A Cristo crucificado

No me mueve, mi Dios, para quererte,
el cielo que me tienes prometido,
ni me mueve el infierno tan temido
para dejar por eso de ofenderte.

¡Tú me mueves, Señor ! ¡ Muéveme el verte
clavado en una cruz y escarnecido !
Muéveme el ver tu cuerpo tan herido,
muévenme tus afrentas y tu muerte.

Muéveme en fin tu amor en tal manera,
que aunque no hubiera cielo yo te amara,
y aunque no hubiera infierno te temiera ;

no tienes que me dar porque te quiera ;
porque, aunque cuanto espero no esperara,
lo mesmo que te quiero te quisiera.

- Anonymous (Spanish, 16th or early 17th C)

Rhyme and Scansion

Rhyme Scheme:

ABBA ABBA CDC CDC

Scansion:

Meter is generally Hendecasyllabic; for Catullus (in Latin) this was
- - - u u - u - u - - ,
but the meter here is a little freer, so I have just marked the relatively invarient stressed ("-") and non-stressed ("u") syllables.
Inconsistent syllables are indicated with an "i".

Elisions (pairs of syllables that are pronounced as a single syllable) are indicated with an "_".

i	i	i	i	u	-	i	u	u	-	u	rhyme
No	me	mue-	ve,	mi	Dios,	par-	a	quer-	er-	te,	A
el	ciel-	o	que	me	tien-	es	pro-	me-	ti-	do,	B
ni	me	mue-	ve_el	in-	fier-	no	tan	te-	mi-	do	B
par-	a	de-	jar	por	es-	o	de_o-	fen-	der-	te.	A
¡Tú	me	muev-	es,	Se-	ñor!	¡Mué-	ve	me_el	ver-	te	A
cla-	va-	do_en	un-	a	cruz	y_es-	car-	ne-	ci-	do!	B
Mué-	ve-	me_el	ver	tu	cuer-	po	tan	her-	i-	do,	B
mué-	ven-	me	tus	a-	fren-	tas	y	tu	muer-	te.	A
Mué-	ve-	me_en	fin	tu_am-	or	en	tal	man-	e-	ra,	C
qu’aun-	que	no_hub-	ie-	ra	ciel-	o	yo	te_a-	ma-	ra,	D
y_aun-	que	no_hub-	ie-	ra_in-	fier-	no	te	te-	mie-	ra;	C
no	tien-	es	que	me	dar	por-	que	te	quie-	ra;	C
por-	qu’aun-	que	cuan-	to_es-	per-	o	no_es-	per-	a-	ra	D
lo	mes-	mo	que	te	quie-	ro	te	qui-	sie-	ra.	C

Interlinear Translations

A Cristo crucificado

+ + +

(S) No me mueve, mi Dios, para quererte,
(F) Ce qui m’excite, mon Dieu, à t’aimer,
(L) What moves me to love Thee, my God,
(H) My God, it does not move me to befriend Thee

el cielo que me tienes prometido,
ce n’est pas le ciel que tu me promets ;
is not heaven that Thou promisest to me,
that Thou hast promised heavenly salvation,

ni me mueve el infierno tan temido
ce n’est pas l’enfer si redouté qui m’excite
neither is it hell, so much to be feared, the reason that moves me
and terror of eternal condemnation

para dejar por eso de ofenderte.
à ne point t’offencer !
[when I am moved] to cease [once and for all] offending Thee.
is not what moves my ceasing to offend Thee.

+ + +

¡ Tú me mueves, Señor ! ¡ Muéveme el verte
Ce qui m’émeut, c’est toi, mon Dieu ! ce qui m’emeut, c’est de te voir
Thou art what moves me, Lord! I am moved by the sight of Thee
To see Thee moves me, Lord, as nails suspend Thee

clavado en una cruz y escarnecido !
cloué sur cette croix et bafoué ;
nailed to the Cross and ridiculed ;
upon the Cross, in great humiliation ;

Muéveme el ver tu cuerpo tan herido,
ce qui m’émeut, c’est de voir ton corps couvert de tant de blessures ;
it moves me to see Thy body so [terribly] wounded ;
Thy wounded body shows Thy tribulation

muévenme tus afrentas y tu muerte.
ce qui m’émeut, ce sont les angoisses de ta mort.
Thy torments and [Thy] death [are what] move me.
As we to cruel disgrace and death do send Thee.

+ + +

Muéveme en fin tu amor en tal manera,
Ton amour, enfin, m’émeut de telle sort
In the end, Thy love moves me in such a way
Thy love so moves me naught to prize above me

que aunque no hubiera cielo yo te amara,
que, lor même qu’il n’y aurait pas de ciel, je t’aimerais ;
that, were there not a Heaven, I would [still] love Thee,
that were there not a Hell I yet would fear Thee,

y aunque no hubiera infierno te temiera ;
que, lor même qu’il n’y aurait pas d’enfer, je te craindrais.
and, were there not Hell, I would [still] fear Thee.
and were there not a Heaven I would love Thee.

+ + +

no tienes que me dar porque te quiera ;
Tu n’as pas à me rien donner pour que je t’aime ;
Thou hast not to give to me so that I will love Thee ;
Thou needst not give me ore to have me love Thee,

porque, aunque cuanto espero no esperara,
car je n’espérerais pas autant ce que j’espère,
because, were I not to hope as much as [I do hope for that for which] I do hope,
for, had I not such hope of being near Thee,

lo mesmo que te quiero te quisiera.
que je t’aimerais encore autant que je t’aime.
[yet] would I still love Thee [in] the same [way] as I do love Thee.
I yet would love Thee just as now I love Thee.

+ + + + +

Spanish verse

(S)
I chose this Spanish version of the sonnet because it is the basis that Sister Mary Cyria Huff used for comparing the many old extant variants on the original Spanish sonnet. This version is from

Hurtado y Jiménez de la Serna, Juan, and González Palencia, Ángel. Historia de la literatura española. Madrid: Nuevas Gráficas, S. A., 1943, p. 433.

French prose

(F)
I chose this literal prose French translation since I know a little French but no Spanish. This version comes from

Latour, Antoine de. Etudes sur l’Espagne. Part I. Paris : Michel Lévy Frères, 1855, p. 305.

Both of the above were quoted, along with myriad other versions and translations, in:

Huff, Sister Mary Cyria. The sonnet “No me mueve, mi Dios” Its theme in Spanish tradition. Washington, D. C., The Catholic University of America Press, 1948.

Huff's work contains an appendix listing 21 versions of the sonnet, expressed in several languages and several forms of verse. Unfortunately, no direct literal prose English translation is there, nor is there is any hendecasyllabic English verse.

English prose

(L)
My own attempt at literal expression taken from Latour and from other English translations in the appendix of Huff’s work, and Oscar Riera-Lizarazu helped me with understanding the sense and grammar of the Spanish.

English verse

(H)
My own attempt at a hendecasyllabic English translation.

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