will focus on the concept of 'Trinity' , analysing its lexicalisation in the original, and then the choices made by the translators in their Romanian renditions.We will only discuss the translations carried out by George Coșbuc and Eta Boeriu, considered to be the most important unabridged translations of the Divine Comedy 1 .

Designating the Trinity in Dante's text and in the translations
First of all, it should be pointed out that in the text of the Divine Comedy, Dante never uses the phrase "Holy Trinity" as such (Santissima Trinità).We can identify two main ways of designating it: one is related to the numerical aspect of the Trinity-the use of the number three, and the other consists in a metaphorical enumeration, which involves mentioning the three persons of the Trinity within the same context.Since the number of occurrences is rather small, we will analyse all the contexts in which the concept is present, following the order of their occurrence in the source text.

The numerical aspect of the Trinity
The most usual way of designating this concept in the text of the Paradise consists in the reference made to its numerical aspect, by uttering the number three, followed or not by a noun determiner (which names directly or metaphorically the constituents of this collective entity).
The Holy Trinity, the dominant subject in the 13 th canto, is designated by uttering the constitutive figure (tre) followed by the noun that designates-in a very direct and general manner-the constituents: tre persone in divina natura, (Par.,XIII,v. 27).In fact, the context contains a description of the Trinitarian mystery, immediately followed by a description of the dual nature of the Son: ma tre persone in divina natura, / e in una persona essa e l'umana.G. Coșbuc follows closely the structure of the original verse.The translator replaces the adjective divin [divine] (divina natura) with veșnic [eternal] (trei persoane în veșnica natură) an equivalence which, although failing to render exactly the meaning of the Italian original, does not influence the reception of the idea of Trinity; however, at context level , which refers to the mystery of the incarnation, the translation does not clarify the idea that a single person of the divinity becomes human: ci trei persoane-n veșnică natură / unind divinu-n trupul firii-umane (in Dante's text, this distinction is very clear: of the three persons composing the Trinity, one alone also bears the human nature: e in una persona essa e l'umana).Eta Boeriu ignores the explanations in Dante's text and provides an equivalent to the concept through the divine name of the Trinity, considered as such: ci Treimii i se cîntă / și sfintei taine-a întrupării-osana.
In Par., XIV, v. 28-29, by referring to the Trinity (symbol of the circular unity), and relying on the musicality of poetry, Dante expresses a mystery that is impossible to formulate in rational terms; it is the mystery of the unity and, at the same time, the distinctiveness of the divine entities: Quell'uno e due e tre che sempre vive / e regna sempre in tre e'n due e'n uno.G. Coșbuc preserves the beautiful chiasmus of the double enumeration in the original (unu-doi-trei -trei-doi-unu [one-two-three -three-two-one]), succeeding in transmitting the circular musicality of the verses which refer to a mystery that words cannot decipher: Căci Unu, Doi și Trei ce-n veci unit/ și-n Trei și-n Doi și-n Unul e deodată.The idea of circularity is lost in Eta Boeriu's translation; the translator decides to approach more briefly what Dante had intended to transmit by means of the algebraic game of his poetry: Cel pururi viu în trei făpturi pe-o treaptă/ și care-n trei e domn nețărmurit.
The numerical designation of the Trinity is also carried out by the paradoxical joining of the two numerals, three (expression of the constituency) and one (expression of the unity): trino e uno (Par., XV, v. 47).There is, here again, the concept of a God that is unique and threefold at the same time: "Benedetto sia tu, (...), trino e uno / che nel mio seme se' tanto cortese"; the one who utters this hymn of praise is Cacciaguida 2 , who expresses gratitude to a benevolent (cortese) God, generous with his family (mio seme).In both translations analysed, the mere adjectival enumeration in Dante's original is rendered by the inclusion formula trei în unul.Otherwise, G. Coșbuc renders the starting formula of the praising hymn by a calque of expression, although the usual correspondent of the term benedetto in Romanian is binecuvîntat: "Binevorbit să fii tu, trei în unul, / c-așa de bun te-arăți seminței mele".Eta Boeriu replaces the blessing formula by another hymnographic incipit and the adjective cortese 3 by blînd, which is, undoubtedly, an attribute of divinity, although not the one Dante actualises in the present context: "Mărire ție, ce ești trei într-unul, / că blînd te-arăți cu seminția mea".
