Gripla - 20.12.2005, Blaðsíða 33

STYLISTICS AND SOURCES OF THE POSTOLA SÖGUR 31
their heavy wills and ‘have not seen the truth’ („[...] hofum eigi set hit sanna,“
Post.:327.29-328.1; the first part is in the Latin, „[...] qui errore seducti sunt,“
Faber:27r.27, but the second is not). The Icelandic expands the Latin’s de-
scription of the reaction of Exuus’ parents to the entire situation, adding more
tension and drama to the fact that Exuus loses his patrimony: whereas the
Latin has only „[...] subdentes omnia quæ habebant publicis ditionibus“
(Faber: 27v4-5), the Icelandic, in a highly alliterative passage, reads: „[...] ok
alla fla eign ok aura, er sveinninn atti eptir fleira dag, gafu flau upp oskylldum
monnum me› opinberum handsolum ok fleim skilmala, at fleira son skylldi
flar alldri af fa hinn minnzta penning,“ Post.:328.9-12.
In parts of this miracle the translator seems to be focusing on and even
creating a thematic dimension built on the idea of ‘reversals,’ as seen in
Exuus’ prayer to God that the fire be put out: God moistens the dry and dries
the moist, cools the hot and kindles the cool, etc.; this the translator expands
through his addition of the commentary on how those who dared to climb up
were thrown down and how they received their sight although they had been
blinded by error and had not seen the truth. Obviously the overall success of
the miracle, that is, in the perfect conversion of the rich and noble youth to a
disciple of Christ who has abandoned his family and his wealth, as well as in
the destruction of the parents who refuse to support their son (and indeed try
to kill him) can be linked to the ideas of ‘reversal’ given in Exuus’ prayer, but
the Icelandic translator’s adaptations give the text an overall quality of thema-
tic unity, in which all of the parts contribute to the theme, that the Latin text
does not have.
Interestingly, at the start of the miracle, Exuus’ respectful address to the
apostle („[...] bleza›r gu›s postoli,“ Post.:326.10) is not found in the Latin, al-
though a similar phrase omitted in the Icelandic is used in the Latin a bit later
when the apostle begins to preach („Sanctus vero Apostolus prædicabat ei,“
Faber:26v12). Such a direct address is rare in the early translated lives, and its
stylistic peculiarity is matched throughout the remainder of this miracle by an
exaggerated usage of the appositive present participle, which occurs eight
become edificatory examples themselves for the narratives’ audiences: after the people that
have been collectively blinded plead to Andrew to pray for them, Lisimakus is so impressed
by their ‘heartfelt confession and repentance’ („fleira hiartalig vi›rkenning ok i›ran“) that he
says: „Sennilega er Jesus Kristr son gu›s lifanda, flann er bo›ar heilagr Andreas postoli gu›s
flionostuma›r,“ Post.:328.2-4. The prototype for such a change of heart is of course the
Roman centurion moved by Christ’s crucifixion (Matthew 27:54, Mark 15:39, Luke 23-47).