In another triplet (Par., XXIV, v. 139-141), Dante talks about the dogma of Trinity 4 , inherent in the Christian belief: God comprises three persons, who are, at the same time, one and three, so that, states the author of the Divine Comedy, we can use the verb a fi (to be), both in the third person plural (sînt), and in the third person singular (este): E credo in tre persone etterne, e queste / credo una essenza sì una e sì trina, / che soffera congiunto "sono" ed "este".
Designating the Trinity involves not only the cardinal numeral, but also the multiplicative numeral acquiring the value of an adjective: Oh trina luce che'n unica stella / scintillando a lor vista, sì li appaga!/ guarda qua giuso a la nostra porcella (Par., XXXI, v. 28).The phrase refers to the Trinity; Dante invokes the divinity to turn its eyes towards the earth in order to see the chaos and the violence of mankind 5 .G. Coșbuc provides a direct equivalent to the expression that designates the Trinity and the invocation in the 2 Cacciaguida is an ancestor of Dante's dating back to the 18 th century, presumably the only one the poet himself was aware of.
original, preserving both the metaphor of light and its numerical determination: Lumină triplă, ce desfeți din una / de-a pururi stea, pe-atîția fericiți, / privește-n jos să vezi la noi furtuna.Eta Boeriu replaces the metaphor of light with the metaphor of fire, keeping the denomination by means of the numeral acquiring the value of an adjective: O, faclă întreită care-alini / c-un singur foc alai de fericiți!/ Privește jos ce vijelii ne-ațin.In rendering the adjective trino, which designates the Trinity, G. Coșbuc chooses the neologism triplu, while Eta Boeriu resorts to the well established întreit (obtained by prefixation and change in the grammatical category).
The Holy Trinity is designated, in Dante's text, by the metaphor of the stars, obviously accompanied by the cardinal numeral: The three spheres refer to the Holy Trinity and they represent the classical definition of this theological concept: three equal and, at the same time, different entities: Ne la profonda e chiara sussistenza / de l'alto lume parvemi tre giri / di tre colori e d'una contenenza (Par., XXXIII,.Of the profound and luminous existence of God (profonda e chiara sussistenza) emerge three circles of three colours, having the same content.The image created by Dante refers to the Trinity, defined in theology as the unity of the three distinct divine entities: The Father, the Son ( Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit.The adjective chiaro originates from the Latin clārus, -a, -um ('1. Loud,sonorous;2. Bright,shining;3 Seeing clearly,clear' ,old,s.v.), and it means 'puro, limpido, terso, trasparente'; or, as a noun, it means 'luce, luminosità ' (deli, s.v.); within this context, it acquires the meaning 'luminos '[bright].To express the meaning 'esență, substanță eternă' [essence, eternal substance], Dante creates the noun sussistenza6 .
The translator chooses Romanian equivalents with the same etymology as the original: clar [clear] 'care dă o lumină neîntunecată de nimic, fără umbre, luminos cu multă lumină' [which gives a light that nothing darkens, without shadows, bright and with a lot of light']; subzistență [subsistence] is used here with the obsolete meaning of 'existență, prezență' ['existence, presence'] (cf.dlr).In exchange, the noun continență [temperance] is the result of a semantic calque of the Italian original: Rom.continență comes from Fr. continence and it means 'reținere, oprire (de la plăceri) înfrînare, cumpătare ' (dlr, s.v.) [restraint, refrain (from pleasures), control, moderation]; here, the translator borrows the meaning of the equivalent Italian term, 'conținut' .However, this procedure may run the risk of hindering the understanding of the verses' meaning.
In the case of the other translation analysed, the image by means of which Dante wants to describe the Trinity is unclear, especially since the idea of unity is absent.În însăși profunzimea ei văzui / trei brîuri felurite la culoare, / la fel de largi în roți și pricepui.
Eta Boeriu unsuccessfully uses the noun brîu ('1.cingătoare lată, purtată de țărani și țărance [wide belt worn by peasants]; 2. Ornament vopsit [painted ornament]; 3. P. ext.Partea corpului pe care o încinge brîul, mijlocul' [part of the body covered by this belt, the waist], cf.da) to express the idea of circle since, by its plastic character and the meaning already established in Romanian (1 st meaning in da), it can lead to a whole new image compared to the one present in the Italian original; that is, instead of the perfection of the circle, the reader could be presented with the image of some peasant belts, an image that is difficult to associate with the attributes of divinity, whose image they are presumably representing.Moreover, the unhappy choice of this noun deprives the text of the implicit meanings the metaphor of the sphere implies (it is a symbol of divinity in the representations of Christian art, the world from beyond, the unity and perfection in the Greek tradition, etc.) (Chevalier & Gheerbrant, 1993, p. 223).

Designating the Trinity by the metaphoric enumeration of the entities
This procedure is used twice in the Paradise.The first context is the one from Par., XIII, v. 55-57: ché quella viva luce che sì mea / dal suo lucente, che non si disuna / da lui né da l'amor ch'a lor s'intrea.The triplet reproduced defines the Holy Trinity and attempts to present metaphorically this ultra-mundane reality, which is unique and threefold at the same time, asserting that the Son (viva luce) comes from the Father (il suo lucente) that is, it has the same substance7 and is inseparable from both the Father and the Holy Spirit (l'amor).
Both translators modify the designation of referents in Dante's allegory.G. Coșbuc equates the expression referring to God the Father, presented as light in the original, with another phrase referring to the primacy and supremacy of this holy person, against the two other: De Primul cel ce-o naște-apoi, aceea / lumina vie-n veci nu se desparte / și nici de-amor ce-i fața lor a treia.Eta Boeriu resorts to an explanatory approach of the metaphors present in Dante's text; she translates viva luce by means of the more explicit appellative of the Son of God, namely verbul sfînt [the sacred verb], lumina [the light], and amore, by the direct expression in Romanian of the referent, sfîntul duh [the holy spirit]: Căci verbul sfînt, lumina ce pornește / din foc divin, de el nu se desparte / și nici de sfîntul duh ce-i întreiește.
In another context from the Paradise (XIII, v. 79-81), the Trinity is presented by joining other three metaphors which designate the three entities and which collaborate in order to accomplish the perfection of the creation: caldo amor (the Holy Spirit), la chiara vista ( Jesus Christ), prima virtù (God the Father): Però se ´l caldo amor la chiara vista / de la prima virtù dispone e segna, / tutta la perfezion quivi s'acquista.Considering the difficulties inherent in interpreting the verses, not all commentators agree upon the fact that this stance would illustrate the three hypostases of the Divinity; however, we consider compelling the interpretation given by Anna Maria Chiavacci Leonardi8 , the one that we actually took into account in analysing this fragment.Perfection occurs when God creates, by means of the Holy Spirit-who is love, who decides upon (segna) impregnating the archetypal idea produced by the Son, imagined as the eye (vista) through which the Father sees and acts.In G. Coșbuc's version, the fragment becomes: Deci cînd Virtutea prim-astfel dispune/ și-mprim-așa iubirea sa-nfocată,/ s-atinge-atunci suprema perfecțiune.We reproduced entirely G. Coșbuc's version of the triplet mentioned, in order to show that it omits the equivalence of the phrase that can be interpreted as a metaphor for the second divine person (the Son), that he does not name directly; therefore, the image of the Trinity fails to be created in G. Coșbuc's version.

Conclusions
In creating the image of the Trinity, a concept that is extremely important within the entirety of the text, Dante resorts to two methods.The first, and most frequent, consists in designating the Trinity by means of the cardinal numeral three, accompanied or not by a noun determiner (which expresses directlypersona-or indirectly-by metaphors: spheres, light-the components of the Trinity) or even other numerals (two, one).The second method used in designating the Trinity consists in enumerating its constituents, at metaphorical level.
For the Romanian translators, resorting to equivalence by means of the numeral seems to be the most affordable method, that is, the easiest type of equivalence.Nevertheless, metaphors are often "betrayed" during the process of translation, which occurs in two directions: they are either replaced by another metaphor (a case in point is the example of the belt [brîul] in Eta Boeriu's translation of the triplet in chant XXXIII,, or the metaphor is deciphered by directly naming the divine entities (which also occurs predominantly in Eta Boeriu's translation).
Poetry means not only what is said, but-more importantly-what is suggested; thus, it contains a certain amount of ineffable which renders the reception of its message (also) dependent upon the reader's subjectivity.Moreover, the message of a poetry received through translation runs the risk of being distorted because of the double interpretation provided by the translator, during the process of deconstruction/ reconstruction of meaning, and the interpretation given by the readers, depending on their cultural background or their sensitivity.The fact that in Dante's masterpiece nothing is fortuitous, that everything has a well established place in the entirety of Dante's vision, renders any translation attempt more complex than a mere equivalence of terms, be that a faithful equivalence or an adaptation; moreover, a successful translation requires, besides talent and philological balance, meticulous research.